A Sign For You

A Sign For You

“And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)

            Let us set the scene:  They were lowly shepherds.  Too poor to have a roof to cover their heads, they lived in the fields of the sheep they tended.  It was The Night upon which every day prior, and every day after, marked its place in time.  Heaven was rent open and the Glory of God shown about them, and the angel of the Lord appeared to them and said, “… I bring you news of great joy …Today …a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”  Immediately, the shepherds set off and found Christ the Lord, The Baby, clothed in rags, in a manger –and they glorified God.

         Why did God entrust the greatest newsflash in history to unconnected, unimportant, homeless sheep herders?  Why was the King of Kings born into a stable adorned in hay and manure?  Why was the Prince of Peace wrapped in rags?  Why did the Almighty Savior debut as a helpless baby?  Maybe it is because Jesus has come as The Sign pointing to Truth.  “…he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty.” (2Cor 8:9).  …“His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross …But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names…” (Phil 2:6-9)

         The Humble Baby, in humble rags, in a humble manger became The Sign pointing to our God.  In his Poverty we find our Richness.  Poverty is the Signature of Christ; the Pathway to Life; the Source of our Meaning.  Only in our emptiness, in our powerlessness, in our poverty, can we recognize The Baby, dressed in rags, in the manger.  

         Herod happened upon the Truth as the Magi sought directions, but Herod did not want to find God –he wanted to be God- so he tried to kill The Truth among the Holy Innocents.  Thirty-three years later, his successor did, but only for three days -as it lay hidden conquering Death.  The Rich Young Man was seeking Truth, but impoverished by his wealth, he turned his back on Jesus.  And the Pharisees and Sadducees, smugly comforted in their religiosity, could not recognize their Savior.  But, the Shepherds, the Sick, the Destitute, and the Thief on the Cross –all faced life and came up Empty; and all, recognized the Humble Face of Jesus.  Such is the Mystery of Mercy.  Only in surrendering to our Brokenness, to our Emptiness, are we ripped open and rendered to Truth.

          As we stay the course, let us pray that we become ever more Desperate -for Truth.  Let us pray that in confronting our Poverty, we not deny it, but embrace it; that we recognize the Face of our Lord -a Sign that Salvation is near: “A cry goes up from the poor man, and Yahweh hears, and helps him in all his troubles.” (Ps 34:6).  With Joyful Hope, let us gaze upon The Baby, wrapped in rags, lying await in the manger.  Let us Rejoice that God is among us to save.

A Stump, A Child, An Advent

A Stump, A Child, An Advent

(Isaiah 11:1-10; Luke 10:21-24)

As I read these readings from the first week of Advent, I gave praise to God for our “Holy Mother Church”.  In reflecting on that unusual title, Holy Mother, I realized that it is my Catholic roots which have given me the very framework for which I find myself thanking God.  That is to say, “Mother Church” is a term familiar to the Catholic perspective, where the Church is seen as giving birth to its members, in contrast to the members giving birth to their church.

My Church, my Mother, my Source of Nourishment, my Guiding Hand, is a Womb transcending time and space, weaving me into the Body of Christ, with all the saints present and past.  It is in this miracle of Advent, that I find myself a living, integral piece of the Body of Christ, a Living Stone in the New Jerusalem .

These thoughts were evoked as I was struck with the Church’s wisdom in pairing together the readings from Isaiah 11 and Luke 10.  Isaiah’s prophecy of the stump of Jesse sprouting a shoot of New Life, is paired with Luke’s account of Jesus exulting, with the Joy of the Holy Spirit, that what was hidden from the learned, is now revealed to the Childlike.  Read together, these verses shed light on each other in a manner where the sum of their parts is greater than their whole.  Our Holy Mother Church, in the pairing of this Word, opens a window into the Mind of God.

Immediately preceding the stump of Jesse vision, Isaiah writes, “See, the Lord Yahweh Sabaoth hews down the boughs with a crash. The topmost heights are cut off, the proudest are brought down.  The forest thickets fall beneath the axe. Lebanon and its splendors collapse.”  

Everyone, sooner of later, will be “brought down”, laid low.  Not just pruned, but cut to the stump.  And this can yield two possibilities: One, a sense of dejection, failure, despondence; 0r, it can become an opportunity  to be humbled …to find new eyes …to understand that of ourselves we are but dead wood …that if we embrace our death, we will discover the Saving Power dwelling deep within our roots …that the Spirit of God is waiting, to burst forth with New Life …with New Life that could not take place until our Tree of Pride has been cut down …that the Hand that wielded the axe, is the same Spirit which is pushing up New Growth.

Luke sets his stage with the preceding account of how the seventy-two came back rejoicing because they saw Satan defeated whenever they called on the Name of Jesus.  Through the Name of Jesus, death now yields New Life.  But Jesus reminds his disciples, that the true cause of their joy, is their Childlike Faith …a faith which embeds them into the Lap of The Father, a Father that is ever faithful to his children.

Taken together, these two readings shed light on what Nicodemus found incomprehensible, that in being Born Again, we are indeed placed back into the Womb of the Holy Spirit, where we are recreated into a Child of God, freed from the Power of Sin, to become what we were destined to be from the beginning.

And so we begin Advent with the promise of New Birth.  Where the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary, whose childlike “Yes”, conceived and gave birth to our Savior, Jesus the Christ.  Out of the Root of Jesse he comes into the world, breathing his Holy Spirit upon us, giving birth to our Church that Pentecost Day, a Church that ever Mothers us, ever birthing us with Word and Eucharist, with Water and Spirit, into New Life.

Come, Emmanuel.  Come, Word Made Flesh.  Come, Light of Lights.  Pierce our Darkness.  Come, Savior of the world.  We have been cut low, oh Lord.  We surrender.  We hope only in you.  With eyes steeled on that Christmas Star, we wait …to be Born Again.  Come Lord Jesus, come!

Lost Sheep

Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1)

    “The Tax Collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes were complaining…”  The Pharisees and scribes thought they deserved the attention of Jesus, not the sinners whom they detested.  So Jesus tells them the story of the Lost Sheep.  They thought the parable was about the Tax Collectors and sinners, but in fact, they were the ones who were lost.

    The Tax Collectors and sinners were not a holy lot, but neither were they lost, for they were drawing near to Jesus to listen to him.  They encountered the love of Jesus and were on the way to New Life.  Conversely, the Pharisees and Tax Collectors were driven away, deprived of God’s tender care.  Driven by fear of the Punishing Judge, they were exiled from love.  In detesting sinners, they embraced Sin.  Hopelessly lost, they were unable to recognize their self-righteousness.

    Blinded by condemnation, they were indignant that Jesus would welcome the company of sinners.  Their hardened hearts hid them from the Mercy of their God.  For this reason, Jesus paints for them the parable of the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep.  How else could his Mercy penetrate their hearts?  They must first come to believe that their Punishing Judge is in truth, a Kind and Merciful God.

    So it is, that the Good Shepherd is compelled to search for his wayward sheep, and when he finds it, he does not put a rope around its neck and drag it back to the fold.  Rather, he picks it up and carries it around his neck.  Now, sheep are not these cute and cuddly creatures we see on TV.  They are dumb.  They stink.  And they are nasty dirty, as manure and dirt are forever matted into their wool.  Yet, Jesus presents the Good Shepherd as oblivious to the filth, as he joyfully returns, carrying the sheep on his shoulders.

    St. Luke leaves us hanging as to how the Pharisees and scribes responded to Jesus’ parable.  Did a light go on?  Did they receive God’s Mercy?  Or was it too late?  Were they so hardened, that defending their pride took precedence over defending their souls?

    All the characters in this Gospel passage were in need of redemption.  But it was those, most successful in their religious appearance, that were in the darkest and most dangerous plight.  The Tax Collectors and sinners knew their lives were unholy.  They merely needed to repent and be saved.  The Pharisees and scribes either knew they were unrighteous and pretended to be holy, or they were deceived by their religiosity, and actually believed it to be so. In the end, they found themselves spurning the Mercy of God.

    Lord, where do I play in this parable?  I do relate to the Pharisee who prayed, “I thank you God that I am not like this sinner.”  I still feel disdain toward those who fail to meet my criteria for decency.  Your Blood has covered me in righteousness, yet I cling to a self-righteousness that is unbecoming of a child in your fold.  Selfishness and Pride are still familiar Voices.  The wool you have washed white in your blood is so easily soiled.  In my stupidity, I wander from your protective presence.  I tell myself half-truths so I can do things you would have me not do.  And I am sad to admit Lord,  there are parts of my heart, from which mercy does not yet flow, where doors are yet tight closed to your Light.

    Father, I am in desperate need of your Good Shepherd.  Fill me anew today with the in pouring of your Holy Spirit promised.  Holy Spirit, do with me what I cannot do.  Purify my mind, heart and soul.  Open my heart to the Truth of your way.  Jesus, may your Death reign in me, that I may live for you, that I may never wander from your Love.

From The Depths

From The Depths (Psalm 130)

“From the depths I call to you, Yahweh, Lord,

        listen to my cry for help!

Listen compassionately to my pleading!

If you never overlooked our sins,

        Yahweh, Lord, could anyone survive?

But you do forgive us: and for that we revere you.

I wait for Yahweh, my soul waits for him,

         I rely on his promise,

                my soul relies on the Lord

                        more than a watchman on the coming of dawn.

…For it is with Yahweh that mercy is to be found…”

         Lord, my soul as become familiar with the Depths.  Your Glory, so bright, is shadowed. Sin has darkened your Light.  Burdens of this life loom large.  I am weak.  Youth’s arrogance is a distant illusion.

        

         Only say the Word and my soul shall be healed.  …Yet you allow me to know the freedom of brokenness.  …Yet am I driven to hope.  …Yet must I still seek your Saving Hand.

        

         What mystery is this Life with you.   Invisible is This Hand that sustains me so.  Unquestionable is your Promise.  Unfathomable this Well Of Faith, this Source of Hope.

          

        You empty what you desire to fill.  You break what you desire to heal.  You humble what you desire to raise.  So it is Lord, that I know now the Watchman’s need.  The Night forbid his eyes to see.  Try as he might it, in vain could he see without your Light.

         I know now, that Watchman’s need was comforted.  For your Mercy goes first, to those in the darkest of night.  Only in clinging to your Faithfulness, can I see the Dawn that is yet to be.

It's Not Fair!

It’s Not Fair!

“Listen then to me, like intelligent men.  So far is God removed from wickedness, and Shaddai from injustice, ...God never does wrong, do not doubt that! ...Were he to recall his breath, ...things of flesh would perish all together, and man would return to dusty." (Job 34:10-14)

 

We all are guilty of crying, "It's not fair!" Whether in losing a frivolous game of dice, or in the painful loss of an untimely death.  What silly creatures we are prone to be.  Like a two year old child, we expect the Grand Unfolding of the cosmos to coincide with our wishes and expectations.  

When this Cosmic Unfolding fails to go our way, our first reaction is to feel victimized.  And, if we are victimized, then we must, believe in a Victimizer.  If this happens in a simple game of chance, we blame our “misfortune” on the magical Lady Luck, who withdrew her graces from that determining role of the dice.  Obviously, this is illogical.  It is as irrational as wishing for our past to be changed, or that Lady Luck would influence that next roll of dice.  We are not crazy, it’s just that our emotions never grow up.  This childhood remnant remains as our default mode.  While forever humbling, it is easily enough checked with the briefest subjection to logic.

This irrationality, however, takes a darker and more dangerous turn as our sense of victimization takes on increasingly profound proportions. When dealing with the injustice and hardship of life, our two year old within, responds with the need to assign blame.   

When this injustice is frivolous, as in that game of dice, we can dismiss it with a silly accusation against that fanciful Lady Luck.  But if, say, a precious infant dies of cancer, our default mode is to find some one or thing to blame.  The Unbeliever might say it is the cruel randomness of Fate that is responsible.  But the Christian is left pointing his finger at God.  Both the Old and New Testament grapple with this dilemma.

Job was renowned for his righteousness, yet he found himself stripped of wealth, prestige, family, friends and health, till he begged for death.  Only in being stripped naked before God, did he come to know his life was not his own, that his very existence depended on the Breath of God, that the source and meaning of his life could only be found in the will of his all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-just God.

The Gospels give us John the Baptist to ponder.  He was the Cousin of God, described by Jesus himself as the greatest of all born of women.  He gave up everything for God, spent every breath, every ounce of energy in service to his God.  And to what end?  His home was the desert.  His food was locust, his clothing, camel hair.  His short flash of fame –faded into obscurity.  He ended up alone, without family, wife, children or friends -imprisoned in a dark cell, and beheaded by a degenerate whim.  

After all he sacrificed, after a life of exemplary holiness, after giving his all, he finds himself alone, imprisoned in a cell.  Who could more justly claim victimhood?  Who had more just cause to cry out in protest, “It is not fair!”?  How is it he was not driven to despair, to self pity, to feeling as victim of an unjust and uncaring God?  How did he remain faithful to the end, confident in his purpose, to being a voice in the wilderness?  What powerful secret shielded his soul from such Reasonable Doubt?

John The Baptist did not expect the grand Cosmic Unfolding to be centered around his needs for affirmation, comfort, fulfillment, or even his need for meaning in chaos -for he did not see his life as his own.  He possessed a Knowing, a Faith, that his life served a Purpose far beyond the world of Self.  The Source of his Purpose, his Meaning, was the Will of God, the Great Unfolder of the Unfolding, in the Realm where self-denial, suffering, and sacrifice are all trumped by Truth.  He trusted, that in surrendering his humble finite space on the Timeline of God, however it unfolded, it was of unfathomable worth -because his Source and Destiny was God. 

          Lord, I am so vain.  I am prone to want my will to be done.  I presume to know so much that I am a fool.  I am quick to conclude and slow to listen.  Save me Lord.  I thought I could walk on water and am wont to drown.  I have all the right words, but lack the love.  I need the lessons of Job, but lack his fortitude.  John gave witness to the Light, I am a witness in need of the Light.  Help me Lord to see the Way you have marked out for me, to Trust in you, that I may walk it Faithfully, that it may Glorify you.  Come Holy Spirit.  Come.

Disney Bruenette

The Disney Brunette

I was standing in line with my two brother-in-laws, waiting to get on Cinderella's Golden Carrousel.  This was way back. I was twenty, Disney World just opened, and tickets were required for each ride.  Standing alone, two places in front of us, was an astonishingly beautiful woman.  Her long, straight, jet-black hair hung perfectly down her neck.  Her blue eyes seemed battery powered.  Every feature about her was perfect.  She was a goddess to behold.

Out of the blue, I blurted out, “I’ll bet you I can get her to go on the ride with me.”  It was a moment of madness I cannot explain.  I took a big breath, smiled at my brother-in-laws, and stepped forward to proposition a goddess.  A few moments later, I returned, asking to borrow some tickets. Seeing, that I was floating on a cloud, they said, “Take them all!”  So began my dream adventure with the beautiful goddess of Disney World.

          After the carrousel, we headed off to Pirates Of The Caribbean.  On the way as we began to talk, the Dream began to unwrap and a Nightmare began to unfold.  I was literally stricken by her emptiness.  She was so full of herself, that my presence was virtually unacknowledged.  Her extraordinary beauty became eclipsed by a repulsive darkness.  I desperately wanted to get away from her.  The intensity of my sudden revulsion was bewildering.  I did not know how to tell her politely that this was a big mistake -that I did not want to be with her anymore.   

We arrived at the attraction and climbed into something like a little row boat, which took us past the various pirate scenes.  She was oblivious to my panic, but all the while, my mind was racing over how to gracefully exit.  The boat had stopped for the next scene.  It was pitch dark and loud with noise.  That is when I noticed the little red Exit sign.  It was my opportunity to bolt.  When the boat moved back into the light, I was gone.  I’m sure she was surprised, but I doubt she ever missed me.

This memory came to mind this morning, as I was reflecting on the enigmatic words of Jesus, where the First shall be Last and the Last shall be First, where the Least shall be the Greatest in the Kingdom Of God.  I could see how these words have application here on earth, but I was struggling to grasp how they also pointed to different levels in heaven.  This was a conundrum, since in heaven, all are in unity, and all are complete.  But, just because all will be perfectly happy, does not mean all will have the same capacity for happiness -for those who loved more, there will be more happiness.

It was intentional, that Jesus connects “least” and “last” with our heavenly reward.  Least and last define humility, which is the antithesis of pride, the primary sin.  Humility must then be the foundational virtue, as it displaces both pride and selfishness.  Making others more important than ourselves is to make ourselves the least, or the last.  It is the beginning of moving up in the Kingdom of God.

Eternal happiness then has a correspondence to humility -to the degree we have learned to empty ourselves of selfishness.  The greater our emptiness, the greater is our capacity to be filled with the Love of God.  God’s love for us is infinite, eternal and unconditional.  We can do nothing to increase or diminish it.  However, we can increase our capacity to experience it, by cultivating humility -which is a hard and narrow road, as anyone familiar with farming knows.  For, cultivation is a demanding commitment, involving hard work, unending perseverance, sacrifice, tenderness -and stubborn Faith that the rain will come.

I cannot wish my selfishness away.  It is structural -a part of my flesh.  Just as air expands to fill the volume allotted it, so too my selfishness expands to fill the space allotted it, relentlessly seeking new pathways to occupy my heart.  I cannot command it gone, but I can choose humble acts of love to displace it, to drive it back, to subjugate it, to redefine it to increasingly confined boundaries, while simultaneously expanding the frontier to love.

Our heart and spirit is a mysterious realm, not prone to casually revealing their secrets.  Their laws of operation are not self evident.  They must be sought, discovered.  Scripture calls this Wisdom, and says it begins with our friend, Humility.  To govern this land of heart and spirit is in the jurisdiction of our mind, our self-control, our free will.  If we forfeit our authority to rule, other forces will take over, either of our flesh -our base nature- or forces of evil.  

Beyond our Self, there are many forces that influence this unseen land.  It is a mysterious interaction involving the grace of God; His faithful angels, including our guardian angel; His unfaithful angels; the intercession of the saints -in the here and now, and in the beyond; and what Scripture calls the “world”, which is a product of humanity outside of God’s will.  These forces are either good (according to God’s will) or evil (against God’s will).  The good, beckons us away from selfishness and toward freedom.  Evil beckons us towards selfishness and into bondage.

And so it was, that in reflecting on evil’s design to ensnare us into a life centered on Self, that the memory of the Disney Brunette was triggered.  Until today, I was at loss to explain the intense revulsion I had experienced in her presence.  Now, I believe it was evil that I had sensed.  She was empty -a Self so expanded, as to leave no space for God or Love, condemned to Loneliness, a glimpse of Hell, the destiny of all who follow the god of Self.

Beauty will always be in the eye to the beholder.  But to a Christian man or women, the most resplendent of sights, will always be a humble heart, empty of self and full of love.  

          Lord, empty me as I seek you now.  Fill me, with Your Light and Love, that I may reflect the Beauty of Your Face.  Help me to love others, as I have been Loved by you.