August Recap, and Spiritual Hygiene

The Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 30, 2009

The Word:
Deuteronomy 4:1-8 (The Israelites are handed the Law: "Do not add to what I command you nor subtract from it")
Psalm 15:2-5 (The just will live in the presence of the Lord)
James 1:17-27 (What A Christian Does, Revisited: "Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you")
Mark 7:1-23 ("...Things that come out from within are what make unclean")

And - James 5:1-20 (What A Christian Gives)

Over the course of my life, the month of August has mirrored the spectrum of emotion - all the way from the extroverted frivolity of Mardi Gras to the introspective desert of Lent. Named for an ancient Roman emperor, Augustus, who likened himself to a god (as is July, named for Julius Caesar - the two months inserted into the Western calendar), it has reminded me of late of how artificial, vain, and unreal the "real" world can be.

When I was in grade school, the new academic year began the day after Labor Day - somewhere between the 2nd and the 9th of September. Suddenly, and without so much as a "welcome back", school started shortly after August 20.

The weather in Chicago this past month went from the hottest day of the summer (95 degrees on 8/2) to among the coolest (65 degrees today) in a summer that basically ended before it started.

In Europe, August is seen as a month-long holiday. Here in America, August is the single month to which no holiday is assigned. (While there are no legal holidays in March or April, schools take "Spring Break" in March and Good Friday/Easter occurs at either the tail end of March or in April.)

Earl passed away July 30; his memorial service was on August 8. Since then I have been called to sing at four Catholic funerals. Among all that was the coming and passing of my first son nineteen years ago.

My wife and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary quietly - and still managed, like so many others, to get caught up in the train wreck that is The Real Housewives of (fill in the blank), and wondering how long Jon and Kate Gosselin (estranged parents of eight) will take potshots at each other in the media before the reality of what they have become cancels their "reality" TV series.

My mother was released from a five-day hospital stay - but she didn't get to go home. Instead, she is now in a convalescent care center (nursing home) to continue to manage physical therapy, aggravated by Parkinson's Disease.

I went to visit her the other day, after work. My dad was there with her. They were preparing a bulk mailing, putting address labels and stamps on newsletters. (Dad called it "occupational therapy.") I sense my dad's frustration, and yet he is there, managing to do something other than watch time pass. One friend of my mom's also happens to be a resident of the same nursing home. She was in the room with my mom and dad and me. She thinks she's going home soon, and kept mentioning it while I was visiting. But there's little doubt in my mind that the three of us agree, this woman isn't likely to be leaving the nursing home anytime soon. My mom's got a better chance of getting released before her, and I don't think Mom's going to be going anywhere for at least a couple of months.

People who minister to the sick, the elderly, and the bereaved have to shield themselves (think in terms of an invisible plexiglass enclosure) from the reality they see. This doesn't mean we are indifferent; nor do we ignore those to whom we minister. But it means having a firm support system in place. It means having a compassionate partner, spouse, or network of friends and colleagues with whom to share and debrief.

It's also very important to see that you've tuned up your spiritual engine. Prayer becomes more than a wish list, as well it should be. It becomes more than the hymns you sing or the sermon to which you did your best to hear.

The Word this weekend touches on all this.

Moses was about to "lay down the Law" as the Israelites came to the threshold of the Promised Land. Of particular note was that the Law as God gave it was rather complete - nothing was to be added to it or removed from it. The apostle James knew that there were differences in interpretation among believers, and sought - in simplest and clearest terms - to instruct the community toward progressing, rather than in idle speculation.

Jesus gives us yet another paradox, and that brings us to the "Signs for Our Times":



It is interesting to note that as we leave the Bread of Life Discourse that when the miracle of the feeding of the multitudes took place, no mention was made of anybody washing anything. We return to Mark's account to find a complaint lodged against Jesus and his disciples as they didn't go through the ritual of washing every last thing before sitting down to eat. Obviously washing had become more than just the tribal knowledge that doing so was important to prevent disease.

Jesus responds by saying that his (and God's) sense of cleanliness is holistic. Further, if the mind and spirit are not clean, the state of the body is meaningless.

With all the attention paid to washing hands to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, with all the bitterness and anger being exchanged in town hall meetings across America "discussing" the "public option" in health care reform, this passage is indeed timely. If our leisure time is packed with Internet "What (fill in the blank) Are You?" surveys and waiting for the next celebrity wannabe to fall, are we not akin to another icon of ancient Rome, as spectators watching true Christians being thrown to the lions? Or Emperor Nero, playing his violin as the city of Rome burned?

There is a free "public option" for our spiritual health. It's available 24/7. It's called prayer.

Whether it is the recitation of common prayer, reflection on Scripture, or a few quiet moments pouring out your heart to God - these are our first and most important steps to remedy our ailments. Ultimately, if we are willing, we will be able to offer up virtually everything we do as prayer.

I have my moments. I'm no better at life than most of you. Lately I have understood the necessity of holistic cleansing in my life, and have renewed my commitment to do so, with prayer as a necessary step. Prayer for what I need. Prayer for what others need. Prayer to understand that my priorities are not necessarily God's.

Prayer works. It may not bring about the results you envision, but that does not mean it doesn't work. Sometimes that prayer is meant to help you stay on track, as it were, when the results don't meet the miracle.

In summary, Common Sense and the Law of God strongly recommend that you Pray Always...before leaving this room to resume work.

The Servant of Servants

April 8, 2009
Today's Word:
Isaiah 50:4-9 (Third Song of the Servant revisited: "The Lord has given me a well-trained tongue")
Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31-34 (I have become an outcast to my brothers...because zeal for your house consumes me)
Matthew 26:14-25 (Judas is paid thirty pieces of silver to lead the authorities to a place where Jesus can be arrested)

I'm posting a little ahead as I am taking the family this Wednesday morning to the Holy Hill shrine in Wisconsin.

The visit serves a multitude of purposes. As a purported place of miraculous healing, we are making an offering and prayer that the place will continue to offer hope to the many who visit, as did Brother Jesse, to whom I am indebted for introducing me to the place. For me, it is also a pilgrimage of prayer and meditation on the sacred events that will be celebrated by the Church over the next four days. It is also a chance to get away from home, something that's not easy to do for many reasons. We are being blessed with fair, seasonal weather for the day which will be welcome. The drive there would not be as pleasant under a fresh coating of ice or snow, both of which are all too possible for April. I hope to have something to share upon my return.

We are returned today to the third song of the Servant; it was also part of the Palm Sunday readings. The reading combined with the excerpts from Psalm 69 prompt me to think about the indelible character cast on the spirit of those receiving Holy Orders; and I will extend this to include the ministers of Christian churches beyond Catholicism.

After I was ordained, there was a marked change in the way people who knew me approached me. My colleagues in music ministry treated me differently than they had in the past. I didn't think I had changed - while music had been moved to the back seat, as it were, I hadn't stopped singing. Indeed, both priests under whom I served actively urged me to continue to do it as time permitted.

People have this preconceived notion of how they expect ministers to be. In some ways, you enter into ministry and you presumably fit a non-existent mold; or at least the uniform. But what happens when you don't fit? And how long does it take before you realize you don't, let alone convince others in a good way that you're not supposed to?

I'm sure there is many a frustrated priest or minister who had high hopes when they began, only to wonder if it's all worth the myriad of administrative tasking that can go with the job. It's stressful, and gets in the way of the very message that they believe God wanted them to deliver. Although I was not in an administrative role, I saw quite clearly what it can do to good people. And how it affects them as leaders ultimately affects the rest of us.

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I mentioned in a recent post that I had somehow made a few enemies through little of my own doing. While I became conscious of it, and wondered who they were and why they felt that way (something over which I was mystified at the time), I also had several supporters. These came mainly from the more senior members of the parish; the ladies and men who would make it to daily Mass and volunteered in many background areas of service, like cleaning and decorating the church. A couple of them in particular I would always enjoy engaging in conversation. They were retired, and I saw them as modern day prayer warriors.

Now the term 'prayer warrior' is not something you hear in Catholic circles; this would seem to be more of a thing you'd hear in evangelical or pentecostal circles. But praying is what these people did. And they prayed ceaselessly - out of devotion, out of thanksgiving; for their families and loved ones in any and all walks of life; for anything and every good thing under the sun and the Son. They prayed in words, and they prayed through the work for which they volunteered.

I acknowledge that I recognized this - not due to the desire to 'answer the call' and undergo all the training that ultimately led me to ordination. I mean, as an ordained minister I recognized this almost immediately - but I would have likely realized it anyway; it would simply have taken a little longer. These few were 'wholly devoted" as Steven Curtis Chapman might write; they 'got it' as Pastor Paul might say. Even if they didn't fully 'get it', they were well on their way without any outside help.

They are one of the reasons I am drawn to make the pilgrimage to Holy Hill. It's something any of them might love to do, and for all I know, maybe they did; and maybe they didn't...and maybe they didn't have to.

I will thank God that he has given me a 'well-trained tongue' in the ability and desire to share my journey in faith, with the hope that it may encourage anyone who might happen by to read. I will commit myself once more to see the sacred in all things, thus tearing down personal walls of separation. I want to pick up where these wonderful people might have left off in life. I will pray for people I've never met whose needs may be unknown to anyone but God. And I hope that in doing so, that Divine Power will direct my steps ever more fully to being the best I can be in everything I do.

Forgiveness and Commitment

Today's Word:
Daniel 9:4b-10 (Daniel's prayer asking forgiveness for the people of Israel after the Dispersion)
Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13 (Remember not against us the iniquities of the past)
Luke 6:36-38 ("The measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you")

I stared at this set of readings off and on yesterday afternoon. Even this morning, as I knew the time was coming to prepare this post, I had writer's block.

There is the obvious connection regarding one of Lent's key themes: forgiveness. I said that at the beginning and I'll hold on to it. Understanding and acting on forgiveness and its related theme of mercy are my two biggest goals in this holy season; if indeed these can be considered 'goals' and if indeed I would have any such goal.

Anyone I've talked to for any length of time knows that when I talk of that expanse of real estate known as the Middle East, I tend to mention that this part of the world has been fought over perhaps more than any other part of the planet. In our 21st Century geopolitical mindset the reasons for the constant conflict may have become lost, but somebody somewhere has always fought for control of the region.

Daniel's prayer comes at a time between the reign of King David and the birth of Jesus, about 600 BCE. The kingdom of Israel established by David and continued by Solomon had split in two and ultimately fallen apart, to have been taken over by the Babylonians. Once a general peace is established, King Darius will allow the dispersed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

But the more meaningful of the readings is today's Gospel. If you don't want to be judged or condemn, then don't do those things yourself. If you want to be forgiven, you must forgive others.

Having stated the obvious, though, I am at a loss this morning as to where to go with this. To borrow a quote from Jesus, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

I could forgive people for doing something that happens more often than I'd like. In doing so I could appear to be either judgmental, or condoning behavior that has potential for trouble that could manage the rest of somebody's life.

I will instead pray as Daniel did, that God show us mercy and forgiveness, that we might turn away from uncommitted pleasures and build commitment in our relationships with each other and with God. It is the better choice. If I am committed in prayer over the issues in my life, the best discerned action will come.

A Prayer

Today's Word:
Esther "C":12, 14-16, 23-25 (Queen Esther's prayer for guidance)
Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8 (On the day I called for help, Lord, You answered me)
Matthew 7:7-12 (Ask and you shall receive...; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you)

(NOTE: The passage from the book of Esther is found only in the Apocrypha. To read it online, go to www.usccb.org/nab/readings/030509.shtml.)


Lord God,
You are present to all who call upon you with sincerity of heart.
Help me to remember that you are also present in every living thing.
Help me to be compassionate, and not just practical;
as your compassion goes beyond all practicality.

Guide me in setting my true priorities,
not what I think they should be.
Let me not dwell on the past or any other insignificance,
other than to let me learn and grow from my errors in thought and action.

Help me to reflect an image of your perfect love,
as you have given me such an image to live beside me in this life.

Let me see You in those eyes,
that I might better participate in my life's vocation.

Let not the meditations of my mind, my heart, and my soul
take me away from the joy you make present through my family;
rather, may it serve You in giving myself totally
to those entrusted to my love and care.

As Jesus offered Himself out of love,
may I do so in the way meaningful to my station in life.
In His name I pray; Help me, O Lord my God.

...Amen.