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Archive for the ‘Ordinary Time’ Category

Who Were Those Guys?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on September 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 21:2
There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas, called the Twin, and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, also the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples.

Two “other” disciples: who were they? Were these two who had joined the disciples just recently? Were they hanging out because of the witness of Thomas, let’s say? There are few clues. In any case, they are unnamed. Why? There are a few other examples in scripture where followers are numbered in some way but unnamed.

This is where my imagination really kicks in. Somehow there is significance in these two guys, apparently fishermen (since they all go out to fish with Peter), being present at Jesus’s appearance. And although the emphasis in this last chapter of John is on Peter and his mission for Christ, these two unnamed guys were there for a reason.

In the same way that Thomas needed Jesus to solidify his faith in Jesus’s second appearance, I think these guys needed something similar. In fact, I believe God uses time and place so economically that each one of the disciples that day had a particular need to see Jesus face to face. Only Peter’s conversation is recorded, but I’m sure each disciple had a conversation around that campfire and over the meal.

This was a time of confirmation.

We all need confirmation at one time or another. Did I really hear correctly? Is this really what I should be doing? Am I choosing the right way? Is this my time?

Jesus had breakfast with 7 guys to confirm their faith and their missions. Each one was sent forth. Outside of Peter and the sons of Zebedee, these other disciples played fairly small roles in the overall story. And yet, here they are in the third sighting of Jesus after the resurrection.

If Jesus would do this for them, then he’ll do the same for me. And so I ask, confirm the stirrings of my heart this day, Lord. Give me courage and fortitude. Give me confidence and curiosity. Amen.

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Gone Fishing

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on September 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 21:3
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Here’s what I think: Simon Peter was impatient and uncomfortable with his new role. This mission stuff was foreign on his own. Besides, things were not happening the way they had before with Jesus. And where was Jesus? Why wasn’t He leading them? Why wasn’t He telling them what to do?

Like so many of us, Peter back-peddled. From his perspective, the mission mandate was not working out. So, he went back to what he really knew how to do: fish! In this arena, he was much more confident. This was what he had always done before. This was much more comfortable.

Only one problem: no fish!

When we are given a clear mandate from God and we actually hear it and understand it and head out in that direction … warning: going back doesn’t work.

I had a friend who felt a strong call to go to London (from Atlanta, Georgia) and work with the poor, particularly prostitutes and other street people. He obediently packed up his family and left. And the Lord blessed them. But into the second year, he became discouraged. And after several disappointments and dead ends, he and his family packed up again, returned to Atlanta and went back to the coffee shop business.

Only one problem: no coffee… no customers… etc.

Don’t get me wrong. God is merciful and full of grace. Even if we mess up and go back to fishing, God is there. But be prepared, once we willingly enter the Way of Jesus, He will continue to call us back to the path… one way or another. The old comfort zone will no longer be comfortable. The old way of doing things will no longer work. The old projects will fail. The old pew will be rough sitting.

“…no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.” [Luke 5:37]

Lord, give me courage to stay on the new path today.

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Is Doubt a Bad Thing?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 20:24b
But he [Thomas] said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

Poor Thomas has become legendary by the phrase, “doubting Thomas,” used in both secular and religious circles to mark someone as “unwilling to believe.” So often, the implication is that he was a second-class disciple because he didn’t believe at the first. And to make matters worse, Christ himself admonished Thomas by saying, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” [verse 29]

But I think we are being a little unfair. After all, the rest of the disciples DID get to see Jesus appear that first time in the locked room. We don’t know if they would have done any better than Thomas, had any of them missed that gathering. Direct experience is powerful. And it is for this reason that many people over the years have become believers: a direct experience with God in Christ.

Everyone else is initially dependent on the testimony of others. Is our story compelling? Is it complete? Is it loving? Is it inclusive? Is there room for doubt?

I think there is a healthy place for doubt. In some cases, it’s better to face the truth of our fears, our concerns, our uncertainties and engage them. To camouflage doubt is much more serious and weakens faith even more when the tough times come along. There must always be room for questions and those who don’t doubt must embrace lovingly those who do.

Christ returned to the locked room specifically to meet Thomas there, to meet his doubt. The transformation of Thomas in that moment is worth noting: he went from doubt to total belief and faith. I am convinced that Thomas was never shaken again by doubt. When doubt is authentically washed away by the revelation of truth, it sticks.

But we should not fear doubt, instead, lay it at the foot of God who will address it. Sometimes the road from doubt to faith is a slow journey. For instance, if we have doubt in ourselves, it often takes a series of positive experiences to reveal our ability to do or succeed at something. And the building of our faith in God may be the same way. Each person is different. Some achieve faith in the blink of an eye and some along a path that is only illumined one stone at a time.

My own doubt in God’s love for me has traveled in waves over the years. Naturally, it tends to rear its head when circumstances are most difficult: when my marriage was in crisis, when I couldn’t bear children, when our finances were stripped bear, when our parents died, and so on. But each time, I can say, Christ appeared in the locked room of my heart. His presence replaced doubt with hope and I was made new again.

I am on the slow path, I guess. And although I am not Thomas, I am stronger for each doubt challenge along the way.

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Breath of God

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on September 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 20:22
And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit! [Amplified]

Just like that! Most people put a great deal more emphasis on the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, but here we have a very low-key moment. Jesus explains their mission: go forth, do as I did, be directed by me in all you do … and then he breathes on them.

Over the years, the power of breath has been touted more and more. How many times are we told to take a deep breath? It’s one of the best things we can do for our bodies.

But the key is taking the breath. Instead, we take short shallow breaths. We know it’s good/better to use deep breathing, but we don’t. Why? We are no longer in touch with our breath.

Jesus says, “receive” the Holy Spirit. Like any gift, unless our hands are open, we cannot receive it. We must accept what is given. And if we have the power to accept, we also have the power to reject.

Breath, like the wind, cannot be measured or seen.

Today, I want to imagine that every breath I take is receiving the Holy Spirit. Today I choose life. Today I breathe in Jesus with every breath I take.

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Supposing Him the Cable Guy

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on September 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 20:15
“Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” [New American Standard]

When I finally started going to church after becoming a Christian, I ended up at a Pentecostal Church called the Rock Church on East 62nd Street in Manhattan. At that time, the service time suited me quite well, 3:30 in the afternoon. The pastor, whose name eludes me now, was from Norway. He brought this scripture from John 20:15 to light for me one Sunday and it’s stayed with me ever since.

Mary didn’t recognize Jesus because he looked ordinary. And this is the message for us today. Jesus is among us in the ordinary. So often, we hope for the extraordinary: a miracle, a healing, a transformation. And these are all fine to pursue, but we must remember Jesus in the commonplace. He is the person on the road holding the “Slow” sign; he is the person at the toll booth; he is the bus driver; he is the cable guy.

Life is a gift. Each day has its mysteries. But let us not forget the every day occurrences and people.

Today, Rabboni, make me mindful of your presence in the things and people I take for granted… in the things and people I have relegated to “unimportant” or “insignificant.”

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A Folded Cloth

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 20:6-7
Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

I have always been intrigued by the folded cloth that was set aside separately from the rest. John is the only writer who adds this small detail. When I was still performing and touring my own show (Pente, a show that depicted the 5 women in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1), I included this tidbit in Mary’s monologue at the end of the show.

There is no real way to know who folded this cloth. I can’t quite imagine that Jesus, resurrected, pulled off the linen burial clothes and then took the time to fold his head cloth. But my imagination does go to the possibility that Mary, his mother, visited the tomb even earlier than the other women or disciples. I can imagine that she discovered the missing body and in her love for her son, folded his head cloth, perhaps after taking in the aroma of him one last time. I have no proof: it’s strictly an image I have carried for a long time.

For me, the folded cloth is an acceptance of Jesus’s transformation, his resurrection. Mary had pondered long all of the prophecies and experiences. And now, she could see that all had happened as Jesus said it would. She finally knew, without a doubt, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, who had died and risen as he had promised he would.

For me, she left the folded cloth, the former life, and stepped into her own new life. Today, I fold away the mistakes of my yesterdays and begin again. Each day is a new opportunity…. a new beginning. Thanks be to God.

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Intimidating

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 9:28a; 34a
Then they [the chief priests] hurled insults at him [the formerly blind man] and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple!” … Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple!…”

I confess, I love to be around people who are really smart. I am intrigued by their knowledge and enjoy learning something new each and every day. It’s one of the reasons I read so much.

But the way in which someone hurls his/her knowledge around can be intimidating. In fact, there are folks who use knowledge as a sledge hammer. Little do they know that knowledge flung about like that becomes diffused, unfocused and useless. People stop listening.

In one of the books I’m reading, “Why We Make Mistakes” by Joseph Hallinan, the author maintains that as people (particularly men) collect information, the more confident they become to the point of actually becoming over confident. And in that over confidence, they begin to make mistakes.

The chief priests were over confident. They thought they knew the whole story. They could not integrate anything new. They could not integrate the miracle. They began making unfounded accusations. They were grasping at straws.

There is usually a moment when I go from appreciation of a person’s knowledge and intelligence to total intimidation. I think that moment happens when I hear or see or sense the other person is espousing his/her views with such certainty that there is no room for other possibilities. It’s a lack of humility.

Lord, don’t let me become this kind of person. Keep my heart and mind open to the miraculous. Keep my mind and heart open to the evolution of your spirit in our world. Keep me humble.

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