"There is a little boy here."

Here is the Flemish painter, Ambrosius Francken's (1544-1618) great painting depicting this well known Gospel scene — The Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes. There's a lot going on in the painting. Ambrosius has placed Jesus in the center — open-handed (a gesture of non-violence). He has a pleasant soft-smile and wears a beautiful, rose-colored outer mantle. And while eleven apostles are talking among themselves, we see this most important moment, Andrew, making an essential introduction: "There is a little boy here...." We see the boy with his five barley loaves and the two fish on a plate. It appears that the boy has unwrapped the bread for Jesus.

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. Jesus went up into the hills, and there sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said, to Phillip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a little boy here who has five  barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many? Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." John 6:1-10

I can well imagine Jesus saying to the boy, "What's your name? Thank you for sharing all you have." We know nothing about the little boy, but we can imagine that he told his mother he was going to hear Jesus, and so she sent him off with something to eat. He was in the right place at the right time, and Andrew had the clarity of mind to make the introduction. And so, a great thing happened.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day which read, The most radical thing we can do is introduce people to one another.  The word radical comes from the Latin radix = root. But an ugly darkness has overcome us these past few years. We are living in suspicion and fear of others. We're quick to assess and judge others. A great bitterness, fueled by conspiracy theories, has spread among us. There are even scenarios that the days following Election Day will be traumatic and violent. Some have called what's going on with us a "cold civil war," ready to burst into flame. People from other countries worry about us, feel embarrassed for us, let down by us. We are not a very United States these days. Our enemies are glad that we are unsettled and at each other. We need to re-discover the good and fundamental work of introducing people to one another. And not just for the sake of winning votes for our candidate. Sad that it's all been reduced to that.

I had a pastor who taught me the necessity of making introductions — an easy way for a pastor to build and enhance community. Sad to say, but Catholics don't get high marks in this regard. I know a young man who when he went away for his first year of college also started attending daily mass in the nearby cathedral. After one year he stopped and said to me, "I went to the noon Mass everyday, and after a year not one person had come near me to say hello or to introduce themselves." I once suggested from the pulpit that we periodically change the pew we sit in week after week, year after year, sometimes for a lifetime, as it would give us a chance to meet new people. You would have thought I had denied the Eucharistic Presence the rejection of the idea was so visceral. Discouraging, really.

A great wonder happened because Andrew made an introduction. Divinity broke in through a human introduction. Want to be a radical — deeply rooted in the gospel? This week, why don't we do something about making introductions — and not just in church. Time is short — let's get past all the excuses.

 

"Hate Has No Home Here" ~ And The Catholic Front Lawn

 

I'm seeing this multilingual sign on front lawns in some places these days. May it signal brighter days ahead. "Hate Has No Home Here." Perhaps it reflects that folks are frustrated and tired of the bitterness that has long afflicted us as a nation, and which seems to have found fresh support and expression more recently. This country has a real black/brown problem. I feel a tremendous disappointment when I detect it among Christians.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.  This I command you, to love one another. John 15: 9-17

I believe that all Christians (myself very much included) like to keep an eye on the back door — an escape route from one or another of the high bar of Jesus' expectations. I've had people say to me, "Oh Father, I don't hate anyone," as if hate means, "I want you dead." But that's not the definition of hate. Hate is simply strong feelings against the other. There's a lot of hate around these days. 

Catholics often place a statue of the Virgin Mary on their front lawns. Why not? But might I suggest getting one of these Hate Has No Home Here signs and putting it on the lawn (next to Virgin Mary if she is already there). I mean, Mary is the one who gave us the One who says stop the hate. What a witness! Imagine, every Catholic home in the nation announcing — For our part, no more hate.

Intercessions ~ Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First baby born in the Jewish New Year ~ Jerusalem

The Jewish New Year is being celebrated these days,/ followed by liturgical feasts of repentance,/ reflection and new action./ We join these brothers and sisters in faith,/ asking for gifts of peace,/ safety and health./ We pray to the Lord.

In early October in Assisi,/ as Pope Francis will deliver his letter on social friendship,/ the world is experiencing great storms of war,/ poverty,/ migration,/ climate change,/ racial tension,/economic and political crises./ We pray for the healing of North-South,/ rich-poor divides,/ and the many ways in which people are differentiated,/ denigrated and excluded./ We pray to the Lord.

A huge fire has destroyed a camp of nearly 13,000 Syrian and Afghan migrants on the Isle of Lesbos in Greece./ The people are without toilets,/ medicine,/ food or water./ Four thousand are children./ Four hundred are unaccompanied children./ We pray for them/ and any who are working to relieve their suffering./ We pray to the Lord.

Terrible fires continue to burn in California,/ Oregon and Washington State./ We pray for those who have lost everything./ For those who are missing or who have died,/ mindful that firefighters are among the dead./ For those who are fighting this environmental disaster/ and for the healing of our wasted planet./ We pray to the Lord.

More than 204,000 people have died of Coronavirus in our country alone./ We pray for them and their relatives and friends./ Again we pray for doctors,/ nurses and all who work in hospitals and labs./ We pray for those who take no precautions to protect themselves or others,/ who call this pandemic a hoax./ We pray to the Lord.

May Election Day and Night be peaceful,/ without violence,/ threat,/ suspicion or fear./ We pray to elect people across to nation,/ who are decent,/ honest,/ and committed to service,/ rather than power and money./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the health and restoration of family and friends,/ mindful of those who are stressed,/worried,/ depressed or sad../ We pray to the Lord.

How I Am loved ~ "Just as I am"

 

I've left this icon quite large so we can see and appreciate its details. The icon is titled variously — Mother of God ~ Sweet Kiss, or Tender Mercy, or Loving Kindness. Perhaps the image is known by various names because it is so packed with beauty we have trouble describing it. How blessed we are to have this computer image of the icon, protected by the monks of the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece.

The Mother of God wears a red-brown maphorion. She is of the earth — one of and with us. The Infant Christ sits in the space created by her supportive left arm. Their closeness is expressed cheek-to-cheek but also in the enfolding of hands. Jesus is no cuddly, pudgy baby, but a little man — he is always the Lord. The iconographer has decorated the Holy Child's white tunic. His mantle radiates divine energies. While the Mother of God looks out at us, she also looks beyond us. The Child doesn't look at his Mother, as we might expect, but at each of us and all of us. Having us in mind, both figures have pleasant expressions.

An icon is not a sentimental holy card to be admired. An icon is not meant for the museum, to gaze at fleetingly as we walk by. An icon's message is, "Stop," "Be still," "Enter here." And as I gaze, the outward looking Holy Child, seems to say to me — "This is how you are loved - with a sweet kiss, with tender mercy - with loving kindness. Believe it."

But not a few people will have a hard time accepting this. They feel they have to be someone else to be loved. Perhaps they were raised in negativity, addiction, abuse or failed religion, and feel themselves to be spiritually un-evolved or self-hating. Do you remember the hymn sung at the end of each Billy Graham Crusade — "Just as I am, without one plea...." I am loved by heaven, "Just as I am..." This is the invitation of the Glykophilousa Mother of God. Come before the icon, just to be there in this accepting presence.

I am loved by God in Christ and his Mother, just as I am. We don't have to pass a theology exam to be loved. We don't have to be white, heterosexual males to be loved. We don't have to earn an A+ in following the rules to be loved. There is no interview or checklist. We don't have to live like nuns and monks live to be loved. We don't have to be Christians - even Catholic Christians - to be loved. But try this prayer before the icon, even if you feel doubts as you say the words. Along the way, make your own additions or changes. Slow, slow. Don't admire the icon, but enter it. Breathe in front of it. The icon is about you, about me. Yes, it's that personal.

I love myself as I am - impatient and moody.

I love myself as I am - confused.

I love myself as I am - needy.

I love myself as I am - hurting.

I love myself as I am - feeling guilty.

I love myself as I am - ill at ease.

I love myself as I am - wishy-washy.

I love myself as I am - resentful.

I love myself as I am - self-absorbed.

I love myself as I am - sick and tired.

I love myself as I am - raised in dysfunction.

I love myself as I am - worn out.

I love myself as I am - fearful.

I love myself as I am - feeling invisible.

I love myself as I am - self-doubting.

I love myself as I am - full of dread.

I love myself as I am - inconsistent.

I love myself as I am - complaining.

I love myself as I am - discomforted.

I love myself as I am - a bucket of tears.

I love myself as I am -

Psalm 73 ~ A Psalm of Disappointment and Hope

 

The psalmist has in mind the sacking of Jerusalem, when the population was carted off by the Babylonians in a second slavery. But clearly, what's most on his mind is the destruction of the Temple, which he describes in vivid terms.  The great doors of the temple were set upon by hatchet, axes and pickaxe. The sanctuary has been set on fire. The place razed and profaned. 

The other thing very much on the psalmist's mind is how God could seemingly just stand by and let it happen. Maybe to lay a little guilt trip on God, he spends a lot of time reminding God, based on their relationship in the past, that God should be much more proactive. He seems to say to God, "Your own house is destroyed and you seem to be doing nothing about it. What gives?"

When I'm working with a psalm I tend to look at a number of different translations. Sometimes the translations are very close, while at other times I wonder if I've got the numbering right, the translations seem to have nothing to do with each other. The why of those disparities doesn't especially interest me. I'm more interested in the discovery of a word that jumps out and offers me some new spiritual insight. A soul-quickening word.

The Grail Translation of verse 21 which I've read here, says: "Do not let the oppressed return disappointed." We can all identify with that verse as we all know disappointment in way way or another. The photograph above is of tombstones in a Jewish cemetery that have been pushed over and broken. We can imagine the disappointment of family members or cemetery visitors when they witnessed this oft repeated scene. We can be disappointed in people we don't even know. 

Failure in school - disappointing. A ruined trip or vacation - disappointing. When I was 11 years old the nun took me aside and told me that I had disappointed her. That was awful. Spouses and friends can disappoint. Parents and children can disappoint each other. Leadership in government can disappoint. Clergy and parishioners can disappoint each other.

In Psalm 73 the psalmist is disappointed because the temple has been torn down, the city plundered and the people taken away. But I'd suggest the psalm is still relevant, as there are other temples that are attacked, destroyed and left in ruins today. A disappointed dream or hope can be like a ruined temple. There are lots of synonyms for disappointed:

I'm disappointed in those who knew of the cleric's abuse-sins against young people and looked the other way, while he was promoted time and time again, all the way up to cardinal. 

I'm disheartened when I meet people who identify as pro-life, whose vision is noble, but very small — who support the science that proves the baby in the womb is human, but all other science is a hoax, especially climate change science, which is the most life-threatening science of all.

I feel depressed when I hear Christians excuse the foul behaviour of leaders. 

I'm discouraged by elected officials who use their office for self-interest, to make money or garner privileges for themselves, their families and those in their orbit. 

I'm disillusioned when I encounter Americans who refuse to make the simplest sacrifice to protect others, who have turned mask-wearing into a political statement. An UBER driver said, "You watch, after Election Day, everyone will take off their masks." Could we really have become so cynical?

I feel dispirited when Christian religionists reduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ to who's in and who's out; who's saved and who's lost. When dogma divides. 

I'm saddened by the signs of our devolution — persistent racism as ugly as anything I heard in the 1950's, our celebration of violence, arrogant pride, consumerist greed, disrespect and emboldened white supremacist nationalism. There's even news which seems to threaten and encourage menace and violence on Election Day. I'm saddened by that. 

I'm distressed when I see Christians wear the slogan, "Make America Great Again," while they have something in mind other than God's idea of greatness, which is justice, mercy, humility and love. Our spiritual evolution is very low. "Law and Order, law and order." But there's only one law and order - Christ's law and order, which is his law of love. Distressing that we don't make these connections.

I belong to a neighborhood shade tree commission. I meet people who won't allow a tree to be planted in front of their homes, on the little strip of grass along the sidewalk, because, they say, "When the tree gets big it can fall over on my neighbor's car and then I'll get sued." I'm troubled by self-centered fearful thinking. They'll be dead before the tree is big enough to fall on someone's car. 

I'm dismayed by what I consider to be an idolatrous protection of gun rights in our country — needing an AR-15? Even after an entire class of first graders was murdered?!  God will set that right some day.

I feel downhearted when people who should know better, weaken the fabric of our society, giving poor example by their shameless lies, name-calling, vanity and aggressive bullying. 

Like a ruined temple.

But towards the end, the psalmist predictably shifts gears, confident in God, moving into the future with God. "Arise, O God..." I want to pray that way too, but from a Christic heart ~

O Jesus, remember the night when you were born and the angels dazzled the shepherds with light and heavenly song. Arise, O Christ! Dazzle us again, entice us with a new heavenly song, drawing new depths of love out this dark night confounding us.

O Jesus, remember when you called Zacchaeus out of the tree and he came down to welcome you in conversion, repentance and welcome. Arise, O Christ! Call us out of the gnarled tree of our pride, down to where we can see rightly the lonely ones, the frightened ones, those running for their lives, to give them comfort and hope.

O Jesus, remember when you cleaned the diseased skin of the pathetic, outcast leper and sent him off happy and restored to right relationship. Arise, O Christ! Clean the national heart of  divisive hatred, all the blow-away-judging of who's different — who's not like me.

O Jesus, remember when you entered the upstairs room through locked doors at Easter and said to the apostles, "Peace be with you." Arise, O Christ! Pass through the shuttered doors of human minds, locked up in fear, aggression and even stupidity. Grow us up, Jesus, by your Resurrection Light.  Amen.

Intercessions ~ Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

The California and Oregon wildfires have consumed more than three million acres of forest./ Firefighters and civilians have been killed./ Dozens of people are missing./ Homes,/ businesses/and countless animals have been lost./ Thousand year old redwood trees have been destroyed./ Water tables are now polluted./ We ask for the awakening we need to save ourselves and our planet./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the many who are sick with coronavirus/ and for those who generously and bravely help them./ For those who mourn the dead./ We pray boldly for those who are not being helpful, /but who selfishingly disregard even the simplest ways of caring for others during this time of sickness./We pray to the Lord.

There are heads of state and even some in church positions today,/ who are failing the people,/ spinning lies,/ promoting fear,/ chaos,/ suspicion and doubt./ We ask for Christ's light/ in a time of deep darkness./ We pray to the Lord.

One author writes,/ "It is easier to move a mountain than to change a human heart."/ We ask for the new heart of Christ,/ compassionate,/ merciful,/ truthful and kind./ We pray to the Lord.

As autumn begins,/ we remember the American essayist and naturalist,/ Henry David Thoreau/ who shares that in September,/ he would walk half a mile out of his way to witness a maple tree turned scarlet./ The planet loses three trillion trees a year./ May we treasure God's gifts./ We pray to the Lord.

Monday is the Feast of St. Matthew,/ apostle and evangelist./ Grant that we would know and love Christ's Sermon on the Mount which Matthew gives us,/ especially Christ's mandate to break the cycles of violence,/ to forgive/ and to pray for our enemies./ We pray to the Lord.

Are you wondering what to do?

 

This icon of Jesus' face was painted by Father Gregory Krug (1908-1969). There's an excellent article about Father Krug's life that can be accessed at the bottom of the page here. 

There are only a handful of Father Krug's icons still in existence. Many were lost, given away to friends or visitors. Painted on and with poor materials, even cardboard, the icons that remain are deteriorating. Living through the awful deprivation of the Second World War, suffering famine, poverty, stomach cancer, depression and mental instability, having been committed to an asylum and left to starve by the Nazis who deemed him useless, Father Krug's icons convey a tremendous sensitivity to suffering persons.

But what a grace that Father Krug discovered icon painting as a way to healing. His icon faces convey a deep interior life, marked by tenderness and sadness without sentimentality. He painted the icons of a small chapel for Russian children who were orphaned during the Second World War. In one of those orphanage icons, Jesus is seen holding a rolled up scroll. This is significant as he wanted the children to meet Jesus who asked nothing from them, who only wanted to bless them. 

How easily we're side tracked as adults - believing that Jesus asks monumental things of us. "Love one another," (Jn13:34), "I call you friends," (Jn15:15), Jesus said. Christians often make Jesus into a tiresome lawyer. In my boyhood catechism, Jesus looked disappointed, as if my six-year-old sins weighed him down. In this icon, Father Krug has shown us only the face and shoulders of Christ. He wants us to be totally focused and undistracted. But notice while Jesus looks out at us full-face, his eyes are diverted to his left. He is looking for us in the margins — where where we lose joy, optimism, confidence and hope.

One news commentator said recently, speaking metaphorically about the present state of things in our nation, "We need aloe for our burns."  

Not sure of what we are to do, aware of the the sickness, the poison, the anxiety, the burns? Might I suggest something new? Mark this blog-page, and each morning (if even for ten minutes) sit in silence before this icon of Jesus Christ. You might even place yourself before the icon, a little off center, where Christ's gaze can fall on you. Perhaps bring to mind that inner place you might identify as off in the margins. Divorced and remarried people, gay people, people of color, the poor, often feel themselves to be off and ignored in the margins. What about you? Me? You might imagine that you are, in your own way, one with them. Feel the solidarity, if you can or care to. Lastly, don't run away if you start to feel uncomfortable. Many of us (maybe all of us) need to be healed inwardly if we are ever to become full human persons.

The healing of the country's current sickness, our national chaos, the deep malaise, hatred and division that have overtaken us of late, will not be healed by a candidate's promises and our vote, however important that is, but by our own personal restoration and renewal. Gregory Krug found his inner healing by painting icons. We might find our own healing in gazing at them.

Read more about Fr. Gregory Kroug. Click here.

Intercessions ~ Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

September 19 recalls the night when German bombs destroyed the Medieval city of Reims in 1914,/ damaging this famous, smiling Angel Gabriel of the Annunciation./ May we evolve in every truly human way,/ leaving behind the stupidity and sinful waste of war./ May we not lose our ability to smile./ We pray to the Lord.

Today is Grandparents Day./ While remembering our own,/ whether living or deceased,/ we pray for grandparents who have been abandoned or forgotten,/ who are sick,/ unwanted,/ afraid,/ or who have been left behind in disasters or wars./ We pray to the Lord. 

Huge fires continue to burn across California,/ leaving unfathomable acres of forest destroyed,/ homes and property lost./ Another environmental disaster,/ we pray for those who fight fires,/ for those who suffer loss,/ for the broken-hearted./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for Pope Francis,/ who on October 3,/  at the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy,/ will sign his next encyclical,/ Brothers and Sisters All,/ inviting the world to a restart of reconciliation,/ healing and solidarity,/ in a world exhausted with sickness and suffering of many kinds./ We pray to the Lord.

With more than 190,000 covid deaths in our own country,/ we pray to wake up to taking care of ourselves,/ our relatives,/ friends/ and all with whom we have contact./ Jesus invites us to love one another,/ may be we healed of all resistance,/ especially of the bitter kind./ We pray to the Lord.

People in leadership are often tempted to power abuse./ We pray for the conversion of heads of state who run their countries like a family business,/ who spread darkness and division,/ who lack kindness and compassion./ For our own country as Election Day approaches./ We pray to the Lord.

The Dealbreaker Verses

 

27 "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even  sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love  your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:27-36

This is a photograph taken of a Mass offered in a makeshift sanctuary in Nagasaki, Japan shortly after the dropping of an atomic bomb on that Catholic city three days after a similar bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in August of 1945. The partial shell of the Cathedral of St. Mary is seen in the background. The church was crowded with people going to confession in anticipation of the Feast of the Assumption a few days later.  A Christian country dropped the most devastating bomb on the civilians of a Christian city. So, the forgiveness-teaching of Jesus goes much further and deeper than, "I forgive you for telling a lie about me." "I forgive you for bumping my car."   

These verses begin the next section of St. Luke's version of St. Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. Luke's version is titled, The Sermon on the Plain. Jesus begins by going down to a level place, emphasizing the non-discriminating, equalizing nature of his teaching. If the Christians lived this teaching it would turn the world upside down. Allow me to say a few things — ask some hard questions of us. 

Who is this teaching for? The first verse tells us, "To you that listen." Do I?  One author says it's easier to move a mountain than to change a heart. A lot of people are listening only to themselves and their like-minded friends. They live in what's being called an echo-chamber.

What's clear to us at once is that Jesus doesn't allow revenge or getting even. It's interesting to me — when we think of what Jesus doesn't allow, we think of a long list of sexual things. Jesus doesn't have much to say about any of that. But here, right out of the gate, he is emphatic — plain and clear — revenge and hate are simply not allowed. We might let that sink in for a moment.

Verse 29 is famous turn-the-other-cheek mandate. Being hit in the face is a very violent act. The Christian is supposed to break the cycles of violence. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," isn't Christian. It's in the Hebrew Scriptures as a means to put a cap on violence. But Jesus goes beyond that and says, "no violence." We're to break the cycles of violence. I can't think of a Christian country that has embraced that teaching. In fact, the most well-known Christian countries, the empire (or wanna be empire) countries have been the worst offenders. Many of us have been taught our history poorly or wrongly.

But then, notice as soon as Jesus tells us we must break the cycles of violence, in the very same breath he starts talking about holding onto possessions. Our holding onto possessions spawns violence. This is the real stumbling block for Christians. We're the Christians with the greatest wealth. An hour of television with commercials and we understand we're being told this constantly. Even the slogan, "Make America Great Again" — what's that really about?  Everyday on the news we're told about the stock market breaking new records, even though most Americans aren't invested in the stock market. A president is popular because he "makes the economy strong." It simply doesn't resonate with the teaching of Jesus. We may try to twist things around — some Christians even propose a "prosperity gospel." In every religion there are people who look for the back door.

And big fights (even wars) take place because the prestige and power that comes with wealth, needs to be secured.Why are we so interested in outer space? Might we be hoping to find minerals which translate into money. Or searching under what's left of the arctic and antarctic ice. We grade the ocean floor for endless miles to scoop up gold and other precious minerals. This grading sends up huge plumes of silt which travel further along ocean currents before dropping down — suffocating coral reefs and degrading vast places where fish and sea animals live and spawn. There is no end to our greed, our materialism, our destructive grasping and clutching.

I might re-read these nine gospel verses not simply for myself, but for my nation. A country isn't a Christian country because there's a "Church Street" running down the middle of every town. Even the placement of churches in many American towns is about money, power and prestige — one church trying to be taller and more imposing than the others. Notice where the Catholic churches are in some towns — the protestant churches built on prominent corners, the Catholics having been given land to build a church off on a side street. Or conversely, the Catholic Church sitting sideways on the top of a hillside street, fortress-like, as if to say to the Jews, "Come no further." 

In these few verses Jesus lets us know that violence is intimately linked to our love of possessions. In England it is said, "To be alive is to go shopping." Well of course, that's true here too and iconic of this is these storage bins that have popped up all over the place. So many people in the world (even in America) are homeless, and we have enough storage bins that if lined up end to end they would traverse the continent. Homeless people in a nation that houses stuff! 

So I'm calling these verses the deal breakers. They are thoroughly inconvenient lines. A Russian friend told me that after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, the newly freed churches and monasteries started to experience a building frenzy (the government of course, paying for all of it as reparations for seventy years of death and destruction). Now nearly everyone seems to be Russian Orthodox. But my friend told me that people have simply switched parties — they had been good Soviets and now they were Orthodox. But here it seems we've gone the other way round — we've never tried the real teachings of Jesus in humility and honest rigor (we've settled for being nice) and made our political party into our real religion. I'm most disappointed in those Christians who propose themselves as the back-to basics-Christians, but who have essentially just switched parties. The political slogans we display on trucks, lawns and caps are our real gospel verses. The podiums with power-seals in front of rows and rows of flags; the new pulpits. The rallies; the new sabbath-worship. The favorite politicians or TV/radio talk show hosts (and their supportive cast of talking heads); our real high priests. The party platform (whatever that is); the new dogma. Wearing the flag as lapel pin, neck tie or T-shirt; the new vestment. 

A country isn't Christian because we win the fight to put up the Christmas manger in a public space. A country isn't Christian because we have the Ten Commandments placed prominently in stone outside the courthouse or print In God We Trust on the money, or say one nation under God in the pledge to the flag. Rather, a country is Christian when it possesses Jesus' strikingly new idea of relationships, when it stops trying to solve problems with violence and force, when it stops oppressing some people, when it gets a new idea of itself apart from owning and accumulating things. In addressing the nation the sad night of September 11, 2001, the president gave voice to the question, "What are we to do now?" He answered his own question: "Go shopping,"  he said. 

"Joy of All That Sorrow"

 

There's a lot going on in this busy icon titled, "Joy of All That Sorrow."  The Mother of God is depicted standing on a slightly raised platform around which crowds of people offer their prayers, written on scrolls and presented by angels. The prayers being sent up say, "Visit and help us in old age and sickness," "Help those who suffer from cold and nakedness," "Give nourishment to the hungry," "Be with us in our traveling." That's okay, of course, but I'd suggest these prayers are rather generic, while St. Paul writes:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7

We might keep this icon nearby, and in our gazing-prayer imagine ourselves offering scroll-prayers expressive of "everything" in our own situation and time — our own national, cultural, ecclesial and global need. Perhaps scrolls that read something like these:

"Strengthen and protect the health care workers.' 

"Convert the indifferent and the cavalier."

"Bring order out of our cultural chaos."

"Give clean hearts to the politicians."

"Fresh vision to the clergy."

"Joy to the mourners and the suffering."

"Turn the bitter heart."

"Heal the gun lust."

"The bullying, blaming, name-callers."

"Soften stony hearts."

"Fill the greed-spawning emptiness."

"Cure the national anxiety."

"Bless the helpers; the restorers of calm."

"May we get our racial house in order."

"Grow me up in a new Christ-mind."

Notice that the Mother of God stands in a fanciful garden — a supra-real, blooming garden of great beauty (even sun and moon participate). I don't want to be an admirer, but to accept the invitation to enter this enchanted garden of wonder, life and light, where I may suspend my everyday concerns of shopping, cleaning, business (busyness), endless talking, and to enter a childlike world of humble simplicity and joy. The priest-monk Gabriel Bunge has said:

"A believer is not a gloomy type waiting for the end of the world (Apocalypse) but a rejoicing one. He (she) is optimistic about life, the world, people. No matter what." 

The word "gloomy" doesn't appear until the late 16th century. Shakespeare used gloomy to describe the woods. Gloomy aptly describes not a few Christians: dark, depressing, displeased, dim, unhappy, without hope, not expecting any good in persons. These Christians unknowingly deny the Incarnation — that all the world is sacred — that God, rather than disdaining and condemning our world, ping-ing us off into a black hole of punishment and loss, has gone to a great deal of trouble to be with us in healing, encouragement and the invitation to love. Once I get this — really down-deep get this, everything is fresh and different.

Intercessions ~ Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

At the start of September,/ we pray for those who celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance./ We ask for gifts of health,/ safety,/ peace and growth in goodness./ We pray to the Lord.

These are days of sickness,/ death,/ economic and personal suffering for many./ We pray boldly for the restoration and strengthening of hope./ We pray to the Lord.

This Labor Day weekend,/ we pray for the many who are unemployed these days,/ whose businesses have closed,/ who are suffering food or housing insecurity./ For those around the world whose work is  dangerous,/ dirty or degrading./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the students,/ teachers and staff/ who are returning to school these days./ At one rally recently people booed when the announcement was made requiring masks./ May we grow in love/ and learn the wisdom of caring for others./ We pray to the Lord.

Patriot Day is Friday,/ September 11,/ a day of tribute to the nearly three thousand people who died this day nineteen years ago./ We pray for those who were injured/ or who still mourn the loss of loved ones./ We pray for those whose health is compromised for their work on the pile in the subsequent weeks and months./We pray to the lord.

As Election Day approaches,/ we ask for leaders who will work for the good of all,/who can listen and learn,/ who pander to no one,/ who are free of money and power interests,/ whose Pro-Life claim is most broad and encompassing./ We pray to the Lord.

Keen Vision

"If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, the quickest of us walk about well wadded with stupidity." George Eliot