We are to give of ourselves. We are to pour ourselves out for our neighbor. Out of love for our neighbor, we are to die to ourselves so our neighbor can more fully live. We are reminded of how we are called to such death and rebirth through how Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead for us. In emulating and following Jesus, we are to model such love for each other. I have seen a dear friend live out this love, throughout the whole time I have known him, and especially over the past year.
Yesterday I visited this dear friend. Years ago he asked me to address him as "Uncle," so here in this blog post I'll call him "Uncle." Uncle is much older than I am. He's the father of two friends of mine who were in college with me; I've known them for over twenty years. Since we've been good friends for so long, years ago they introduced me to their father, who is Uncle.
About nine months ago Uncle had a stroke. He has been slowly recovering from this stroke: he cannot speak; he can move much less than he used to move. He has been recuperating in long-term care facilities. I have been struck by his tenacity and his determination. Although he has faced significant challenges as he tries to regain his functioning, he has not been deterred.
He has not given up. He has kept trying to get better. Although his body is broken, still he gives of himself.
Jesus' body was broken for us. Jesus gave of Himself for our sakes.
Yesterday I visited this dear friend. Years ago he asked me to address him as "Uncle," so here in this blog post I'll call him "Uncle." Uncle is much older than I am. He's the father of two friends of mine who were in college with me; I've known them for over twenty years. Since we've been good friends for so long, years ago they introduced me to their father, who is Uncle.
About nine months ago Uncle had a stroke. He has been slowly recovering from this stroke: he cannot speak; he can move much less than he used to move. He has been recuperating in long-term care facilities. I have been struck by his tenacity and his determination. Although he has faced significant challenges as he tries to regain his functioning, he has not been deterred.
He has not given up. He has kept trying to get better. Although his body is broken, still he gives of himself.
Jesus' body was broken for us. Jesus gave of Himself for our sakes.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Today we especially honor how Jesus gave up His body and His blood for us.
When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, He broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, telling them, "This is My Body, given for you." With the cup of wine, He told them, "This is My Blood, poured out for you." As He gave them the bread and the cup, He instructed His disciples, "Do this in memory of me."* Thus we celebrate the Eucharist when we celebrate Mass.
Jesus has told us to do as he has done. Give yourself up for your neighbor.
Uncle is still giving of himself for the sake of his children and grandchildren. By facing physical pain and incapacitation with resolve and fortitude, he is showing his children and his grandchildren how to respond courageously to formidable challenges. In how he stays his course as he bravely grapples with his physical challenges, he is continuing to teach his children and his grandchildren about persistence, a labor of love to be honored today on Father's Day, and everyday.
Uncle is embracing the duty God has placed before him. Yesterday when I saw Uncle, I read to him an excerpt from "The Sacrament of the Present Moment" by Jean-Pierre de Caussade, which I felt he would find inspiring. In it, de Caussade asks us,
Is not a picture painted on a canvas by the application of one stroke of the brush at a time? Similarly the cruel chisel destroys a stone with each cut. But what the stone suffers by repeated blows is no less the shape the mason is making of it. And should a poor stone be asked, "What is happening to you?" it might reply, "Don't ask me. All I know is that for my part there is nothing for me to know or do, only to remain steady under the hand of my Master and to love Him and suffer Him to work out my destiny. It is for Him to know how to achieve this. I know neither what is best and most perfect, and I suffer each cut of the chisel as though it were the best thing for me, even though, to tell the truth, each one is my idea of ruin, destruction and defacement. But, ignoring all this, I rest contented with the present moment. Thinking only of my duty to it, I submit to the work of this skillful Master without caring to know what it is."
God calls us to the duty of the present moment. God seeks to shape us through means we would not have chosen on our own. God speaks to us in ways we don't expect.
I think of Father Bruno, one of the Camaldolese monks I met at the hermitage in Big Sur, and how he found encouragement in his monastic vocation in a way some might see as unlikely, as described in the book "Adam: God's Beloved" by Henri Nouwen. Once Father Bruno had stopped serving as prior, or head, of the monastic community in Big Sur, he took a sabbatical to help him to transition from holding authority to once again being a regular monk. During his three months away from the hermitage, Father Bruno stayed at one of the L'Arche homes for disabled people founded by Jean Vanier. While caring for a young intellectually disabled man named Adam at a L'Arche home, Father Bruno related how this disabled man, who essentially could not speak, was helping him to be a better monk. Father Bruno explained that he had known that he "had to become empty for God, gradually letting go of thoughts, emotions, feelings and passions" that prevent deep communion with God. Father Bruno described how silent Adam was helping him to delve into deeper solitude and thus deeper communion with God.
I think of Father Bruno, one of the Camaldolese monks I met at the hermitage in Big Sur, and how he found encouragement in his monastic vocation in a way some might see as unlikely, as described in the book "Adam: God's Beloved" by Henri Nouwen. Once Father Bruno had stopped serving as prior, or head, of the monastic community in Big Sur, he took a sabbatical to help him to transition from holding authority to once again being a regular monk. During his three months away from the hermitage, Father Bruno stayed at one of the L'Arche homes for disabled people founded by Jean Vanier. While caring for a young intellectually disabled man named Adam at a L'Arche home, Father Bruno related how this disabled man, who essentially could not speak, was helping him to be a better monk. Father Bruno explained that he had known that he "had to become empty for God, gradually letting go of thoughts, emotions, feelings and passions" that prevent deep communion with God. Father Bruno described how silent Adam was helping him to delve into deeper solitude and thus deeper communion with God.
We find encouragement in our relationship with God through people we don't expect, and through circumstances we don't expect. God speaks to us both through pleasure and through pain, both of which can help us to welcome God into our hearts.
When we encounter hardship, it might not seem like a blessing to us. In the moment, all we see and feel is our own misery. Yet we can come to realize that by pouring ourselves out for our neighbor, we can help our neighbor more fully live. If we embrace our suffering, we are well-positioned to love our neighbor. If we consciously embrace our afflictions so that others can live better, we can witness our pain being transformed into a sacrifice of love. A sacrifice lovingly given can bear beautiful fruit, which can be seen in how others come to love better through the example provided to them.
Once we see that our suffering can become an occasion for us to better love our neighbor, we come to see that God allows us to encounter adversity for our own good. And of course God allows us pleasure for our comfort. And so we can come to see God in all things. We can come to welcome ordeals once we see that God is working all for our good, if we just love Him.**
Realizing that God works all for the good of those who love Him, we come to thank God always.*** Seeing that God is always loving us, since God is love,**** we come to ever more open our hearts to God. Welcoming God as love, we welcome whatever God sends to us. Out of love, we welcome God into our hearts. Amen.
* Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20;
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
** Romans 8:28
*** 1 Thessalonians 5:18
**** 1 John 4:8,16
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