THE PEOPLE APPROACHING

THE PEOPLE APPROACHING

“Looking up, he saw the crowds approaching.”  I am in the UK and people are kindly giving me time to talk and listen.  One thing I am learning much about is the damage done to people’s equanimity of spirit by the safety procedures put in place in response to sexual abuse and by the perception of the whole institution as a result of the behaviour of a few of its members.  OXFAM is reeling from what happened to it and even the UN is touched.  In one religious community, which runs a large and flourishing educational establishment, the safety procedures are so comprehensive they appear to prevent expressions of affection or trust between youths and adults.

One person I met gave me a vivid description of the erosion of opportunity to build trust, which, as he pointed out, is the basis of all relationships.  We cannot have safeguards ruling our lives - however much they have their place.  We have to “reach out into the deep” and take risks if we are ever to have healthy relationships with others.  While we rejoice in the affirmation of human rights, particularly of the vulnerable, we seem, at times, to forget that these rights are arid if they cannot be developed in relation to others.

So, once again, we need to flash across the screen Donne’s words “no man is an island” and every person has to reach out to others no matter how risky that may be.  What were the people thinking when they approached Jesus? (John 6:3)  They were attracted by him but had no real idea why.  In the first chapter of John, Jesus actually turns on his heel when some people follow him and asks, “What do you want?”  They don’t know what they want and avoid a reply by asking their own question, “Where do you live?” What is clear is they are looking for something but are not sure what.

The gospels are accounts of how people are attracted to Jesus; but then many draw back when they realise the price of coming close to him. We both want and do not want relationship.  We flee from the very thing that draws us.  Can we trust?  Can we trust ourselves and others?  Safeguards have their place but when they leave no room for trust you wonder what they are achieving.   

In the final chapter of Matthew, when the women were running away from the tomb “in fear and great joy” – in other words they wanted and did not want to meet Jesus - they suddenly saw him approaching them.  If we can be patient in our confusion we may find the same.      

29 July 2018                            Sunday 17 B

2 Kings 4:42-44                      Ephesians 4:1-6                  John 6:1-15

BUILDING OUR HOUSE

BUILDING OUR HOUSE

I am out of my “comfort zone”! I am moving around among people my relatives live among.  They are different from those among with whom I normally stay.  For two days we have visited historical building in SW England. Yesterday it was the fortified home of the Earl of Devon, built around 1390 and full of vicissitudes ever since. At one time they favoured the Catholics, at another the Anglicans; at another time they favoured the king and, yet another, the Parliament ranged against him.

We also visited later buildings built on the enormous wealth of the new industrialists of the nineteenth century “to reflect their new status and position in society.”  These once magnificent places are no longer lived in.  Skilled craftsmen and women made them beautiful but they are now monuments to human hubris. In one house a special staircase was put in to show off the sumptuous gowns of the ladies as they ascended and descended.

We look back and smile at the follies of our ancestors and future generations will look back at ours.  When Jesus yearned to reach out to the multitudes because they were “like sheep without a shepherd” he was proclaiming his longing to fill the emptiness that people often feel when they try to express themselves in their surroundings and way of life.

We are always going to have to face who we are at the core of our being and what it is that is going to fill our starved hearts.  Maybe we are edging towards being open to this.  At a time when the exteriors of religion are finding fewer followers, the interior search of the mystics is arousing curiosity.

22 July 2018                            Sunday 16 B

Jeremiah 23:1-6                                   Ephesians 2:13-18                   Mark 6:30-34  

HE WILL NOT QUARREL OR CRY OUT;

PRAYER PAUSE

Saturday July 21, 2018

 HE WILL NOT QUARREL OR CRY OUT;
    

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading.  “He will not quarrel or cry out;  no one will hear his voice in the streets.”  (Micah 2:1-5)

Reflection. I write  this on the move, far from books and desks, and I am among  people who have all the basic needs of life. They search to fill their leisure time in imaginative ways and enjoy the opportunities they have.  They are people one can have no quarrel with.  In some ways they are satisfied.  God longs to fill yearning hearts but perhaps at times we are not in touch with that yearning and ignore it or divert it.  The Lord does not raise his voice and can only be heard by those who enter inside themselves and find him there.

Prayer. Lord, help us to find our life in you.  Amen 

YOU WILL NOT STAND

PRAYER PAUSE

Tuesday July 17, 2018

 YOU WILL NOT STAND

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “But if you do not stand by me you will not stand at all .” (Isaiah 2:1-9)

Reflection. In this reading, and the accompanying one from Matthew (11:20-24),  we are given a sombre reflection on Israel’s failure to “stand by God.”  Infidelkity and failure to accept the good news led to disaster.  I once had the opportunity to visit Capernaum and it really is a ruin. Not that the permanence of buildings is any guarantee of anything.  But there is a sign there.  We are given this encouragement to build our life on the good news and, despite the constant trials we meet, all will be well.

Prayer. Lord, help us to found our life on you and the good new.  Amen 

A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER

PRAYER PAUSE

Monday July 16, 2018, Our Lady of Mount Carmel

 A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “It is not peace I have come to bring but the sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother .” (Matthew 10:34-11:1)

Reflection. Jesus used shocking words to help us realise the urgency of the moment.  The “kingdom” was now close at hand but it would not come without a struggle. Its demands would often set a member of a family against his or her own relatives as they sought to live the values of the kingdom.  Jesus himself caused consternation in his own family at the age of twelve and many a person since has fallen out with close relatives over their choice of life. It is not only those who choose to live a “consecrated life” – as we call it - but anyone trying to live the gospel, even the ten commandments, will meet opposition within themselves and among those with whom they live.

Prayer. Lord, help us to have courage when we try to live the values of the kingdom and meet opposition from within or from outside. Amen 

NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY

NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY

The abbot of the Buddhist monastery in Thailand where the coach of the Wild Boars football team - whose teenage members have just been rescued from a flooded cave - spent some years as a monk, was astonished and delighted by the outcome.  “Was it science or a miracle,” he asked.  “I don’t know!”  Does it matter?  It was a drama that held our gaze and the world was united in wonder, joy and gratitude at the success of the mission.

But the answer to the question – about science or a miracle – could be “both”.  It was certainly science but it was also a miracle.  We know what science is but what is a miracle?  Perhaps we are conditioned to think of it as a sort of magic; an act that defies the ordinary laws of nature. Gerhard Lohfinck, in “Jesus of Nazareth: What did he want? Who was he?” - a book I do not have access to at the moment, explores the notion of ‘miracle’.

What I understand him to say is: there comes a point where all our efforts can do nomore and we have to hand over the issue to God.  But what God does – or is unable to do - at that point is inextricably related to what we do – or don’t do.  God doesn’t do magic.  He can only act if there is a sign from us that we want him to act.  The prayers of millions across the globe supported those seals. I once went to my eye doctor for a review after an operation and he asked me how I felt. “Great”, I said, “I feel much better.”   “It’s your faith,” he said. “No!” I protested, “it was your skill.”  We had a minor argument.  But, again, we could say it was both.

Jesus couldn’t do a thing where he found no faith.  When he found even a shred of it – as with curious Zacchaeus up a tree – he could do something.  Human beings and God make for a powerful combination.  If we come with our five loaves and two fish to Jesus we can do wonders.  So a miracle is the take- off point where a person brings all their science, equipment, skill and their trust in God together.  Our contemporaries are good at the first three.  We have still some way to go to add the last.  The enigmatic words of today’s gospel – about taking nothing for the journey – are like a code pointing us in that direction.

15 July 2018                  Sunday 15 B

Amos 7:12-15                Ephesians1:3-14                      Mark 6:7-13 

    

HOLY, HOLY,.HOLY

PRAYER PAUSE

Saturday July 14, 2018

HOLY, HOLY,.HOLY

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lordof hosts.  His glory fills the whole earthl.” (Isaiah 1:1-8)

Reflection. Was it a vision?  Or a dream?  Whatever Isaiah had he experienced a breaking through of the divine into this world; a piercing of the cloud that surrounds us and makes us think the only reality is the one we can see and touch; the rush and pressure and stress.  This experience of the prophet is also a call to him to speak to the people the message od God – a message of warning and one of consolation.  Isaiah would help us understand that the Christ would suffer greatly in order to achieve his purpose; that God longs to share his life with us and waits for us to open our hearts to recive him.   

Prayer. Lord, teach us to be quiet, to welcome you in all the encounters of the this day. Amen 

LIKE THE DEW

PRAYER PAUSE

Friday July 13, 2018

LIKE THE DEW

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “I will be like the dew to Israel.” (Hosea 14:2-10)

Reflection. Perhaps those who live in temperate climates know the dew better than those of us who live in the tropics.  But even in the tropics we have dew at times.  It falls silently on the land and we wake up in the morning to see the sheen of it. The whole landscape is transformed  until the sun gets up and dries it.  Hosea likens God’s coming to the dewfall  - the silent refreshing of the land. There is no sound; only the awareness that things have changed. An old English carol speaks of Christ’s coming as like the “dew that falls in April.”  So it is in our lives.  Silently he comes and transforms us. Perhaps we do not notice 

Prayer. Lord, help us trust the silent transformation of our lives that you work in each of us.  Help us to welcome you. Amen 

MY HEART WITHIN ME IS OVERWHELMED

PRAYER PAUSE

Thursday July 12, 2018

MY HEART WITHIN ME IS OVERWHELMED

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “I was like someone lifting an infant to his cheek …my heart within me is overwhelmed..” (Hosea 11:1…9)

Reflection. This is one of the most tender moments in the Bible. The prophet has spent many words on the faults of Israel and how the people have strayed.  But now he expresses the abiding love of God for his people. At times a parent will have to be firm with their child but soon after they will show their love and longing to forgive. Hosea shows us the heart of God  in whose image we are made.  

Prayer. Lord, help us to learn of you for you are gentle and humble of heart and we shall find rest for our weariness in you.. Amen 

HE SUMMONED THE TWELVE

PRAYER PAUSE

Wednesday July 11, 2018, St Benedict

HE SUMMONED THE TWELVE

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “Jesus summoned his twelve disciplkes and gave them authority over unclean spirits… instructing them as follows …proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand..” (Matthew 10:1-10)

Reflection. One of the questions that must have troubled Nicodemus, when he came “by night”, must have been the quality of the the followers of Jesus. They were fishermen and tax collectors and the like. There were no educated people among them and none of the leaders or religious figures were included.  The “weakness” of the Jesus group was a scandal.  And yet it was these ordinary people – including some shady characters like Simon the Zealot – whom Jesus chose and goes on choosing.  We hold the treasure in earthen vessels; Jesus entrusts it to us and he depends on us to get the message across; to be witnesses.  Knowing what the treasure is will be a great spur to sharing it with others.

Prayer. Lord, help us to live the kingdom and trust that we can share the message with others.. Amen 

PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS

PRAYER PAUSE

Tuesday July 10, 2018

PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “Jesus made a tour through the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases..” (Matthew 9:32-37)

Reflection. This summary is full of energy, urgency and joy.  Jesus is doing what he came to do. It is a capsule of the mission of the community Jesus would found. That community woud extend the work to the ends of the earth and it would live the suffering that Jesus endured at the end of his life.  We live the mission and the passion each day and we search for the energy, urgency and joy that goes with it. I am in Ireland and heard a Nigerian speak of the energy and urgency of the Irish missionaries in her country. There was joy too among the Irish in sharing their faith.  But now there is the passion too and it is hard to understand.  All that euphoria has gone and now it has been replaced with – at least in some quarters – ridicule. The community Jesus funded is suffering.  

Prayer. Lord, help us to trust that you are with us always  - even when we dn not understand.. Amen 

TRAPPED IN A DARK CAVE

TRAPPED IN A DARK CAVE

Two stories dominate the news; the World Cup, with its agony and elation, and the boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.  Both have brought the whole world together but especially the second.  In the Thai drama, ten teenage boys and their coach on an outing to underground caves were suddenly surrounded by a flash flood and found safety on a raised section of the cave.  It took days for them to be discovered by which time they were short of food and their flash light batteries were running low.

Methodically their intended rescuers planned to bring them oxygen and teach them to dive and swim under water to safety.  Skilled underwater swimmers made the six hour journey against the current – and the five hour return journey with it - many times to prepare the boys for their swim to freedom.  One lost his life in the effort.  He is the honoured hero of the moment.  Political, religious and cultural differences fades away as the world watches.

Once again, we see a drama, an accident - even a tragedy- drawng us together and reminding us of our common humanity.  What we have together far outweights the differences we make so much of. Can we find our lumbering way back to Bethlehem to be reborn? (W.B.Yeats)

This Sunday we read of Jesus, in his first coming, returning to Nazareth and being rejected by his own folk.  “Who does he think he is with all his words and signs?  He is just a carpenter, son of Joseph and Mary.  We know him.  All those other people are foolish gullible people taken in by him.”  We are told: “He was amazed at their lack of faith.”  They were stuck and could not rise above the horizon of their provincial town and see the wider world.

We have come a long way since that squalid scene in Nazareth.  People of every country under heaven roam the streets of,for example, Dublin and London and I was helped through Dublin airport recently by a staff member from Nigeria. So many from other countrys causes unease, apprehension and fear.  But it is also a source of opportunity, creativity and new life. It all needs much work and sensitivity for it to work.

The boys trapped in the dark cave have brought the world together for a moment.  There are many more dark caves to be illumined by imagination and courage.  

8 July 2018                              Sunday 14 B

Exodus 2:2-5                           2 Corinthians 12:7-10             Mark 6:1-6

Sacred space

These posts are going to be disrupted for a while as I am moving about. Apologies. You may wish to visit the Irish website sacredspace.ie which provides helps for daily prayer

FOLLOW ME

PRAYER PAUSE

Friday July 6, 2018

FOLLOW ME

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “And he said, ‘follow me!’ And he got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9-13)

Reflection. We have been reading Amos as well as Matthew this week and we remember Amos’defence to Amaziah, who complained that he was disturbing the kingdom with his prophecies of wrath, “I am no prophet ,,, but the Lord took me from following the flock.”  Now the Lord is “taking” Matthew from his tax office abd calling him to preach and write.  Both Amos and Matthew sound reluctant to follow the call but both respond and enter that other space to which we are all now called. It is that place where we listen to Jesus and hear how he is calling me now. I am in western isles off Europe at the moment and the culture is all in a rush.  Can we hear the voice beyond the mobile.  Many do.  But it is hard.to do so.

Prayer. Lord, help us to hear you in the midst of the swirl of life.. Amen 

PLEASE LEAVE

PRAYER PAUSE

Wednesday July 4, 2018

PLEASE LEAVE

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “Everyone from the town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.” (Matthew 8:28-34)

Reflection. Jesus’ presence was just too much. He drove out the demons but they went into the pigs which were then lost. It was all too unsettling.  Jesus’ presence held out great hope for those people but they could not take it. The price was too great.  Better to stay as they were, as they were used to being. We really don’t like Jesus upsetting our plans. Something painful invades our lives.  We resist it with vigour. That is natural. But at the same time we can have an eye on the bigger picture; the ability to see that God is at work.  What may seem a disaster often has the seeds of new life  Few had a clue what Jesus was doing then.     

Prayer. Lord, help us to see deeper into your plans for us.. Amen 

NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD

PRAYER PAUSE

Monday July 1, 2018

NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD

Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading:  “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:18-22)

Reflection. I am in Wimbledon as I write but not “at” Wimbledon.  I will not be visiting the temple of tennis. For the players there is total focus: all their mind, skill and strength is centered on that small ball.  There is a simplicity about it that draws us.  Jesus talks about simplicity of intent. He gave no thought to the concerns that give many of us much worry. He was totally focused on his Father’s business: the completion of creation, bringing everything to perfection and so making the earth a place of welcome and fulfilment for every human being – and animal and plant. This total concentration of Jesus is glimpsed at the centre court at Wimbledon and in the stadiums of Russia.  We are invited to examine the clutter of our lives and ask; would it be better to gather the scattered concerns of my life into a focus on the one thing that metters?     

Prayer. Lord, help us to focus.. Amen 

IF ONLY I CAN TOUCH

IF ONLY I CAN TOUCH

“Going fishing?”  I was in a queue at Lusaka airport facing the first of what seemed interminable security and passport checks and I saw a man with a long tube protruding for his rucksack.  “No,” he said, “I’ve been teaching chess in Zambian schools and this is my roll-up demonstration board.”  “Chess!?  And do they take to it?”  “Very much, they delight in solving the puzzles I set to start them off and then they really get into it.”  “And does it help them with their studies?”  “Absolutely! And not only in their maths, but even in their spelling.”  “Their spelling!” 

I was setting out on my triennial flight to Europe and realised I was once again moving from the normal predictability of my relationships into that other international world where people do not know me, nor I them.  It is exciting to encounter physically this beautiful world we inhabit.  A thousand of us snaked our way to the 40+ desks at passport control at Heathrow (London) and every nation under heaven was represented.  The EU signs of my last visit were already replaced with UK BORDER in huge letters just in case anyone has forgotten that the 37% of the population who voted in the referendum on Brexit had chosen to leave - by a margin of 52/48.  I have yet to meet anyone who agrees with the decision.

So, I have again this experience of the “joys and sorrows, the hopes and anxieties, of the people of this age.”  And yesterday I had lunch with five former Jesuits who entered about the same time as I did, 60 years ago.  The story of their lives, the joys and sorrows they met along the way, moved me very much.  Each one had had to struggle mightily.  Half of them I had not seen for fifty+ years and it was often hard to connect their worn features with the face they once had in the bliss of youth.

I was pondering these experiences as I read the two stories – one inside the other – in today’s gospel, about the death and rising of Jairos’ twelve year old daughter and the healing of the woman who was troubled with incessant bleeding for twelve years.  Both the man and the woman “touched” Jesus – the woman even touched his garment – in a way that broke through the cultural expectations of the time.  They found within themselves the courage, the faith, to reach out beyond convention and confess their inability to solve their problems on their own. 

We love solving problems, even chess problems.  (By the way, there is a Zambian chess grandmaster!).  But we often do not reach out to “touch his garment.”  As I endured my one hour crawl to the passport control desk I wondered how many of my thousand fellow travellers welcome Jesus as one who walks with them.  Perhaps, like the men going to Emmaus they don’t recognise him.     

1 July 2018                              Sunday 13 B

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24       2 Corinthians 8:7…15             Mark 5:21-43