For the Sake of Children

Can you think of any experiences where parents have to be brave to help their children? Joseph once again pays attention to a dream and flees to Egypt for the safety of his family. He is faithful and courageous. His is a radical action. The trek is long, mostly through wilderness, without provisions of water, and filled with danger from bandits.

Joseph and Mary immediately exercise their role as protectors of their child in dire circumstances. They become refugees, escaping the tyranny of King Herod, who had ordered the death of their child.

As you read and watch the news, see if you discover men (and women) who are willing to be both bold and brave for others, especially for the sake of their children. We learn about refugees/asylum seekers who are escaping the tyranny of governments and leaders who prey on the poor, the unwanted. We hear of women and children who flee abusive family relationships—sexual, psychological and verbal abuse that threaten their lives. Often they too have to leave without provisions or assurance of a place of safety as their final destination.

In his homily for the Feast of the Holy Family, Pope Francis points out that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were refugees. Why would a savior arrive as a baby, when he could have come as a king? as a refugee? as homeless?

… Therefore, as we fix our gaze on the Holy Family of Nazareth as they were forced to become refugees, let us think of the tragedy of those migrants and refugees who are victims of rejection and exploitation, who are victims of human trafficking and of slave labour.

… Jesus wanted to belong to a family who experienced these hardships, so that no one would feel excluded from the loving closeness of God.

https://liturgy.slu.edu/HolyFamilyA122919/reflections_osdieck.html

Today we pray and act to accept our responsibilities as families to provide for the safety and security of our own children as well as those of strangers. We also pray for the many “angels” who warn of danger and guide others to safety. And we pray for new understandings of what it means to flee danger and act with courage, to sacrifice anything and everything for the future of children everywhere.

Joseph’s Dilemma

Doing the right thing! How did Joseph decide what to do when he discovers that Mary is pregnant? Common sense? The rules of the day? Doing what is proper? Protection from shaming? Joseph apparently is pretty sure what he has to do. But it all changes when an angel appears in a dream, when God enters the picture. Joseph receives new information, new understanding, new courage. What makes Joseph such an honorable man is his capacity to rethink his actions once God enters the picture in a surprising way.

This Sunday’s Gospel gives us an opportunity to reflect on what “fathering” involves today. In all family relationships, I am sure that each of us is caught in dilemmas about what the right thing to do is.

Have there been occasions when you were sure of the proper course of action and been forced to rethink things when you have come to a new understanding of the situation?

How do situations look different once we put God in the equation?

And so we pray: God of possibilities, deliver us from the presumption of thinking we know ahead of time the proper response to your surprising presence in our lives. Help us to remember that you are at work at all times, creating with compassion and mercy, in action for justice.

The Joy of Waiting

With joy, we look to Jesus as we wait. What a simple expression of what this Third Sunday of Advent is about. Isaiah encourages us to be strong, to keep imagining the future. He nudges us to be creative, to see what isn’t there yet but could be. So we are asked to imagine a rose blooming in the desert! Whatever desert place, whatever wilderness we are experiencing can lead to something beautiful.

The hope, the vision of something beautiful comes in God’s time, not ours. So we wait. Sometimes we wait with patience. Most of the time, however, our societal pressures insist on “instant” results. How do I learn to wait? What has been my experience of waiting during this Advent season? Have I been paying attention to my capacity to wait? What are the things I wait for?

What kind of home within myself am I creating for Jesus? As I reflect on who I am becoming, am I preparing to give birth to new expressions of Jesus in me, in my soul, in my spirit? How is my soul magnifying the Lord? And what has brought me joy—great joy during this Advent season?

With joy, we look to Jesus as we wait! It won’t be long now…

Peace Ability

Can you imagine a baby playing with a cobra? Or a wolf or lion welcomed by a lamb? What is Isaiah trying to say to us? The prophet Isaiah’s vision is depicted in an artwork entitled The Peaceable Kingdom. Isaiah’s vision was one where dangerous pairings would make peace and together they would grow in safety.

The word “peaceable” and the reality of dangerous pairings give us lots to think about. How are we today engaged in making peace? Where in our world is peace most needed? Isaiah talks about turning swords into plowshares. Peacemakers and artists today create art pieces from automatic weapons of war. Today’s prophets facilitate conversations where people come to the table to enter into dialogue in order to discover common ground. Such conversations attempt to find harmony and unity rather than protracted discord or hate speech or even the now familiar “agreeing to disagree.”

What sort of dangerous pairings are we encountering in life today? What examples of the “lion and the lamb” or the “baby playing with the cobra” are we familiar with?

And so we pray: God of endurance and encouragement, guide us in imagining a peaceable kingdom. Create in us hearts that welcome the stranger, the person or any way of thinking that we don’t yet understand. Help us to grow in our capacity to be able to make peace (peace-able) and to bear “good fruit” in the process.

More of Isaiah’s vision is described in this musical presentation, “On That Holy Mountain.”

Advent 2019

Stay awake! Be ready! Welcome the stillness! Be with us Lord to breathe within us and let us be ready to receive you. Strengthen us!  Abide with us! Cleanse our hearts of all that keeps us distant from you and from each other!

God of surprises, shower us with grace to see the light, to see more clearly, to love more dearly and to follow you more dearly. Help us to see the light in all of our human situations. Give us hope!

Wash away our anxieties, especially during the next few weeks. Abide with us in new, profound ways. Help us to have the Best Advent Yet!

King of Our Hearts

When I was very young, the feast of Christ the King was special. All the girls wore their white First Holy Communion dresses again and strewed flowers, often picked from their grandmothers’ gardens. We were at the head of the procession, followed by a hand-carried canopy over the priest who carried the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance. My grandmother grew rows of flowers in the vegetable garden, right next to the beehives. Pollinators galore! Sometimes we would see flowers in her house. Most of the time, she grew them to be admired from her back porch or from the large kitchen “picture window.” Ultimately they were grown to be included in the liturgical environment of the church.

The procession went outside to all the church grottos, also all decorated with flowers. We sang and inhaled lots of incense. It was the feast of Christ the King!

Kings can be rulers, monarchs, lords of lands. By contrast, our Scripture readings describe Jesus on the cross flanked by thieves. And we learn about the good thief who simply asks, “Remember me.” Jesus promises him good company among those who enter heavenly bliss.

Several years ago, Ronald Rolheiser described  Christ as the good king: “strong enough to be weak…who has a heart big enough to accept pettiness, who cares enough to accept humiliation, and who is faithful enough to do what’s right even when it’s misunderstood…who is tall enough to let himself be small, secure enough to disappear in anonymity, and mature enough to not be put off by immaturity…who is selfless enough to absorb selfishness, loving enough to be gracious towards what’s bitter, and forgiving enough to bless what’s killing him…who makes those around him feel safe, who carries others rather than ask them to carry him, who feeds others rather than feeds off of them, and who affirms others rather than asking them to affirm him. A good king looks more like Christ on the cross than like an earthly superstar in his glory. But that is what made Jesus’ life and death redemptive.” (Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, In his Reflection for Christ the King, in Give Us This Day, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500; Nov. 2012; pp. 266f)

May this be the King who reigns in our hearts on this great feast.