Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Gospel reading today we hear that, after angels announced to shepherds tending their flocks in the fields that Our Savior Jesus had been born,
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem
and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.*
Upon reading this Gospel passage this morning, I pondered the approach that Mary took in her life. In this part of the Gospel we are told that Mary kept all these things in her heart. She kept them. She did not discard them. What things did she keep? What things did she not throw away? Among other things, she kept and cherished the knowledge she had of how God had abundantly blessed her and her husband Joseph.
When we keep awareness of God's blessings, we keep valuable jewels of wisdom which, properly used, lighten the burdens we carry. In contrast, so often we hang onto physical property which often weighs us down. Years after I acquired certain items of property, I realized I had only those articles of property once, or that I had never used those possessions at all. In retrospect I saw that I could have gotten rid of such things long before I did.
So often too we discard valuable insights which are given to us as gifts. We fail to recognize the true, abiding, lasting treasure contained in such pearls of wisdom. There have been times I have learned invaluable lessons, only to forget what I had learned.
We are called to continual discernment. We are called constantly to discern what we should keep and what we should discard. We should ask ourselves what we value and what we find of little or no enduring worth. We are called then to keep accordingly and likewise to discard.
God will sift us too, separating all of us from each other like wheat from chaff,** like fruitful, nourishing harvest from nutritionless, worthless waste material. We too should sift and sort in our own lives right now, discerning what to keep and what to discard, according to what will and what will not help us to love God and our neighbor.
As we discern, and consequently retain what benefits us and others, as well as reject what harms us and others, we will find that we have what we need and what others need. We will find what we need right in front of us. We will be nourished and in turn we will be equipped to nurture others.
I am led to share some circumstances from my day today which seem to illustrate this truth. In a blog post a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was about to go on vacation. A few days ago I returned from visiting my parents and my sister back east. I very much enjoyed visiting them. I've also enjoyed being back here in Redwood City, returning to the ministry here that I find fulfilling. I've enjoyed reconnecting with people here who I've missed.
Due to certain responsibilities here at the Catholic Worker House, I have to be here at the house most of today. Thus I've found myself wanting to spend time with people here in the larger community of Redwood City, but constrained from doing so due to duties here at the house. I'd been looking forward to seeing many of these warm, welcoming people in the wider community who I've come to know while living here.
So I felt as if God was answering my prayer this morning when the doorbell rang. Upon opening the door, I received a robust, energetic and warm greeting from someone I'll again call "Ben," a homeless man who periodically stops by here at the Catholic Worker House.
He shared with me how one day, upon returning to where his tent and the rest of his property had been, everything which had been there was gone. Yet he also related to me how he recently had his bicycle fixed, but didn't have to pay anything for the repairs, due to the generosity of the repair person. Later I considered how, in the midst of his disappointment over having lost almost all of his possessions, he kept in his heart how he had been treated to free repairs on his bicycle. In keeping the memory of this magnanimity in his heart, he cultivated seeds of gratitude in himself. Remaining grateful, he made a conscious choice how he would respond to his apparently unfortunate circumstances. Through his choice, God strengthened him.
As Ben was about to bicycle away, I thanked him. Missing him and others I've gotten to know here in the wider community of Redwood City, I was pleased he had stopped by the house here. He had made me feel better in the midst of my longing to see him and other people who I've come to cherish here. Despite his recent apparent misfortune, he was ministering to me. In the midst of his pain, he was the one showing love and comfort: he was implicitly consoling me through his very presence. I had called out to Jesus to comfort me, to come to me, to minister to me. In response, Jesus, who is in those who are least among us,*** came to my door in the homeless man who rang my doorbell.
Just as Jesus came to me, Jesus comes to Ben, and to each and every one of us. Soon before Ben bicycled away, I reminded him that Jesus always welcomes us to Him. I added that Jesus is always with us.****
God calls us to keep and cherish in our hearts the knowledge that He is always with us. When we hold onto this precious knowledge, we can recognize Him when He comes to us. When we remember this vital truth, we are set to open our hearts to Jesus. As Saint Paul puts it, then no longer are we living; then Jesus is living in us.***** Then we humbly submit to the will of God; then we obediently allow Jesus to love our neighbor through us. Then the Kingdom of Heaven is right here, right now, in this very moment. Amen.
* Luke 2:16-21
** Matthew 3:12
*** Matthew 25:40
**** Matthew 28:20
***** Galatians 2:20
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem
and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.*
Upon reading this Gospel passage this morning, I pondered the approach that Mary took in her life. In this part of the Gospel we are told that Mary kept all these things in her heart. She kept them. She did not discard them. What things did she keep? What things did she not throw away? Among other things, she kept and cherished the knowledge she had of how God had abundantly blessed her and her husband Joseph.
When we keep awareness of God's blessings, we keep valuable jewels of wisdom which, properly used, lighten the burdens we carry. In contrast, so often we hang onto physical property which often weighs us down. Years after I acquired certain items of property, I realized I had only those articles of property once, or that I had never used those possessions at all. In retrospect I saw that I could have gotten rid of such things long before I did.
So often too we discard valuable insights which are given to us as gifts. We fail to recognize the true, abiding, lasting treasure contained in such pearls of wisdom. There have been times I have learned invaluable lessons, only to forget what I had learned.
We are called to continual discernment. We are called constantly to discern what we should keep and what we should discard. We should ask ourselves what we value and what we find of little or no enduring worth. We are called then to keep accordingly and likewise to discard.
God will sift us too, separating all of us from each other like wheat from chaff,** like fruitful, nourishing harvest from nutritionless, worthless waste material. We too should sift and sort in our own lives right now, discerning what to keep and what to discard, according to what will and what will not help us to love God and our neighbor.
As we discern, and consequently retain what benefits us and others, as well as reject what harms us and others, we will find that we have what we need and what others need. We will find what we need right in front of us. We will be nourished and in turn we will be equipped to nurture others.
I am led to share some circumstances from my day today which seem to illustrate this truth. In a blog post a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was about to go on vacation. A few days ago I returned from visiting my parents and my sister back east. I very much enjoyed visiting them. I've also enjoyed being back here in Redwood City, returning to the ministry here that I find fulfilling. I've enjoyed reconnecting with people here who I've missed.
Due to certain responsibilities here at the Catholic Worker House, I have to be here at the house most of today. Thus I've found myself wanting to spend time with people here in the larger community of Redwood City, but constrained from doing so due to duties here at the house. I'd been looking forward to seeing many of these warm, welcoming people in the wider community who I've come to know while living here.
So I felt as if God was answering my prayer this morning when the doorbell rang. Upon opening the door, I received a robust, energetic and warm greeting from someone I'll again call "Ben," a homeless man who periodically stops by here at the Catholic Worker House.
He shared with me how one day, upon returning to where his tent and the rest of his property had been, everything which had been there was gone. Yet he also related to me how he recently had his bicycle fixed, but didn't have to pay anything for the repairs, due to the generosity of the repair person. Later I considered how, in the midst of his disappointment over having lost almost all of his possessions, he kept in his heart how he had been treated to free repairs on his bicycle. In keeping the memory of this magnanimity in his heart, he cultivated seeds of gratitude in himself. Remaining grateful, he made a conscious choice how he would respond to his apparently unfortunate circumstances. Through his choice, God strengthened him.
As Ben was about to bicycle away, I thanked him. Missing him and others I've gotten to know here in the wider community of Redwood City, I was pleased he had stopped by the house here. He had made me feel better in the midst of my longing to see him and other people who I've come to cherish here. Despite his recent apparent misfortune, he was ministering to me. In the midst of his pain, he was the one showing love and comfort: he was implicitly consoling me through his very presence. I had called out to Jesus to comfort me, to come to me, to minister to me. In response, Jesus, who is in those who are least among us,*** came to my door in the homeless man who rang my doorbell.
Just as Jesus came to me, Jesus comes to Ben, and to each and every one of us. Soon before Ben bicycled away, I reminded him that Jesus always welcomes us to Him. I added that Jesus is always with us.****
God calls us to keep and cherish in our hearts the knowledge that He is always with us. When we hold onto this precious knowledge, we can recognize Him when He comes to us. When we remember this vital truth, we are set to open our hearts to Jesus. As Saint Paul puts it, then no longer are we living; then Jesus is living in us.***** Then we humbly submit to the will of God; then we obediently allow Jesus to love our neighbor through us. Then the Kingdom of Heaven is right here, right now, in this very moment. Amen.
* Luke 2:16-21
** Matthew 3:12
*** Matthew 25:40
**** Matthew 28:20
***** Galatians 2:20
No comments:
Post a Comment