"We Are All Just Walking Each Other Home" | March 13, 2018

Today’s gospel is heartbreaking on a few levels. It is reminiscent of the scene when Jesus was preaching in Peter’s house and some dudes literally broke through the roof just to lower their paralyzed friend to the feet of Jesus. Talk about chutzpa! Jesus told the paralyzed man that the faith of his friends healed him, reminding us all that we are simply walking each other home. I am yours and you are mine.

Raise your hand if you have ever experienced shady line cutters at Disneyland. You and your party have done your duty and waited for whatever thrilling ride for a good long amount of minutes that you will never ever get back and then some chump cuts the line in front of you!!! Outrageous right. Well today’s gospel is about a poor man that had been ill for 38 years and all he wanted to do was get into the pool called Hebrew Bethesda for healing. I mean imagine being ill for 38 years, my goodness.  Jesus’ question, “Do you want to be well?” is a legitimate one because wellness for this man would mean the loss of his income from begging. I’m sure we have all chosen to stay stuck in something because it was all that we knew. Jesus was just clarifying and then the man proceeds to tell him about multiple years worth of shady line cutters!!! Wow! Really! Line cut the paralyzed dude! That sucks! He also indicated that he had no one to put him into the pool. No soul friends to bust him through the roof. This pinches my heart because I work in an assisted living community for the elderly and I know this man who feels abandoned and left on the outside with no one to put him in the pool. We can do better than that…Heartbreak #1

His story pinched Jesus’ heart as well and he uses the same line that he used with the paralyzed man who had the faithful friends, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” He jumped into the pool of mercy that we are all invited to jump into. His healing was immediate and so is ours when we jump in.

Of course, Jesus could not even get some good clean life saving done without the peanut gallery chiming in. I imagine those cranky old Muppet men from the Muppet Show that sat in the balcony and talked crap about everything (LOL, I also know these guys at the retirement home!). First they scrutinize the healed man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, you know the one that he had been lying on for, oh 38 YEARS!!!!! Ugh! Um, excuse me sure, I know you’ve been miraculously healed and all, but could you possibly wait until sundown to pick up your mat and walk? Thanks… (Sarcasm is my secret love language) Heartbreak #2…Then they finally get it out of him that Jesus was the one that cured him and it says they “began to persecute him because it was the Sabbath.” Heartbreak #3 because, unfortunately, we still struggle in our own churches with this kind of minutia. Again, Jesus slipped out because he still had some items on his “Don’t Make Me Come Down To Earth To Do List.” He can check off: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Today’s gospel reminds me that:

•          I am guilty of cutting the line at times, putting my own brokenness ahead of others.
•          We are each other’s keepers and we need to help each other get in the pool of mercy   by being mercy itself in all that we do.
•          Nothing is more important than receiving Jesus and that in itself is Sabbath. We are Jesus to one another and when we act in His name, we keep it holy.

Lord, we pray that you break our hearts for what breaks yours so that we can rise, take up our mat, and walk each other home. Have a blessed day and it is well with my soul.

Reading 1 EZ 47:1-9, 12

The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water, 
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?"
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. 
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."

Responsorial PsalmPS 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

R. (8) The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. 
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. 
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. 
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. 

Verse Before The Gospel PS 51:12A, 14A

A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation.

Gospel JN 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." 
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him,
"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

Expedition Known | March 9, 2018

My mom and I are kind of obsessed with treasure hunting-type TV shows: Expedition Unknown, The Curse Of Oak Island, Mysteries At The Museum, and obviously any and every Bigfoot seeking show there is (#bigfootisreal). Every treasure to be found has an excellent story about how it was lost in the first place and/or why it needed to be hidden or protected. There are maps and legends and secret codes and plenty of drama. There are interesting characters from history and people that have even given their lives in the hunt for the treasure and in the keeping the treasure a secret. Buried treasure is such a compelling prospect and the mystery surrounding it may be even more compelling than the actual find. The exciting and frustrating part of said treasure hunting shows is that they never really find the treasure and it “remains a mystery.” What they do find is a plentitude of breadcrumbs supporting all the folklore from the dozens of experts called upon to help create a bonafide trail to “X marks the spot.” There are usually 1-3 legitimate legends that all make strong cases as to the whereabouts of the treasure and all stories are supported by morsels of evidence: an antique broach here, a confederate coin there, a mysterious carving in a rock, a map even. It is this tangible evidence that feeds each treasure hunter’s hunger for the quest (and if I’m being honest, mine too).

Why is hidden treasure so attractive to us? For me, it is putting all the clues together to find something so valuable that it needed to be protected and reserved for those that truly wanted to find it. It is using all the stories handed down, the wisdom from other explorers, and the map to find the prize. Every explorer hopes in the potential gain that the treasure offers be it monetary, fame, or just finishing the quest. The treasure has the ability to ground us in purpose while at the same time keeping us restless so that we continue moving forward. Since there are so many treasure hunting shows and so little treasure being actually found, I think it is safe to say that the hunt itself is as fulfilling as the found treasure.

Today’s gospel is like a treasure hunt and the explorer is so close to finding it, but he is missing one important piece of the puzzle. Let’s take a look. The scribes were questioning (challenging) Jesus (again) on Jewish law. I wonder if he just snickers every time they do this (he did create the universe!). The question is one that can be equivocated to the most elementary for any Jew, like 1+1=2. “Which is the first of all commandments?” Every Jew would know this answer in their sleep so it is kind of fertile ground for Jesus to shake things up. Of course, the Great Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) is the right answer, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” And then for the second greatest commandment (remember that we have been talking about the fulfillment of the law this week: LOVE), “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” What was so shocking about this second commandment was that Jesus changed the order around. Jewish law says to love God first, then yourself, and then others. Jesus says, God first, then others as our self. This is that sacrificial quality that is asked of us and shown to us by Jesus. After the scribe affirms Jesus in his answering, indicating that he had no further challenge for the teacher, Jesus lets him know, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." X marks the spot! The map and the clues are revealed, the treasure of eternal life is left open in plain sight, but the missing piece lies within each of us. We must live it, truly and freely. Love God, love others, and love our self. But like the obvious clues and leads on a treasure hunt, there are hidden mysteries that keep the explorer from finding the spoils. Loving God, others, and our self in that order is way harder than it seems. This treasure hunt requires action and the action is simple, but not easy. How can we start putting the evidence back in the proper order today so that we can recognize the treasure right in front of us and become a guide for other explorers to do the same? .” Wherever your treasure is, there also your heart will be. Expedition Known: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Have a blessed day and it is well with my soul.

Reading 1 HOS 14:2-10

Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, 'Our god,'
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion."

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
"I am like a verdant cypress tree"– 
Because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm PS 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17

R. (see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
"I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you."
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
"Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?"
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
"There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt."
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them."
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

Verse Before The Gospel MT 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Gospel MK 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
with all your soul, 
with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding, 
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Do This In Memory Of Me

The fulfillment of the law and the prophets is love itself, sacrificial love. Sacrificial love is that which sacrifices ones own self for the other. The practice of the law and observation of religious practice exist to cultivate this virtue at the center of our being. Jesus demonstrated this kind of love in every way in the gospels and he is saying to us, “do this in memory of me.” I know that for me I tend to pick and choose which commandments to follow strictly and which I feel can be loosened and the at has only honed a sense of pride within me. When I am truly disciplined in adhering to best practices, I lose myself more and more and in that losing myself I am able to love others better. 

What does sacrificial love look like according to the gospels? 

• Befriending the outcast
• Having mercy on the sinful
• Forgiving others completely 
• Putting others before ourselves 
• Standing up against hate and judgment
• Being kind to everyone
• Losing our lives for love of another 
• Washing each other’s feet

Sacrificial love is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets and his name is Jesus. You and I are the face, hands, feet, voice, and heart of Christ and we must do this in memory of him. Have a blessed day and it is well with my soul.

Reading 1 DT 4:1, 5-9

Moses spoke to the people and said:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?

"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children."

Responsorial Psalm PS 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Verse Before The Gospel SEE JN 6:63C, 68C

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
You have the words of everlasting life.

Gospel  MT 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Beggars Can’t Be Choosers | March 6, 2018

I was in the check out line at the Dollar Tree yesterday and behind me were a father and son (the son was probably around 8 years old).  The boy was trying with all his might to coax his dad into buying him one of the many last-minute completely useless, but seductively enticing items found in the Dollar Tree’s check out line. He started with the off brand candy bars and moved through novelty pencils, mini flashlights, hand sanitizer, etc. He was working it and had very specific reasons as to why he should have each item. The kid was compelling I have to say. I was amused because the dad was not swayed in the least to buy marshmallow Easter bunnies on a stick. The last item the kid tried to swindle was a multi pack of TicTac’s (I mean what kid actually wants TicTac’s??). At this point, he was begging his dad, pleading with him to buy him something, anything. “Please, dad. Can I have it? It’s only $1! Please, please, please.” To see someone actively begging for something that they totally do not need was pretty sad, because I have also been witness to people on the street that beg for basic things like water, eye contact, bus fair, etc. This idea of begging and pleading with the father sets the scene in today’s gospel.

Peter is having a heart to heart with Jesus and I imagine one of his brothers or the gang had done something against him. He was seeking some counsel and I’m sure hoping that Jesus would say that he only really had to forgive is brother once or twice before cutting them loose and/or wringing their neck. Of course Jesus uses the moment to teach us all a very powerful and difficult lesson on forgiveness. The answer then for Peter, and now for all of us is, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Don’t forget that the number 7 means perfection and perfection in the case of forgiving others means every single time and immediately.) The parable is about a king whose debtor owed him a ton of money and so the king initially sold him, his entire family, and all his possessions to pay back this huge debt. “At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.”

That forgiven debtor went out and found one of his co-workers who owed him a way lessor debt and then he started to physically choke him demanding that he pay it back in full! Are you kidding me? That debtor fell on his knees and begged him, “'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.” Of course when the king found out about it, he was livid. He said, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?' Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart." So there it is, friends. There are some strong words in that story: wicked, torture, anger, etc. Raise your hand if you have ever begged someone to forgive you for something. Raise your hand if they denied you that forgiveness. It sucks doesn’t it? I have actually grown pretty tired of this topic because I don’t see that we are getting any better at forgiveness especially when I turn on the news for more that 4 minutes, however, this theme keeps coming up and so I guess I will talk about it until I’m blue in the face. We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us.” That is a direct quote from Jesus on how we should pray everyday and what we should practice everyday. Today’s gospel backs that up in full force. We spend a lot of time begging God for useless frivol things, and not enough time begging Him for the absolutely necessary grace to forgive as He forgives.

Jesus promises us zero debt in this story when we beg the father to forgive us, however, if we do not have the same extravagant immediate mercy on those that beg us for forgiveness, we choose to live in torment until the entirety of our debt is paid. This begging is the difference between the kid at Dollar Tree asking for random useless items and the woman on the street needing money to feed her child. When we beg the father to have mercy on us, we do not have the luxury of choosing whether or not to give that same mercy to others. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Reading 1 DN 3:25, 34-43

Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud:

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever,
or make void your covenant.
Do not take away your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your beloved,
Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,
To whom you promised to multiply their offspring
like the stars of heaven,
or the sand on the shore of the sea.
For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation,
brought low everywhere in the world this day
because of our sins.
We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,
no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.
But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.
And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.
Deliver us by your wonders,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 25:4-5AB, 6 AND 7BC, 8-9

R. (6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Verse Before The Gospel JL 2:12-13

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful.

Gospel MT 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."