Inbox Inspiration: August 23, 2020: 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
 Cycle A


Standing in Wonder: The Universe 

Three years ago this month, I remember watching the solar eclipse. We were careful to wear the protective eye glasses that had been advised. 
What I remember most was standing in wonder at the universe, and beyond that, standing in wonder at God. Saint Paul beautifully expresses this wonder in today’s second reading.
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!”
It is as if Paul is also looking up and beyond ourselves and our world. Paul stands in wonder at the greatness and mystery of God.
 

Standing in Wonder: The Son of God 

And then, today’s gospel opens up another experience of wonder. 
The apostles had already stood in wonder as they saw Jesus calming the stormy lake and healing people. Now Peter says that he believes that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  
This idea is both simple and simply awesome. There is the Almighty One, the One before whom we stand in wonder when we look up to the heavens and beyond ourselves.
And now, Peter and we declare that this Almighty One has become one of us. And so, along with Peter and the other apostles, we stand in wonder before Jesus.  
And, as if that isn’t enough, God in Jesus shows us how to live everyday life in that wonder. He shows us how to live standing in wonder, as if we are looking up and beyond ourselves and our world.  
 

Living in Wonder 

For example, we live in wonder before Jesus:

• when we pray from our hearts and really mean what we say;
• when we receive Holy Communion, and are aware that this is Jesus, the Son of God coming to us;
• when we receive Holy Communion and are aware that this Communion – spelled with a capital C – enlivens our communion – spelled with a small c – with all God’s sons and daughters on this earth.

Again, we live in wonder before Jesus:

• when we are faithful to our commitments to one another;
• when we sacrifice for the good of our families;
• when we take a minute to say something supportive to the clerk at the check-out line who seems to be having a bad day.

And again, we live in wonder before Jesus:

• when we speak respectfully about others and to others, no matter what;
• when we do things that promote unity among people;
• when we try to build bridges between others and ourselves.

And finally, we live in wonder before Jesus:

• when we look above and beyond our own needs and concerns to the common good of all;
• when we maintain hope based on our faith that God will be with us, no matter what;
• when we cherish human life across the board and equally, wherever or in whomever it is found.

Conclusion

They are some of the ways that come to my mind – some of the ways that Jesus shows us how to live everyday life in wonder, how to live as if we are looking up and beyond ourselves and our world.
 
Father Michael Schleupner
 
In addition to the usual Wednesday edition of Inbox Inspirations, I am continuing at least for now these Special Inbox Inspirations on Sundays. I began these when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Inbox Inspiration: August 16, 2020: 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
 Cycle A


What a Story!

Well, what a story today’s gospel is!
Jesus’ first responses to that woman are really surprising. They are so inconsistent with everything else Jesus does.
So, what’s going on here? How are we to understand this?
The most likely explanation is that Jesus is the Son of God and is divine, but he is also fully human. And so, even Jesus has to work through the prejudices that can seep into all of us.  

Prejudices/Barriers

And that’s exactly what happens here. Jesus breaks through the barriers of his day.
First, there is gender. He is talking with a woman when women are viewed as second-class and are not even to be recognized if they are unaccompanied by their husband.  
Then, there is religion. This woman is a not a Jew, and that’s why Jesus calls her a “dog” – the demeaning expression of that day for all non-Jews.  
Next, there is culture. This woman is of a different culture and probably dresses differently and has different social customs.
And finally, there is nationality. She is a Canaanite, and they are viewed as enemies. 
Well, Jesus eventually breaks through all of these barriers or prejudices. He comes to see this woman as a person – a mother who loves her daughter and desperately wants her to get well.
He sees her as a person with needs and feelings and hopes like anyone else. And this is what leads Jesus to break through all the prejudices and barriers that we humans can put up between ourselves and others.

A Lesson for Today

I don’t think I have to say that this is a good lesson for us today. And we need to take this in and look at Jesus’ example.
We may have prejudices based on race, religion, ethnic group, country of origin, religion, and on it goes. The polarization in our country, at least to some extent, is caused by these prejudices.
We need to go beyond them and see others as persons like ourselves.  If we do that, differences and diversity will not lead to such harmful, hurtful barriers. 

A Recommendation for Us Catholics

From all of this, I am seeing one recommendation for us Catholics and for Catholicism in general.
My thought is that part of our uniqueness as a capital C Catholic Church must be that we are truly a small c catholic Church.  Small c means that we are universal, inclusive, and respectful.
At this point in time and in today’s culture, this approach is especially needed.  We need to express our faith with this approach in mind.
So, today we need to teach our faith positively, not negatively. We need to lift up the richness that we have in Scripture and sacraments and spirituality, and we need to express positively the way of Jesus in the gospels.
We need to invite others to freely consider faith and belonging to this faith community. But we also need to avoid manipulating others with guilt and fear by saying that they have to do it this way or else eternal damnation will follow.
And with that, we need to be respectful of differences in others and even in others within our Church. Yes, we need to positively lift up inclusion and stop resorting to exclusion from the Eucharist or exclusion from the Church itself as a way to bring people to Christ.  
This, I think, is the way to be both Catholic with a capital C and catholic with a small c in this day and age. It will be a way of faith that does not play on prejudice and hatred and that does not erect barriers.
This is to be the uniqueness and witness of Catholicism at this moment in history. And, by the way, I believe that this is precisely the way that Pope Francis is trying to instill in us as individuals and as a Church.
 
Father Michael Schleupner
 
In addition to the usual Wednesday edition of Inbox Inspirations, I am continuing at least for now these Special Inbox Inspirations on Sundays. I began these when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Inbox Inspiration: August 9, 2020: 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time  
Cycle A


When I was twenty-five years old, I experienced the first real storm of my life. 
My mother was diagnosed with cancer, and it was advanced. Mom died nine months later. 
This was a very painful loss for me. It was a major storm in my life, right in my first year of priesthood. 
Well, not just me, but all of us have storms in our lives. It could be right now, in the pandemic – anxiety about whether we will get infected with Covid, anxiety about our finances or about losing our job.
It could be the death of a parent or a child, or a husband or wife or dear friend. It could be loneliness or depression. 
It could be failing to get into the college where we wanted to go. It could be the need to deal with an addiction. 
You, I am sure, can think of other examples We all have storms in our lives. 

Peter’s Storm 

 I think of this as we hear today’s gospel.
Peter and the other disciples are in a boat on the lake, and it gets stormy. The wind and the waves are tossing the boat around.
It is a real storm, but it is also symbolic. It is intended to be symbolic of the storms in our lives.
In this situation, Peter in his fear looks to Jesus and calls out, “Lord, save me!”  So, he turns to Jesus in the midst of the storm.
That, I think, is the message. We need to do the same thing.
The question is: what does this mean? How do we turn to God in the midst of a storm?
In my life, I have come to see three things as important. Three habits or practices are important for allowing God to help us get through the storms. 

Three Habits or Practices

First, some prayer every morning is helpful and even essential. It can be simple, and it is probably better if it is in our words and not a learned prayer.
In this prayer, and this is very important, resolve to do your best today. Resolve to give yourself as best you can to whatever you have to do this day and ask God’s help in doing this.
This is important because sometimes we will just have to push ourselves and make ourselves keep moving through the storms. So, in the morning, ask God’s help in your resolve to give yourself as best you can to your responsibilities of the day. 
Then second, choose a brief, one-sentence prayer and repeat this often throughout the day. For example, Peter’s words, “Lord, save me.”
Or, Jesus’ words: “Do not be afraid.” Or, “I am with you always.”  
A one-sentence prayer helps us to stay centered on God throughout the day. It helps us to keep our eyes on Jesus when we are in stormy seas.
And then, third, make space for some silence. Elijah in the first reading gives us a great example of this.
He hears the Lord not in any dramatic way – not in the thunder or the wind or the fire, but rather, in silence. My experience is that in the storms of life, we need to go within and listen to our inner self, and this is why we need some silence in our lives. 
God often speaks through our feelings, our deepest desires, our ideas and our longings. God can really help us through our storms in this way, and we need to be quiet and listen to him in our inner self.

Conclusion 

So, 1) a prayer of resolve in the morning, 2) a one-sentence prayer for repeating throughout the day, and 3) some silence to help us go to our inner self – these are ways to turn to Jesus and allow him to help us in the storms of our lives.
 
Father Michael Schleupner
 
In addition to the usual Wednesday edition of Inbox Inspirations, I am continuing at least for now these Special Inbox Inspirations on Sundays. I began these when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Inbox Inspiration: August 2, 2020: 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle A


Jesus says: “Give them some food yourselves.”
A lot of people are gathered around Jesus, and it is getting to be evening. 
They are hungry, and the disciples want Jesus to send them away to go get food for themselves.
But Jesus says: “Give them some food yourselves.” 
I think he is saying the same thing to us – today!
We are not to ignore the people who are hungry in the Philippines, Kenya, Haiti, Guatemala or Baltimore City. 
Our resources are limited, just as the resources of the disciples were limited. 
But Jesus tells each of us to do what we can.
If we sincerely do that, apparently there will be enough to go around.
There is something else in this gospel that is very significant.
The disciples bring Jesus the loaves of bread and the fish that they have.
And what does the passage say? 
“Taking the loaves, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples…” 
These are the same words the Scripture uses to describe the Last Supper. 
Jesus takes…looks up…blesses…breaks…and gives. 
So, Jesus is connecting physical food and spiritual food.
I think the connection happens in this way.
If we receive the spiritual food, Jesus’ Body and Blood, we are to be so changed and transformed that we will have to share physical food with those who are hungry. 
We cannot do otherwise.
Father Pedro Arrupe used to be the Father General of the Jesuits, and he put it this way. 
“We cannot properly receive the Bread of life without sharing bread for life with those in want.”
Isn’t that a great way of stating it?  
“We cannot properly receive the Bread of life without sharing bread for life with those in want.”

Father Michael Schleupner

In addition to the usual Wednesday edition of Inbox Inspirations, I am continuing at least for now these Special Inbox Inspirations on Sundays. I began these when the coronavirus pandemic began.