Second Sunday of Advent - Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the good news…

The second Sunday of Advent turns our attention to John the Baptist. John was an interesting individual. We are told he dressed a bit strangely, had an odd diet and spent a lot of time in the desert. Yet it seems he was very popular with the whole of Judaea and ‘all the people of Jerusalem’ went out to hear him. John must have been a dynamic speaker and one in whom people found hope and inspiration. Who are these attractive messengers for us today? Who brings us good news and hope? Whose message makes sense for us? Who do we flock to hear?

Today we might also reflect on the messengers in our own lives. Who did God send to you while you were in your own wilderness? Perhaps they brought with them a moment of grace reassuring you that you would not be drifting aimlessly forever. Perhaps the evidence at that moment in your own life stated the contrary, yet these words of encouragement or comfort gave you reason to hope and to hang in there. These ‘John the Baptists’ are messengers of the light. They are all around us. Sometimes we are the ones called upon to be a messenger of light for someone else. The good news of the Gospel today is that even in times of desolation there is a hope, a promise that urges us on. How we prepare for this journey determines our experience. “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you…”

December 8th - Feast of the Immaculate Conception

When have you felt God’s presence in someone you met or someone who visited you? The Gospel today is a reminder of God continuously present in our lives. We, like Mary, are invited to welcome those whom God sends us, even if we are amazed and alarmed by their message. We can ask ourselves: who brings us good news?

Advent is a season of hope, a season where we are reminded that God is present even when God appears to be hidden. God present in Mary’s womb speaks to us of God’s hidden presence in the world. We were reminded last Sunday to ‘keep awake’ and today this beautiful feast invites us to be more aware of God’s presence, through the messengers he send us; in the most hidden parts of ourselves and the most hidden parts of society.

Perhaps at the end of each day you can glance back over the day and see the moments where God was present, the light, the joys, the gestures, the words. Where was there hope in your day? Was anything revealed to you today? Who were the messengers for you today? Keep alert in these days of Advent and watch for God’s presence in your daily life. 

December 8th - Feast of the Immaculate Conception

When have you felt God’s presence in someone you met or someone who visited you? The Gospel today is a reminder of God continuously present in our lives. We, like Mary, are invited to welcome those whom God sends us, even if we are amazed and alarmed by their message. We can ask ourselves: who brings us good news?

Advent is a season of hope, a season where we are reminded that God is present even when God appears to be hidden. God present in Mary’s womb speaks to us of God’s hidden presence in the world. We were reminded last Sunday to ‘keep awake’ and today this beautiful feast invites us to be more aware of God’s presence, through the messengers he send us; in the most hidden parts of ourselves and the most hidden parts of society.

Perhaps at the end of each day you can glance back over the day and see the moments where God was present, the light, the joys, the gestures, the words. Where was there hope in your day? Was anything revealed to you today? Who were the messengers for you today? Keep alert in these days of Advent and watch for God’s presence in your daily life. 

First Sunday of Advent ~ 2nd Dec 2017

"Keep Awake"

We are surrounded these days by the commercial ‘circus’ of Christmas shopping and ‘getting ready’? It might seem far removed from the story that we are celebrating; the story of a poor refugee family 2,000 years ago who had a very special delivery. The story of God choosing to intervene in human history in such an intimate and shocking way; God choosing to be born into a situation of poverty and danger. It is good to ask ourselves at this time of year, what are we getting ready for? Advent is a wonderful season which invites us to use our waiting to grow spiritually. We are invited to make space for ourselves and for God in the midst of the rushing. Can we stop and be still and ask ourselves: ‘Where do I see God being born around me today?’ In those I meet? In kind words and gestures, in my community, in my own heart? 

Have a more ‘aware’ advent. Be mindful in all you do. Be aware in your rushing, be aware as you stand in that queue, be aware as you eat, be aware of your feelings, be aware of your thoughts. By watching all of this we become more awake, more able to recognise our true selves and more able to see God being born continuously each day within us and around us. Our awe and wonder grows and we can be prepared for the coming of the Gift himself. How we prepare determines what will be. 

Who do you say I am? - August 27th 2017

Peter gets it right in today’s Gospel and Jesus calls him ‘blessed’. That is, he is a person who brings a great gift and who brings that gift to others. Already in the community that Matthew is writing for, the community of Jesus’ followers are gathering as ‘church’. Peter is seen as Jesus’ successor and future leader for that community.

Jesus is a very different Messiah to the one the Jews expected. It is understandable that he would order the disciples to keep quiet. The people of his time wanted a leader who would lead them in a military revolt against the Romans, who would be a great king. Jesus’ mission involves a very different focus, reaching out to the outcast, those on the margins, a radical love. His actions will speak for who he is. It is for each of us to make up our own minds as to who Jesus is. Peter is quite clear and sincere in his declaration, however, as we will see later, Peter did not understand fully what the journey of Jesus would entail. Peter commits himself but it is a reminder that we must always leave room for growth in the understanding of our commitments.

‘The joy of Jesus bursts out … and he speaks his dream of an impregnable community of faith held together by the power of God rather than by external organisation, a community of commitment and freedom.’
W. YEOMANS

Unexpected Encounters - August 20th 2017

We might wonder why Jesus is so rude and dismissive to the woman in today’s Gospel who comes and asks for his help. Does he really call the woman ‘a dog’?! Many explanations have been given for Jesus’ words with some suggesting that it was an attempt at a first century joke, that he was just ‘teasing’ (he didn’t really mean it!) or that it was an opportunity to test the woman’s faith. The disciples also clearly want her sent away.

What happens just before this incident is important. Jesus has just left Gennesaret where the Pharisees have continued to be extremely hostile towards him. Jesus’ mission to ‘the lost sheep of the House of Israel’ is not going so well. So, Jesus ‘leaves that place’ and goes somewhere that is unfamiliar. What happens in this unfamiliar place is certainly life giving for the woman and for Jesus also. It might be considered a place of new beginnings as Jesus’ mission is opened up to those who would have been considered ‘unworthy’, such as a woman who is also a foreigner. The food rejected by the religious leaders of the time is ending up in unexpected places. It is here that the kingdom grows.

You have to admire the woman’s persistence. She is a reminder of people we encounter who have great faith and make a deep impression on us. We might ask ourselves today: when have experiences of rejection in our own lives led to new possibilities? Where are the unfamiliar places that we must go in order to grow, to embrace new life and new experiences?

Back to the Mountain Top - August 13th 2017

Jesus once again goes to the mountain top to pray. We too are encouraged to carve out space and time out in our everyday lives for quiet, for reflection for prayer or meditation; for whatever it is that we do to nourish that deeper spiritual heart of ourselves. It is so important.

The famous story of Jesus walking on the water follows in the Gospel today.
What a shock the disciples must have received! Initially Peter is so brave and enthusiastic. Peter is able to walk on the water until he notices the wind, then fear takes over and he begins to sink.
If you have read the book The Shack (and if you haven’t I highly recommend it!) you might remember a scene where the main character, Mack, is led onto the water by Jesus and they walk together on the lake. Mack, like Peter in today’s Gospel, is full of fear, mostly about what might happen in the future. Jesus is clear to Mack that he lives in the present and that we waste time trying to play God and control what might happen in the future: ‘You neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it, you talk about it, but you don’t know it’ (The Shack, p. 151)

Jesus’ message for Mack in the story; for Peter in the Gospel and for all of today is ‘Why did you doubt?’ What eliminates our awareness of the love of God? We are urged to keep our eyes fixed on him. It is in the present that Jesus lives, not in our fears about the future or worries about the past.

The Mountain Top - Sunday August 6th 2017

In the Scriptures, the mountains are often places where people encounter God. Jesus takes the disciples up to the mountain top to pray, to a quiet place, away from all the attention and the crowds. They have the most wonderful experience as we read in the Gospel today.

Can you recall a place where you have felt deep peace or a sense of experiencing God? In nature or in the places you go for some ‘time-out’ for yourself? Perhaps it is in special moments with family and friends; times of joy or sorrow. These ‘mountain-top’ experiences nourish us, can bring us insights or help us to deal with difficult periods in our lives. They can bring feelings of euphoria, deep joy and blessing and often sustain us in life. No wonder the disciples wanted to build ‘three dwellings’ so that Moses, Elijah and Jesus would stay with them like this forever. However, we cannot remain in those experiences forever. Jesus’ way involves both time for encounters with mystery but also coming down from the mountain and continuing on life’s journey and mission.
Can we carve out these moments of quiet in our busy days to be with the Word, to create the space to listen and make room for these encounters with the Lord? This week, imagine yourself in this story as you read ‘Jesus took me with him and went up on the mountain to pray …’

‘To pray the scriptures is to descend to the level of the heart and find God’
– MICHAEL CASEY OCSO

Sunday 25th June 2017 ~ Matthew 10:26-33

Even The Hairs of Your Head Are Counted!

Today’s Gospel is an affirmation for all those who feel persecuted in anyway because of their beliefs or because people are speaking badly about them, or those who feel alienated from their community, their family or even from God. During such times it can be extremely lonely to the point where one can lose their sense of purpose in this world. While we might not want to shout from the rooftops, as Jesus suggests, there is a message here to speak out, to talk it out. Today, spend time on the beautiful words of Jesus in this Gospel – “Even the hairs of your head are all counted, so do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows!” The sparrow, one of the smallest of birds, is cared for and loved by God. This is a reminder that no matter how insignificant we might feel or how challenging the circumstances get, God is with us, each of us. Once again, we are being told how sacred each and every person is and how much we are loved by God. In His eyes, each of us are precious. Today, recall the times or places where you felt God’s supporting presence.

“When we travel through those wilderness places of our lives where we feel lost, insecure, lonely, frustrated, discouraged, or overcome by busyness: Help us to trust in You, God of the journey. When we catch glimpses of the tremendous love you have for us and experience a deep, loving connection with others: Help us to trust in You, God of the journey.” – Joyce Rupp

Jesus the Bread of Life ~ June 18th 2017

John 6:51-58

Jesus gives His whole self to us and invites us to a deep union with Him. We often imagine God up in the clouds in heaven looking down at us, maybe distant, maybe disconnected. The Eucharist shows us that God is involved in the messiness of human life, present to us in Jesus’s body and blood. Bread is nourishing, bread is for life, bread is food for the journey. Jesus is all of these things for us. His blood is a reminder of his death, of the brokenness of this world, of the struggles of people’s lives. Christ invites people to connect their own sufferings with His.

Jesus, present with us in all of life, invites us into a deep union with Himself. Flesh and blood means the whole person; ‘the living bread’ invites us to an even deeper intimacy. It can be a difficult passage to understand, but perhaps today you might reflect on times you felt sustained by God, strengthened by God through joyful times and sorrowful times. You might also reflect on who has been Jesus for you? Where have you seen Christ in this world, in flesh and blood?

Trinity Sunday 2017 ~John 3:16-18

God in today’s Gospel is described to us as One that is very close, as One that loves the world so deeply that He was willing to give everything to it. It is hard to comprehend these statements. Why would someone love in such a way? Why would someone sacrifice in such a way? John’s Gospel today tells us that it is because we are loved so deeply and so that we would come to know this love which brings life. It is not a one-off event; it is continuous and ongoing in each of our lives. Neither is it to make us feel guilty, we are told that this outpouring of God’s love is not to condemn us in any way. This giving from the Father is so that we might be free from our own brokenness, that we might know how infinitely loved we are and so live a life that is full and everlasting. God rescues us from our own brokenness and offers a life that is a fuller and deeper experience.

Trinity Sunday invites us to reflect on the impossible; on the utterly mysterious. Yet we can know something of what it means to experience God’s love in our lives; to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ and to feel God’s Spirit dwelling within ourselves. We can experience that same Spirit in each person that we meet, that Spirit of God indwelling in all of Creation. The Trinity speaks to us of relationship, community, of fully giving and receiving.

“God has fallen in love with us – quite literally. God has come down to earth, and opened Godself to all the raw brutality, as well as the warm tenderness, of human life.” – Margaret Silf

Pentecost Sunday June 4th 2017

John 20:19-23 “Shalom”

The disciples in today’s Gospel are locked away, living in fear. There are many situations in our own lives which cause us to batten down the hatches. We can often imprison ourselves.  

Jesus appears amongst them bringing peace, Shalom, and overcoming their defences. Christ is always present to us regardless of the walls we might put up; He offers peace, joy and reconciliation. The word ‘Shalom’ is more than a wish for a good evening; it means that your wish for the person is a peace of body, mind and spirit. It is a holistic peace. Jesus gives this peace to the disciples and breathes His Spirit upon them. This enables them; this gives them courage; this sends them out. Jesus still bears the wounds of the crucifixion, reminding us that our wounds are part of who we are; we carry them with us.

We might ask ourselves today who it is that we need to be reconciled with? What fears do we need liberating from? Into what situations do we send Christ’s peace? Jesus is asking the disciples to be an unending witness to God’s love. They (and we) must be for others what Jesus has been for them.

“When we understand the essential unity of all that is, we discover the possibility of ‘peace’ – the king of peace that in Hebrew is called, Shalom, which is infinitely more than an absence of strife; it is the wholeness of the web of life itself and of every creature in it, held in the wholeness of the one God.” Margaret Silf. 

April 23rd 2017 ~ 2nd Sunday of Easter (Jn20:19-31)

Shalom

The disciples in today’s Gospel must have been so excited to tell Thomas their news: “We have seen the Lord”. Sometimes, when we try to share something of our faith experience with others, we can meet similar responses – doubting, cynicism - we can even be made fun of. The Risen Jesus bears the wounds of his suffering and even invites Thomas to touch them, to get in touch with the reality of his suffering. We might recall times when we have been overwhelmed by pain but looking back on those times we can see that they sometimes brought us to a different place, to new life. Perhaps today recall those times of ‘wounded-ness’ – and hear Jesus’s ‘Peace be with you’, the promise that He is with you. The word “Peace” (Shalom) is more than a wish for a good evening or peaceful day. It expresses the desire that the person receiving the blessing might be whole in body, mind and spirit. The Risen Jesus brings a peace that is life-giving. The disciples were locked away, afraid, closed off from the world. When Jesus is present with them, their hearts are opened again, they rejoice. The risen Jesus in today’s Gospel moves the disciples from total fear and despair to ‘rejoicing’. The same risen Jesus is active in all our lives and in the world around us.

“Life will always prevail, through all the layers of death in which we try to contain it.” Margaret Silf.

April 16th 2017 Easter Sunday (John 20:1-9)

In today’s Gospel Mary Magdalen is highlighted as the woman who is the first witness of the resurrection. Mary and the two disciples must have been very confused and upset as they tried to understand what had happened to Jesus’s body. Reading this story can bring many emotions for us: fear and confusion at death, or even a feeling of euphoria and joy at the realisation that death is not the end. If we have lost a loved one, we might feel comforted in the knowledge that we will be reunited with them once more. Jesus comes into situations of despair, disappointment and doubt and, as with Mary after this incident, comes in the form of a stranger, gently calling her name. The Risen Lord seems to meet us in familiar territory, where we least expect it.

We might ask the Lord today for the strength and courage to allow him to break into our lives once more, to help us to be free of whatever it is that causes ‘death’ in our lives, to help us to let go, to be open to recognising him in our most painful moments and in the most familiar places.

 “God of openness, of life and of resurrection, Come into this Easter season and bless me. Look around at the tight, dead spaces of my heart. Bring your gentle but firm love… Open me. Open me. Open me. For it is only then I will grow and change, for it is only then that I will be transformed. For it is only then that I will know how it is. To be in the moment of rising from the dead.” (Joyce Rupp)

April 9th 2017 ~ Palm Sunday

Today we read Matthew’s account of the death of Jesus; yes it is the long Gospel but we should not miss out on the journey that spending time with this account offers. As you read perhaps you might notice the various characters and their roles, their words and actions. A good question to ask as we enter into this text is “Where do I stand”? Are you looking on as a bystander, are you in the group of disciples or some other character: Pilate? Pilate’s wife? Perhaps it is a more difficult journey as you relate to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, a Jesus who is ‘grieved’ because of many things: isolation, the disappointment he must feel because of the abandonment of his friends, betrayal, loneliness, mocking, torture? This is not an easy journey. We know the story does not end here, but for this week we enter into the reality of betrayal, trial, suffering and death.  

We might remember today those who stand for justice, those who are counter-cultural, those who stand against oppressive systems even though the path is often dangerous and lonely. We might recall times we felt betrayed, abandoned or times we were in despair.

Try to return to this text during the week, perhaps reading a small section each day as we continue to ask ourselves: “Where do I stand?”

April 2nd 5th Sunday of Lent: Come forth Lazarus

In today’s Gospel Jesus is surrounded by a culture of death. The disciples are afraid to go back to Bethany, the Jews want to stone Jesus to death, Mary and Martha are distraught over the death of their brother Lazarus, and Lazarus himself lies bound in the darkness of the tomb. It appears as if there is no hope. Jesus weeps for his friend and for those around him. Yet, surrounded by a culture of violence and despair, Jesus gives hope, compassion, and resurrection to those in turmoil. It is easy to say that nothing can be done when we are faced with difficult situations in our own lives. Yet Jesus says ‘Lazarus, come out” and to the people he says “Unbind him, let him go.” It is a message for all of us to come away from a culture of death; to help unbind one another and to also allow ourselves to emerge from the tomb. We are called to take away the stone. Today’s Gospel is a story of liberation. Jesus gives a new insight into the power of faith over death.

 “Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness.
Hope is knowing that there is love, it is trust in tomorrow, it is falling asleep and waking
to work when the sun rises. In the midst of a gale at sea, it is to discover land. In the eyes of another, it is to see understanding. As long as there is hope,
there will also be prayer. And God will be holding you in his loving hands.”(Henri Nouwen)

26th Feb 2017: Matthew 6:24-34 “Don’t worry, Be Happy”.

We all have moments of worry and anxiety. Many people are anxious about the future, planning their lives and stretching forward months and sometimes years. We can worry about finance, about relationships, about the world, our communities. In today’s Gospel Jesus urges us not to worry about material things. We should not be enslaved by possessions. We are asked ‘what really rules our lives?’ If it is money and objects then that leads nowhere; they do not lead to fulfillment. Worry is unproductive. We all know this but that’s not very helpful when we are actually anxious about something. Jesus is urging us in today’s Gospel to free ourselves of worry. Worry is a symptom of a lack of faith. Jesus is not calling us to apathy or a life of carelessness but to realise that nothing was ever achieved by worrying.

How do we respond to worry or anxiety. Do we pray? Do we talk to God and hand these things over to God? Our thoughts can bring us to imagining endless outcomes of a situation, but none of those thoughts are real. Jesus is calling us today to a deeper awareness, to a letting go, to being more present to this moment, to ‘today’.

“Consider the lilies in the field, how they grow…” These words of Jesus about the providence of God are powerful and encourage us to put trust in God at the centre of our lives. God knows our deep desires and needs. The challenge of the Christian life is to place our trust in God, not material things, to stay focused on what God is doing in our lives right at this moment. 

Sunday 19th Feb 2017: Matthew 5:38-48 ‘Turn the other cheek’

Today we hear and read one of the most famous passages in the Gospels: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It is a radical text and not so easy. How can we be expected to love those who have hurt us or done harm to us? Anthony de Mello, an Indian Jesuit, who wrote many books on spirituality, spoke often about the concept of ‘loving enemies’. When someone hurts us, when someone triggers emotional pain in us, de Mello suggests that we try to come to the realisation that we are ‘standing before our benefactor’. The situation is a reminder that we are still to grow and we are hurt because someone has not met our expectations. It is these expectations that we must let go of. We can learn from the other who has wronged us: how has this affected me? What do I need to let go of?

The teachings in this passage are radical and go against what we hear around us in our world like calls for retribution and revenge. However Jesus has high expectations of his followers, to go against the grain. Jesus is not encouraging passiveness. He is inviting people to a ‘third way’: to make a non-violent stand when faced with persecution. By ‘offering the other cheek’ we allow for the potential of conversion of the other to a realisation of what they have done. The easy option is to retaliate, to not see our brother or sister standing before us. We can offer them an opportunity to see our own sacred humanity. ‘Loving our enemies’ is a call to constantly move towards restoring relationships, offering mercy and peace.  

‘An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind’. Gandhi. 

Sunday 12th Feb 2017 Matthew 5:17-37 “Going Deeper”

This Sunday we have a third extract from the Sermon on the Mount. It can appear at first glance to be a series of moral statements and rules from Jesus. On closer reflection we can see Jesus’s message here is the call for each of us to ‘go deeper’. The Scribes and the Pharisees followed the letter of the law but without depth. Jesus is clear that he has not come to demolish the law rather, this whole passage is a call to a more profound reflection on our lives; not ticking boxes but moving towards a deeper change of heart in dealings with others. Jesus gives many examples of how people might do this: warning against the hypocrisy of offering gifts and rituals at the altar, when we may have huge anger and resentment towards another. Is the real sacrament not in reconciling that relationship first? Which offering is more life-giving? It is not enough to ‘not murder’, but we must watch our anger which can lead to violence. Jesus is calling on people to watch their thoughts which can lead to serious actions like murder and adultery.

When we encounter Christ, the grace that that experience brings can make us aware of what is not ok in our lives. We are called to a radical conversion, a change of heart. And so we read today’s passage with our hearts, not our heads. It may help to recall a time when you felt God’s grace bringing you to a deeper realisation about your life. 

Sunday 5th Feb 2017: Salt of the Earth ~ Light of the World (Mt 5:13-16)

In today’s Gospel we hear of two scenarios where salt is concerned: one is that we are called to be ‘salt of the earth’. What salt does for food, Christians are called to do for the world – to give life ‘taste’. You might recall someone who brought ‘taste’ to your own life, encouraging you on your journey, offering hope, a new insight or project, someone you followed and learned from. What gifts did they bring?

The other scenario in the Gospel today is where salt has lost its taste – how can it be restored? You might recall someone you placed great hope in, whether it be a family member, a public figure, a church leader or politician; someone who had vision and inspired others. Yet the ‘salt’ or the ‘taste’ was lost. We see this all around us in our world, when someone’s potential is lost.

There are many situations in our world today where people’s light is not allowed to shine. It is controlled, hidden, prevented from being used for the benefit of all because of jealousy or perhaps others are afraid of the consequences. Jesus tells us that these lights must shine, for all, and then we can give glory to God in heaven for the fruits it may produce. To help lights shine and to give flavour to the world is our task today. Another way of putting it might be: how are the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ evident in our lives?