THE SIGN OF JONAH

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 14 October 2013

THE SIGN OF JONAH

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God

Reading. “The only sign this wicked generation will be given is the sign of Jonah.” (Luke 11:29-32)

Reflection. The spoor of an animal, the colour of the sky. We have looked hard at signs since the dawn of time. But are we losing the energy to interpret them? The bird and the rabbit are alert all the time but are our senses blunted by the constant noise of twitter and TV? Jesus asked the Jews why they could not see the meaning of the “signs of the times.” The great sign of Jesus is his challenge to society. It was a world of wealth and oppression by the few and eking out a minimum existence by the many. He confronted this world and told the people it does not have to be like this. His great message was compassion, which he showed to all; to Zacchaeus the exploitative tax collector and to the woman caught in adultery. The powers that be did not like it and they crucified him. But death could not hold him and he rose again and that was what Jonah’s sign pointed to.

Prayer. Lord, open our eyes to the signs all around us; signs of suffering and oppression, signs of struggle and hope, signs of generosity and love. Help us to look out for all that is good and affirm it and build on it.  Amen

Carrying away the soil

Carrying away the soil

Today is Rain Sunday in Zimbabwe. We ask the Lord of the harvest to send us rain just as people of old went to the Matopos and other shrines in the country to make the same request. At the same time we are given readings that have nothing directly to do with rain but an awful lot to do with the Lord of the harvest.

Naaman, the Syrian, is cured of his leprosy and is stunned by the experience. He wants to shower Elisha with gifts to pay for his cure. But the prophet will have none of it. Eventually Naaman realises why. It is not Elisha who has healed him but God. His response is to take some of the earth from Israel home to his own country so that he can worship the true God on Israel’s soil.

Jesus too cures some lepers but they too are as bewildered as Naaman. Nine of them don’t draw any conclusions from what has happened to them. Incredibly, they take it for granted. But one, a foreigner like Naaman, does think about it and realises what it means. He hurries back and “threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” And there is the key.

There is a huge cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. The last time one struck the coast 5000 people died. Now tragedy looms again. The relationship between man and nature – some will deny this but most now accept it – is skewed. We may have conquered leprosy but we are far from conquering all the scourges that threaten us.

The point of saying ‘thank you’ is that it creates and nourishes a relationship. If we do not say ‘thank you’ to the earth that gives us life we are taking the earth for granted. We are treating it like a bicycle or a computer – to be thrown aside when it is worn out. But you cannot treat the earth or the fields or the animals like that. They are literally our life support system.

And if we do not say thank you to one another and to God we are doing the same. Either we develop an attitude of gratitude to the earth and the One who made it or we perish. It is no good praying for rain if we do not respect the rhythm of the earth that produces rain. When Jesus cured the lepers 90% of those cured took it for granted. We have to do better than that.

We have to “carry away the soil” from our experiences. Whatever they are they are the ground of our gratitude and the seedbed of our growth.    

13 October 2013         Sunday 28 C

2 Kgs 5:14-17             2 Tim 2: 8-13               Luke 17: 11-19

STILL HAPPIER THOSE

PRAYER MOMENT

Saturday 12 October 2013

STILL HAPPIER THOSE

Pause.  Be still in the presence of Jesus.

Reading. “Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:27-28)

Reflection. This is perhaps the shortest extract from the gospel in any of the daily readings through the year. And yet it sums up everything. A woman gets excited thinking what it must be like to be the mother of Jesus. But Jesus, while not denying the happiness of his mother, sharply tells the woman that is not the point. Mary herself rejoiced more in doing the will of God than being the Mother of God. Ultimately our family ties, precious though they are, our career and status, our ambition and desires, all have to take second place. When faced with Truth Pilate turned away. He was afraid. In a radical sense we too are faced with truth and have to make a choice.  

Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in all the blessings you give us in marriage, family life, career and all the other things that some of us enjoy. But help us to see that they all come from you and that outside of you they are nothing at all.  Amen

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 8 October 2013

SHE SAT DOWN AND LISTENED

Pause.  Be still at the feet of Jesus and listen to him.

Reading. “Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus and listened to him speaking.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Reflection. Generations have contemplated this scene of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while her sister, Martha, is busy in the kitchen preparing the lunch. It is the only place in the gospels – and maybe in the whole bible, though there was Elijah in his cave – where we see such a scene of contemplation. It is a moment of stillness where God communicates with the beloved. It is a moment captured for us, as in a photo, of what it is to really be attentive to God. What Martha was doing was good and necessary and sums up the lives of women down the ages everywhere. But what Mary was doing goes beyond that routine life and glimpses for a moment “what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor.2:9).

Prayer. Teach us, Lord, to go beyond the routine of our daily lives and sit in stillness in your presence, listening to what you wish to say to us, as you call us more and more to open up to the divine life you desire to share with us.  Amen

(I will be beyond the reach of internet on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

TOGETHER WITH MARY

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 7 October 2013

TOGETHER WITH MARY

Pause.  Recall that you are in the presence of God and Mary, our Mother and all the saints.

Reading. “With one heart all the apostles joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the Mother of Jesus and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)

Reflection. A crisis in 1571 concentrated the minds of Christians in Europe and they turned to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, for help. When the crisis passed the pope instituted a feast of Our Lady of the Rosary to remind people of the role of Mary in the story of our salvation. Her act of faith in God – “let it be done to me according to your word” – echoed the faith of Abraham all those centuries before. Abraham showed he was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, with the rock like belief that “God will provide.” Mary too made her great act of faith in God without seeing where it would all lead. Like every mother, she shows us how to grow up and she has us constantly in mind. If we turn to her in our crises and in our daily lives we will always find help.    

Prayer. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

THE PEOPLE WERE ALL IN TEARS

PRAYER MOMENT

Thursday 3 October 2013

THE PEOPLE WERE ALL IN TEARS

Pause.  Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading. “For the people were all in tears as they listened.” (Neh. 8:1-12)

Reflection. When the people of Israel returned home after their long exile in Babylon they rebuilt their houses, their temple and their lives. They wept tears of joy as they listened to Ezra reading the words of the law from “early morning until noon.” It was a rediscovery of roots, like looking at old family photos or visiting the graves of parents long dead. The remembrance of things past helps to root us in the present and give hope for the future. It is good to recall the story of the founding of a nation, to recall the sacrifices that brought it to birth and to weep with sorrow and joy for the sins and the promise our history carries. The tears of joy of Ezra’s hearers were deeply felt. When Jesus took bread and wine and blessed them he said, “Remember me.” As the heirs of the promises to Israel we too can approach the Eucharist with tears of joy and sorrow.  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to remember all that you have done to bring us to this day. We weep for our failure to live up to the covenant we made in Baptism and we also rejoice in the promise you give us which is never withdrawn. Amen.

(I will be away for three days, beyond the reach of internet.)

ABOVE AND BEYOND

PRAYER MOMENT

Wednesday 2 October 2013

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Pause.  Rejoice in the presence of God and in his love.

Reading. “My angel will go before you.” (Exod 23:20-23)

Reflection. ABOVE AND BEYOND was the message on the back of a kombi I noticed yesterday in town. I thought it was a spiritual message but a friend pointed out it probably just meant the owner claimed his kombi was above others and went beyond them in performance! Our days are often full of double messages; one on the surface and one hidden from our first glance. This one, for instance, suggests to me that our ordinary daily life is loaded with traces of a life “above and beyond” what our eyes can see and our ears can hear. God is at work in everything and we can tune in and see and hear what he is doing. Our belief in angels comes from occasional references in the bible to God sending a messenger to a person to guide them or tell them something important. The former happened to Tobias, the latter to Mary. And in similar ways he works in all our lives.   

Prayer. Lord, teach us to be sensitive to your action each day in our lives and to see above and beyond what we perceive at first. Amen