Friday, February 24, 2017

Get Behind Me, Satan!

Get Behind Me, Satan!

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him.  But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, 'Get behind me, Satan!  Because the way you think is not God's way but man's.'(Mark 8:31-3)
         Hearing this stinging rebuke by Jesus used to leave me feeling a little embarrassed for him; as if these words accidentally slipped out of his mouth in a moment of passion and could have been better framed if he had a second chance.  It seemed they were angry, cutting words –not in tune with the tender Heart of my Lord.  I felt bad for Peter; both, because his feelings were hurt; and, because he was reprimanded for reasonable and loving advice given discretely, away from the crowd.
         This all changed, one morning prayer, a few years ago, when the, till then unseen words in that passage, leapt off the page: “But, turning and seeing his disciples...”   As I tried to picture that exact moment, my imagination threw me back into time –into that dramatic scene, as if it were frozen with meaning.
Peter was crying.  His eyes were begging.  He was clasping Jesus’ left hand within his own hands -pressing it against his own heart.  His voice was desperate; his mind wheeling –he could not bear the thought of his Messiah and friend absent from his life; of Jesus leaving and taking all Hope with him.  The pain in Peter’s heart poured into the Breaking Heart of Jesus.
Jesus’ eyes too, began to fill with tears, causing him to break away from Peter’s eyes –for, if but an instant more, he too would have been weeping. Turning toward his disciples, he blinked hard -to clear his welling tears- but their faces remained blurred.  Like the blind man whom he had healed by putting spittle into his eyes, he now could only see distorted figures; lost sheep staring back, befuddled; his chosen companions whom he so cherished; and his Mother, whose heart the Sword of his Cross had now begun to pierce.
Jesus was like us in all ways but sin, he experienced our weakness… (Hebrews 4:15)  He did not want to die.  He was in love with his Creation and it needed him so.  There was so much left to do; so much more he could give; but the looming Cross was now casting its Shadow –a life so bright was now made Dark; and Peter’s plea was wrenching his gut.
If Jesus, like all humanity, possessed an Achilles heel, then surely he would have been most susceptible to spiritual attack through the Passion of his Heart -since his logic and Truth were impenetrable.  His Heart was bursting within him as he searched the faces of his bewildered flock so confused and afraid.  Their faces, to the one, were pleading, ‘You must not leave us!’  And now, in the Voice of his beloved Peter, Satan too, was entreating him to forsake the only thing that could save them –the Cross.  
Jesus’ battle with Satan during the Forty Days in the desert was but a preview of the Enemy’s guile.  Now, Satan was using the full weight of Jesus’ immense Love to weaken his resolve –a Supremely Evil attack upon Divine Vulnerability.
As Jesus’ Heart was battling his Mind, the Spirit echoed his Word yet proclaimed, ‘For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens...’ (Eph 6:12).  Driven by Holy Anger and riled with rage against the Dark Powers waging war upon the Children of his Father, Jesus unleashes his rebuke upon the Voice seducing him from the Cross…  'Get behind me, Satan!’  
         In this pivotal moment of Salvation History, Peter’s feelings are but a speck of dust on the scale against the weight of humanity’s Eternal Life.  Jesus, though subjected to Compassion’s Scream, remained submitted to Truth –that he came as the Lamb of God whose Blood would Redeem the world.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Why All This Talk Of Bread?

Why All This Talk Of Bread?

         Jesus and his band of brothers climbed into a small boat and embarked on a journey to the opposite shore.  They had just witnessed the second miraculous multiplication of loaves, as well as the willful unbelief of the Pharisees demanding a sign.  From the view of a gull circling above, it was an idyllic scene –of men united, crossing a sea, sharing a common purpose.  But from the Spirit, which discerns the hearts of man, it was something altogether different.
         Someone forgot to bring the bread, and the disciples, preoccupied with their grumbling stomachs, were arguing about who was to blame.  Jesus, lost in the realm of the Spirit, was processing the miraculous works of his Father and how the other side would lead him to the Cross, when he blurts out: 'Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod' (Mark 8:15).  
         Lost in their own world, the disciples were clueless to the obscure Words of Jesus, thinking 'It is because we have no bread' (8:17).  Jesus replies, “'Why are you talking about having no bread?  Do you not yet understand?  Have you no perception?  Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear?  Or do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?'  They answered, 'Twelve'.  ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?' And they answered, 'Seven'.   Then he said to them, 'Are you still without perception?' (18-21).”
         To lack perception is to be unaware of what is happening around us, leaving us unable to see where we are heading –not unlike being lost at sea without a compass.  What we choose to remember, what we become preoccupied with, becomes the default heading in the compass of our life -leading us, for better or for worse, to that destiny.  In the case of the disciples, their arguing, blaming, and preoccupation with their personal needs was leading them away from Jesus’ plan; earning them a rebuke, for pettiness, in light of his Father’s Abundant Provision.
         In their preoccupation for bread, they were blind to the Bread of Life in their midst; to the Truth Who Saves; to their Safe Harbor; their Wellspring of Life.  Because of his Sacrificial Love, we possess the Bread of Life.  In this Gift, we have a Compass which will lead us in all ways to Truth –to the Father’s destiny for our lives.  It is this Eucharist Encounter which sustains us in our journey; and directs us toward our Destiny in Christ.
         In consuming his Divinity, he consumes our Sinfulness.  In possessing Him, he possesses us.  In offering him our Brokenness, he offers us his Healing.  We are delivered from the pettiness of our personal needs, and empowered to live a Life beyond what we can dream – a Life that our Father dreams for us; a Life freed from Self; surrendered to God; a Life of Eucharistic Union.
           For this, Jesus warns against the yeast of the Pharisees, which beguiles us into Self-Sufficiency, into acts of Dead Religiosity -in place of Acts of Love.  And for this, he warns against the yeast of Herod which seduces us to be our own god –free to define Truth, and Good, and Evil according to our pleasure.  Jesus is guarding us against that yeast which disguises the Suffering of the Cross.
         Only the Unleavened Bread of Life can sustain us into this Death-to-Self so willed by God.  Only the Bread of Life can draw us beyond our need and into the Surplus of God.  The Baskets of Surplus are the Father’s sign of his Provisional Love –lavished and without end.  In surrendering the little that we have, our neediness is transformed into Grace -to love; to embrace his Cross; even, to knowing Union with God.
         This is the perception that Jesus is asking of us.  This is the Truth he is offering us, free of the World’s Yeast which corrupts the offering of our Self.  Let us then, talk of this Bread.  Let us become preoccupied with this Bread.  May all our Hungers lead us to this Bread of Life, for it will point us always to the Father.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Light And Joy

Light And Joy

He also said to them, 'Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed?  Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand?(Mark 4:2)
         On New Year’s Eve I was feeling more than a little cynical regarding any impending personal epiphany, and my many past resolutions, which had faded out as whimpers, left me in no mood to begin another.  But the Holy Spirit was not giving up on me so easily -even in the presence of my obstinacy.  That morning’s daily reflection suggested listening for a “Word from God” as a guide for the new year.  I had considered the idea, and was actually in the very act of dismissing it, when three Words abruptly overrode my thoughts: “Light and Joy”.  God’s Word had broken through my crusty heart.
         Chastened, like a crotchety old man by God’s unrelenting Mercy, I repented of my negativity, and received his Word as personally tailored to guide me through this year.   I did not experience this as an epiphany moment, yet I knew with certainty those simple Words were calling me toward one.  They had no profound meaning, yet I was sure they would.
         Every day they have been percolating into my consciousness, as if rain preparing the earth.  They were seeds of Hope yet expressed, but still, taking root.  Today, in reading Mark’s Gospel about the parable of the lamp, that personal Word broke through the soil of my soul.   That pregnant Word which had remained formless, now, by the Breath of the Spirit, is beginning to show Itself to me.  
         It began with my pondering of the ridiculousness of Jesus’ question –Why would anyone bring in a lamp just to hide it under something?  What if he posed this question because its ridiculous scenario is a real problem that needs to be confronted?  Surely I would not be so foolish?  Could he be illustrating such a self-defeating action in order to point to something amiss in my life?  What Truth is his silly question speaking?
         The parable of the lamp fundamentally addresses God’s purpose for our life; as well as the consequence of living inside of, or, outside of that purpose.  A lamp is created to emit light.  Its purpose is to bring light to what is hidden in darkness.  We too, are created as vessels of Light.  To live our life outside of this purpose is as foolish as placing a lamp under a basket.
         St. Matthew speaks to this point: “You are the light of the world.  A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden.”(5:14)  We have been created to be a Light to the world.  If we live our lives outside of our Divine Purpose, then Darkness remains around us.  If we live according to his purpose, then Darkness is expelled -for, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”(1John 1:5)   
         By itself, a lamp cannot produce light.  It merely holds the flame -burning the oil which was placed within it and ignited.  So too, we are not the source of the Light of Christ which we bear.  We are merely holders of the flame of God’s Love which lives within us.  And just as there is a vast difference between an ember and a roaring fire, so are there differences in the intensities of Light emanating from our lives.  The brightness of our Light is according to the Fire of Love in our heart for God.  And the Fire of Love in our heart correlates to the Faith, Hope and Love that is lived out in our life –to the degree we are living according to our Divine Purpose.
         The more alive we are in Faith, Hope and Love, the more Darkness is expelled around us.  And, it is a spiritual law that a life in Christ bears the fruit of Peace and Joy.  This is what my Personal Word “Light and Joy” is speaking to me: if there is Light in my life, there is Joy; if there is Joy in my life, there is Light.  The two cannot exist apart.  
          Joy then, is a dependable indicator of my spiritual health.  Not the giddy feel good joy of fickle happiness, but the deep joy of Peace, of knowing I am cupped in the Hand of God.  If I am lacking in Joy, I need only to increase the Light in my life –to renew the exercise of Faith, Hope and Love.  If I offer these to the world, then there will be the Light of Christ, and its Fruit will be Joy. 

Friday, February 3, 2017

Behold Your Child

Behold Your Child

And when the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord- observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord(LK 2:22+)
         Ever faithful to the Mosaic Law, Mary and Joseph bring their Precious Jesus to the temple, to be presented into the service of God, to be set apart, dedicated, freely given to do His bidding –thus, establishing the feet of The Only Son, onto the path to Calvary.  
         As soon as they enter, Simeon, a saintly old man seized by the Holy Spirit, joyfully snatches the Fated Child from Mary’s arms, and prophesies: “… 'You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected- and a sword will pierce your own soul too- so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare'.” (Luke 2:34)   St. Luke takes us, from the joyful beginning of the Good News, and thrusts us into the darkness of the Crucifixion, where the murderous thoughts of humanity are laid bare -through the Blood of Mary's Lamb.
         By custom, a Jew’s heritage is verified via the mother -as a child’s father could be uncertain.  And so Jesus, whose Father was hidden, hanging on that Cross…“Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her …said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son. Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother'.” (John 19:26-7)  As his last wish, Jesus, wanting his Beloved Disciple to know his true identity, consecrates him to his Mother.  Pronouncing John ‘son of the Mother of God’ confirms him as Brother to the Savior of the world -son of the Father.  And Mary, with her soul pierced by the Sword of the Cross, was ever consecrated to mother His Beloved.
         Now, we all are His Beloved.  And Mary eternally retains her mantle as ‘Mother of His Beloved’.  So we too, can be sure of our heritage, for in looking upon his Beloved John, Jesus saw our needy faces, and pronounced His Mother as our own.
As we read then, Luke’s Presentation of Our Lord, let us pause …close our eyes …and see our Mother …with her heavenly mantle …lifting us up and saying…  “Holy Father, behold Your Child, whom I consecrate to do your bidding, to follow wherever the footsteps of my Son will lead –fill this son, this daughter, with the fullness of your Spirit, to be His Light unto the world.”
          Father, in the Name of your Son, Jesus our Lord and Brother, hear this perpetual prayer of His…of Our Mother.