A Cure for the Wandering Heart

The Fourth Sunday in Advent – December 23, 2018

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a

Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Alleluia: Luke 1:38

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

A Cure for the Wandering Heart

One of my favorite hymns is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson.

It is a hymn of aspiration wanting God to provide a way to keep us close to Him and to guide us safely home while recognizing that it will be a daunting task because we have wandering hearts that have a hard time staying focused on God as our hearts desire. A portion of a verse below shows his struggle and his plea to God to provide a cure.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above.

Today’s readings are about God’s cure for the wandering hearts in Israel and in us today in events leading up to the birth of His Son, our King and Shepherd, on Christmas Day.

The first reading is from the Book of the Prophet Micah where he has finished pronouncing judgement against Judah and its leaders for their wandering hearts and the sins it causes and is now declaring God’s plan for salvation for them in the form of a ruler who is origin is from of old, from ancient times.

I can imagine the Israelites saying, “How long, O Lord?” And the Lord says, “until the time when she who is to give birth has borne.” In other words, when Mary has borne her son, Jesus. 

And the rest of His kindred shall return to the children of Israel. The Catholic Haydock Commentary sees the rest of His kindred as possibly referring to the Inclusion of the Gentiles.

This new ruler will stand firm and shepherd His flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, His God. In other words, with God’s power and authority.

The result of this king’s reign will be that His people will remain and no longer wander for His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth and he shall reconcile them to God and be their peace. This prophecy encompasses the entire reign of Jesus from His first coming through His Second coming and on into eternity.

The selection from Psalm 80 seems to be embracing this Messianic prophecy using many of the same thoughts. We cry out in response Lord, make us turn to you; let us see Your face and we shall be saved. And they will see God’s face in Jesus.

The writer to the Hebrews in the second reading contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant in that God gives the Messiah, the Christ, a body to offer once for all in order to consecrate us to God. The characteristic of Christ and His new covenant is the declaration, “Behold, I come to do Your will.” Not our will but His, in accordance with the Our Father.

The Alleluia and the Gospel reading celebrate the trusting, consecrating obedience of Mary, the One who is to give birth, as she embraces God’s will for her life, setting aside her own to become the mother of Jesus, our Ruler and Shepherd.

What is the cure for the wandering heart? It is a path, following Jesus and Mary and all the Saints on pilgrimage to the Father’s house where we will find our hearts’ desire in its fullness.

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 (1b)

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

Alleluia: Psalm 85:8

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, the period in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Christmas.  It is a time of identification, remembrance and preparation.  

Identification because as the Catechism says we are seeking through the liturgical calendar, through the holy days, through the liturgy, through prayerful meditation on the Scriptures to travel back in time and relive the Biblical and historical events with the people who went through them.

Remembrance because often we forget who God is, who we are and what His plans are for us.  We have forgotten our destination in the tyranny of the present.  And so the cycles of the liturgical years call us back to remembrance, to get our bearings once again and to remember what is really important, our eternal relationship with our Creator and Destiny, the God who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Preparation because not only do we need to get ready to properly celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas but we also need to get ourselves ready for His second coming which is now over 2,000 years closer than it was at the birth of Jesus in the manger.

And these things are what today’s readings are about.

The first reading from the Book of Jeremiah which was written to give the Israelites hope in the midst of the judgments and exile that were coming upon them because what was right and just weren’t what had been happening in Israel.  And so the Lord speaking through Jeremiah reassures the people of Israel and Judah that His promise of a Messiah is still going to come true for them in spite of their unfaithfulness.

This prophecy looks forward to both the first and second comings of Jesus.  Jesus came the first time in the incarnation as our Savior but His people by and large weren’t ready, they missed the day of their visitation.  And so even though the Messiah came, the people weren’t ready so Judah could be made safe and Jerusalem secure.  They weren’t ready for righteous and justice to be established in their land by their King.  A second coming is necessary.  The first coming was an introduction, Behold your King, Behold the Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world.  The Second Coming is when Jesus will come as a conquering king to establish righteousness and justice so that Judah will be safe and Jerusalem secure.

The Psalm for today reveals the character of our King who guides and instructs the open, trusting and teachable ones in gentleness and kindness.  They are the ones who will be ready for the day of their visitation.

The Thessalonians are doing well as the Apostle Paul writes to them in the second reading.  They are abundant in love towards one another and all.  They have been receptive to the instructions and spiritual direction provided by Saint Paul and his companions.  They are conducting themselves in manner pleasing to God.  But the Apostle Paul who is familiar with his own human frailty and theirs isn’t about to become complacent and so he prays fervently for them.  There is more that God wants to pour out in their lives.  He wants them to be ready for the second coming which he mentions in this passage.

Jesus in the Gospel reading exhorts His disciples and us to be ready for His second coming and for the tribulations leading up to it.  We need to maintain our vigilance and pray and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel.  Jesus and Paul understand our weakness and the temptations that beckon us to turn aside from the salvation God has planned for us.

Jesus has done everything and is doing everything He can to lead us to heaven, to the Father’s house.  This Advent is another invitation to draw near to Him, to identify, to remember, to prepare for what He has for us in the future.

Handling the sneaker waves of life

When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, my parents used to take us to the Jersey shore to see my grandparents on my dad’s side and during the summer we would go wading in the Atlantic Ocean.  Occasionally a sneaker wave would catch me off guard and tumble me head over heels, bounce me off the bottom a few times and fill my hair and ears with sand.  While I was being tumbled under the water, I often couldn’t tell which way was up until things settled down a bit.  

Life tends to be a lot like the ocean sending sneaker waves to turn us upside down and tumble us so that we lose our bearings.  

One pastor friend of ours shared candidly in one of his sermons that a lot of mornings he woke up like an unbeliever until he was able to spend some time with the Lord to get his bearings.  

The Catholic Church considers the creeds to be prayers to help us get our bearings and figure out which way is up, who we are and who God is as we encounter the sneaker waves of life.  One of the earliest creeds is the Apostles Creed and I find it to have a very stabilizing influence in my life when I pray it to God in the morning.  It helps me to remember my Creator, who He is and all that He has provided for me on my journey.  I am not alone on the journey.  He’s with me and so are my brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the ages to this present day.  And the Creed reminds me that God’s plans for me are for my good, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.  Amen.  

Praying the Creed helps me move from being a sleepy, clueless unbeliever to a believer with a mission as I navigate the sneaker waves of the day.

So when I am praying the Apostles Creed alone, I pray it as below in order to more clearly address it to God. I also drop the archaic English to make more like I am just talking to God as I declare my faith in Him and His plan of salvation for us all.

I believe in You, God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. And in You, Lord Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord. You were conceived by the Holy Spirit. You were born of the Virgin Mary. You suffered under Pontius Pilate. You were crucified, died and were buried. You descended into hell. The third day you rose again from the dead. You ascended into heaven and are seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence shall You come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in You, Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen

The Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – September 9, 2018

First Reading:  Isaiah 35:4-7a

Psalm:  Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 (1b)

Second Reading:  James 2:1-5

Alleluia:  cf. Matthew 4:23

Gospel:  Mark 7:31-37

The first reading from Isaiah 35 is about God coming to deliver and restore Israel after  removing and replacing her unrighteous and self-serving leadership (chapter 32) and overthrowing and judging her enemies, Assyria (chapter 33) and Edom (chapter 34).  Isaiah 35 is also a Messianic prophecy which we will see Jesus fulfill in the Gospel reading.

God had allowed Israel to be conquered and oppressed by her enemies and for her land to become a desert.  But He did so with a redemptive purpose in mind and that was to drive her back to Himself and dependence on Him rather than dependence on other nations and her own abilities and wisdom.  He wanted to get His people to the point where they would say like Peter, Lord, to whom shall we go, You have the words of eternal life.

And so in Chapter 35, God speaks encouragement to those with fearful hearts in Israel, Be strong and fear not.  The strength and fearlessness that He is speaking of is that produced by faith or trust in Him.  Then He proceeds to give them reasons to trust in Him.  I will list them.

1. Here is your God – He is ever present though they may not see Him. He is already there in the midst of their guilt, suffering, fear and uncertainty.  They only need to turn to Him.
2. He comes with vindication – The vindication that God brings is twofold.  First, in His mercy, He will grant them absolution for their sins against them.  He will forgive them.  Second, their oppressors/abusers in their boasting have been telling them lies about their true dignity and worth as God’s people, unfaithful though they had been.  They had also been lying about and mocking their God.  That is what oppressors/abusers do to those who they have under their thumbs.  God is going to set the record straight, like Jesus said the oppressors in Revelation.  I will make them bow down and know that I have loved you.

3. With divine recompense – God will give them what they don’t deserve.   He will restore what they have lost.
4. He comes to save you. That is God’s goal to bring about restored relationship with Himself which is what salvation is.
5. Their restoration will include both physical and spiritual healing which are included here in this healings. The drought will be over and their land will be flowing with abundant water and become fruitful once again.

The Psalmist in the responsorial psalm continues the list of God’s trust inspiring attributes as we respond with thankful praise, Praise the Lord, my soul!

I will include the Psalm below but first I want to point out that the majority of these attributes have to do with justice and the Catholic definition of justice is different than what usually comes to our minds when we hear the word, justice.  I think most of us tend to think in terms of justice for us or criminal justice, giving the criminals what they deserve.  But the justice here in the Psalm is other focused, caring for the struggling, the weak and the powerless, those who can’t fend for themselves.  It also includes praising God for who He is, for as we say in the Mass, it is right and just.

Here is the definition of justice in the Catechism.

1807 Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the virtue of religion.  Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor.  You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.  Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Here is the Psalm.

The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,

secures justice for the oppressed,

gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets captives free.

The LORD gives sight to the blind;

the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.

The LORD loves the just;

the LORD protects strangers.

The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,

but the way of the wicked he thwarts.

The LORD shall reign forever;

your God, O Zion, through all generations.

Alleluia.

James continues the justice theme in the Second Reading addressing partiality towards the rich in the assembly of believers.  This problem remains with us today.  But is God showing partiality to the poor here and elsewhere in the Scripture?  Look at the last paragraph.  And James doesn’t have very nice things to say about the rich in the rest of his epistle.

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Did not God choose those who are poor in the world

to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom

that he promised to those who love him?

We can see in the Catechism that partiality is not encouraged towards the poor or the rich.  What gives?

The problem is in the riches, money or mammon.  They are a temptation for us to trust in them and our resourcefulness in accumulating them rather than in God.  They can become our end game, our goal which we blindly pursue disregarding God and the collateral damage to our neighbors that our pursuit of riches creates.

God has no issue with those who use their riches in a godly manner, giving wisely and generously without expecting deferential treatment, not using their riches to lord it over and gain power over others but rather for the benefit of their employees, the furtherance of the Gospel and the betterment of the world.  They realize they are stewards whom God has gifted with the necessary skills and with the resources to be a blessing to others.

But such people are the exception rather than the rule among the rich because of the power of the temptation.  So we need to pray for them and not treat them with partiality but rather love.

Jesus in the Gospel reading travels into a more Gentile area to perform two of the miracles mentioned in the Isaiah 35 reading, the healing of the deaf and speech impeded man.  His purpose is still redemptive and He desires to open their spiritual ears to hear the Gospel about who has come among them and to heal their mouths so they can sing praises to God, their creator.  And we can perhaps see that beginning to happen in their testimony about Jesus at the end of the reading.

May God provide the healing that we need to be fully functioning children of God.

The Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - November 11, 2018

First Reading: 1 Kings 17:10-16

Psalm: Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 (1b)

Second Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28

Alleluia: Matthew 5:3

Gospel: Mark 12:38-44

I will be addressing the readings randomly.

Life in this world is unpredictable as much as we try to control it, even for those who have fame, power and fortune.  We are seeing that play out in California as  out of control fires are devouring whole cities, forcing thousands to flee for their lives.  We’ve seen it in increasingly destructive hurricanes and storms ravaging the eastern United States.  We are experiencing it in our own lives and those of our loved ones as we experience disease, lost jobs, rising prices for housing and health care, death, violence and catastrophe.  My own daughter-in-law and her son, our grandson, lost their husband and father, respectively last month.  And we lost a beloved son.  Not much has really changed since Biblical times.  Who can we trust in during such perilous times?  Even people who love us are often prevented by their limitations as human beings from coming through for us.  It is easy to conclude we are on our own and let terror, despair and the enemy of our souls overwhelm us.

Well, there is a God, our Father, up in the heavens who keeps faith forever, who makes promises and keeps them and who reigns forever.  And He is not distant but is always aware of what is happening in our lives whether we are trusting Him and confiding in Him or not.  He sent His own son into our world to become one of us, die for us, conquer death for us to take away our sins, ascend back into heaven for us to appear before Him on our behalf as both our eternal high priest and sacrifice.  Not only that but His Son Is coming back to take us home to Father’s house, if we believe and entrust ourselves to Him in this world while looking forward to the eternal life with Him promised to us.  I gleaned these reflections from the Psalm and the second reading.

But what about life in this world, what hope does He offer us in this world while we are traveling through it?  Well, there are the lives of Elijah and the two widows and the Psalm in today’s readings to take to heart.  

In the first, Elijah confronts Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, in a showdown on God’s behalf.  God had given Elijah the power through prayer to control the rainfall in the region.  And Elijah was sent by God to pronounce upon the king and the region a multi-year drought that would not end until Elijah prayed for it to.  Now droughts always meant famines in those days.  And King Ahab responds by wanting to kill the messenger so God directs Elijah to a series of refuges for his safety.  One of the places He provides is the home of a poor widow and her son in neighboring kingdom in Zarephath of Sidon.  The widow isn’t even Jewish but God had already contacted her, giving her a heads up that Elijah would be coming and commanding her to provide for him.  See 1 Kings 17:9.

Now the widow and her son have been suffering both from the loss of their husband and his father and also from the famine.  They only have enough food for a meager last meal before they die of hunger.  But she is willing to share it with Elijah on the basis of God’s promise through him that He will provide for her and her son until He sends the rains again.  So trust in God’s promise to her and her obedience prior to any fulfillment of that promise was requested and given.

That impressed me!  Wow!

In the Gospel reading, Jesus took the religious leaders, the scribes who were teachers of the law to task for using their position for the self-gratification of getting their egos stroked and for greed.  They were even taking widows houses while they were reciting lengthy prayers.  Jesus called them out and said they will receive a very severe condemnation, presumably from His Father when they are called to give an account.  Sound familiar?

Then Jesus sat down opposite the temple treasury to observe the crowd bringing their contributions to the temple.  He saw the rich dropping in big bags of money.  Then He noticed the widow, one of those being taken advantage of by the unrighteous scribes, putting her two last small coins, all she has.  So he called his disciples and brought her generosity to their attention.  She gave more than all the rich because she gave it all while the rich gave their leftovers.  

Now most of us would probably have been looking at the big bags of money the rich were giving.  But not Jesus.  His eyes zeroed in on the poor widow, one of the least of these.  He marveled at her faith.

Which brings us back the Psalm which I have included below.

The LORD keeps faith forever,

secures justice for the oppressed,

gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets captives free.

The LORD gives sight to the blind;

the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.

The LORD loves the just;

the LORD protects strangers.

The fatherless and the widow he sustains,

but the way of the wicked he thwarts.

The LORD shall reign forever;

your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

Praise the Lord, my soul!

Kind of reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.

26 Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,

28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something,

29 so that no human being might boast before God.

We can rejoice.  God cares for us and will assist us.  Often through His people, His Church.  My family and I have experienced His care and His miraculous provision many times.  Often in the nick of time.  So this reflection was not just an academic exercise for me.  We just need to trust Jesus as our rock in this crazy world, growing and walking in obedience to His will.  He’ll come and get us when it’s time to come live with Him forever.

I love this prayer from the common preface in the Mass because it is so true.

I love this prayer from the common preface in the Mass because it is so true.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.

It is not only right and just and our duty to thank God because He really does deserve it, it is also our salvation.  When we allow our hearts to be thankful to God and give Him thanks, it saves us and unites us with Him.  My heart swells with gratitude just thinking about it.

Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the World

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world, have mercy on us and give us light in our darkness.

Lord Jesus, you love us and gave yourself for us.  You love us still and feed us with your own flesh and blood through the Eucharist.  Give us your life to strengthen ours.

Lord Jesus, you became one of us so that you could experience life and death in this world and become our faithful high priest who knows how we feel.  Help us in our loneliness when we feel no one cares.  You do, Lord, you do.

Lord Jesus, you even come to us physically in the consecrated host so that you enter us when we receive you in the Eucharist and are present with us in Adoration.

Lord Jesus, help us to choose life and the Father’s will instead of our own.  Help us to not lean on our own understanding but yours.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.  Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created; and you shall renew the face of the earth.