A Restless Life

 The curse of comfort.  That theme echoes throughout the readings this weekend.  It is easy to lose ourselves within the relative comfort of our surroundings.  We become accustomed to being able to have anything we desire within two days shipped to our house, watch anything that want, and generally surround ourselves with the news and self-confirming voices that appease us.  Comfort may be more dangerous today than it ever has been.  How many of us are like the brothers of the rich man?  Even with the Word of God, we still continue in self-indulgence.  Would the return of a spirit change our ways?  Do we believe enough that we would even be able to comprehend the message?  We are the stewards of our souls, and we must strive each day to combat the sloth and greed that surround us.

You cannot serve two masters.  One of the last lines of the Gospel reading this week is something that I, and all humanity, struggle with daily.  We are constantly bombarded with secular temptations, and these can (and do) cause blind spots shutting us out from the great parts of our nature (those given by God).  We have to diligently practice what we hear each Sunday and show that Love which our souls yearn for.  This set of readings provides some guidance on how to do that: caring for the poor and dealing honestly with others in all matters.  It is easy to lose the big picture of our life here on earth and focus only on ourselves, but in doing so we miss out on the whole reason for our existence - to live and love in harmony with the creations of our Creator. Disclaimer: This will be at the bottom of all reflections, but I’m not intending to put out any sort of professional critique, attempt at a homily, or investigation into the historicity of the readings, b...

In this set of readings, we have a rare opportunity to hear from Jesus how the imagery from the Old Testament is retold in the New Testament through Jesus.  Usually these glimpses into the "rhyming" nature of the Old and New are revealed less plainly and alluded to, but here Jesus does not mince his words.  In the Old Testament, the people sinned against God and repented to Moses asking him to seek God's forgiveness.  To this end, Jesus tells us that He has become that symbol of forgiveness, that saving grace.  And the Second Reading succinctly summarizes this notion that we must keep in mind: God sent Jesus for us and our salvation.  Jesus was not sent to this earth for His own benefit or to take control; on the contrary, He suffered here and was "obedient to death", at which point God raised His Son to become the exalted symbol of His Love for all. Disclaimer: This will be at the bottom of all reflections, but I’m not intending to put out any sort of professio...

This week, we are challenged by the words of Jesus.  He tells those who were traveling with Him that no one can truly follow Him without "hating" their family.  Taken at just that line, it seems an insurmountable task, to disregard the love of those closest to us for the eternal love of Jesus.  But two keys lines, one from the First Reading from Wisdom and the second from later in the Gospel Reading, help me to (hopefully) make sense of Jesus's proclamation.  In the next part of the Gospel Reading, Jesus continues to compare being a disciple to preparing to construct a tower.  Taking that example, all other context is removed - the builder's family obligations, their taxes due, etc... - and it's a simple exercise in having the right resources to achieve the goal.  We too must remove the outside context, or distractions, and see what it is we truly need to do in our lives to be true to God, and sometimes that can be our family or our jobs or even our hobbies...

The set of readings for this Sunday represent a good reminder of our need for humility.  We must approach life with the knowledge that God has made everything in our lives possible.  We are the poor, and Jesus is our benefactor.  Without the gifts bestowed to us by God, we cannot begin to fathom the mysteries, the wisdom, the love that has been left on this earth (and beyond) for us.  We must take our place, the lowest place at the table, and wait for our turn to be elevated.  In humbling ourselves by accepting that place, we allow ourselves to re-built and shaped by our Creator, the One who Loves each of us more than we can possibly ever know. Disclaimer: This will be at the bottom of all reflections, but I’m not intending to put out any sort of professional critique, attempt at a homily, or investigation into the historicity of the readings, but will “let the Spirit move me” as some say, to share what has spoken to me in my reading and reflection on the set of...

I feel like I'm writing an multi-part piece on delayed gratification, as today is all about making the hard decisions.  From Isaiah, we hear that God will send out "fugitives" to the land, and we hear from Jesus in the Gospel that we should strive for the narrow gate.  How often have we read/heard of how Jesus, his disciples, and the prophets of the Old Testament were ostracized and treated like fugitives for spreading the word of God?  Often in this life, we must go against the grain, make the disciplined and hard decision to be a follower of Jesus.  The opportunity has been offered to us, but we must steel ourselves against the temptations and distractions of the day to be able to truly receive the gift that has given.  Disclaimer: This will be at the bottom of all reflections, but I’m not intending to put out any sort of professional critique, attempt at a homily, or investigation into the historicity of the readings, but will “let the Spirit move me” as some...