Daily Meditation - Thursday 15May 2008 - 6th Wk Ordinary Time - COMING TO GRIPS WITH A SPIRITUAL REALITY AND CALL

[BarbaraTherese]

Today’s Readings
James 2:1-9
Psalm 34:2-7
Mark 8:27-33

Meditation
HERE

James 2:1-9

"Show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ." (James 2:1)

• She had trained herself to meet and greet newcomers at church. Every energetic new family or bright young student was welcomed with a smile and warm words.

But when an ill-dressed woman with poor hygiene and a strange gaze caught her eye, her first instinct was to flee.

• After Mass, she maneuvered herself so as to prevent contact with the woman.
• She did not want to get herself or her family involved with this troubled person.

Yet “getting involved” with the needy is exactly what James is teaching here.

• We are taught to engage the successful and affluent—even if we know very little about them
• —and to treat the poor with greater caution.
• We may give money, but that’s as far as we go.

It is a lot more challenging to think about spending time with them or putting ourselves in their shoes.

• Contrast this approach with the gospel call to “give alms.”
• At its heart,
• almsgiving means caring for the poor
• from a heart of compassion,
• from a heart linked with Jesus’ desire to bless everyone.

• It means being united to Christ first, and from that union

, pouring ourselves out for the needy around us.

• ***In fact, Scripture tells us that ***this kind of almsgiving is so powerful that it can even atone for our sins (Sirach 3:29)!
• We may shun the poor because they reflect our own lowliness before God—
• something we don’t like being reminded of.
• But this is exactly why Jesus loves them so much.
• Since they reflect his neediness before his Father,
• he sees them as brothers and sisters worthy of special consideration.

How can we care for the poor around us?

• Some people are broken and simply cannot pull it together.
• Our job is not to fix them
• but to treat them with the utmost dignity and to care for their human needs.
• Others may need a helping hand during a setback.
• And still others may need nothing more than a word of encouragement.

May all of us let fear and caution fall away as we step out in love.

“Holy Spirit, bring every needy person

close to Jesus’ heart.
Help me to be Christ’s hands
as I reach out to the beloved poor
around me.”

 

[bwhite06517]

The MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

From our Gospel reading we have:

And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

C.S. Lewis wrote that either Jesus was the Christ - the Messiah - the son of the Living God - and all that said and did was true -OR - he was the biggest madman / lunatic that ever lived (after all equating yourself to God is like saying “I am the President of the United States (or Australia or wherever)” or saying “I am a giant tomato” ).

So … who do WE say that he is? Is He the Christ - or is (was) he totally insane? I believe He is the Christ - the second person of the Trinity - the Son - the Messiah - the Alpha and Omega - the Rock!!!

Heavenly Father, faith reveals You to us - open our eyes so we can see you!!! Amen

 

[BarbaraTherese]

The Reading and Gospel for today is that warning again of “the leaven of the pharisees”…or adoptings standards that are worldly 'You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

The Gospel call and the following of Christ will ask that I address my own attitudes and avoid the thinking that this world’s riches are ends in themselves (leaven of the pharisees), rather they are God’s gifts and tools to attain an end. I am simply a steward of this world’s riches granted to me and all His Gifts both material and also any spiritual riches or gifts granted. They are not ‘my’ gifts, they are God’s gifts given to me in order to benefit the good, wellbeing, of all. And in any giving to others, I am merely an "unprofitable servant’ about my duty…simply my duty no matter how great should be any giving. For if giving is great, it is only because the Grace God gave in order to give greatly was great in the first place.
In pondering Scripture I need to try to learn how God thinks insofar as it is revealed and to ensure that my own attitudes reflect His and the gifts that He grants me I exercise a stewardship over worthy of calling myself Catholic Christian…or striving towards such an ideal consistently. I may fail, but consistency asks that I recognize my failure and in repentance reverse the direction in which that failure may well lead - i.e. the leaven of the pharisees For valid repentance implies that I do intend to strive to amend my ways.

I am stunned by the human grief and suffering in both China and Burma especially at this time, to name two only areas of great human need in our world…and while I may be able to do very little, if even that, in a material sense, I do have an obligation in The Spirit in Charity to pray from my heart - these people, and in fact my brothers and sisters, are human with feelings, hopes and needs just like me and they have been struck with immeasurable human suffering.

What questions will The Lord be asking me personally at my personal judgement? What will He be asking me to explain?
What is He asking me to address in my life right now? Perhaps I could resolve at Mass this Sunday to give a few moments of heartfelt prayer for Burma and China and all areas in our world of human suffering. Perhaps I could put a bit more money in my Paypal account and donate something towards the situation in China and Burma. It is all such a very little, but The Lord can make it all very great. This is one of the lessons of the miracle of the loaves and fishes and of the parable of the widow’s mite.

…and having written all the above I have simply reinforced my own sense of failing. Sometimes there is something I can do about failing…and sometimes I need accept my limitations and live with a sense of failing and my own poverty…

“Lord that I might see. Lord, that I might see”…

Mea culpa.