Fr. Matt's 76th Birthday Homily-Listen to Jesus and Do Not Be Afraid

                                                           

Antelope Canyon, Arizona by Fr. Matt

There is something deeply human about the desire to capture a perfect moment. I have been learning about the secrets of winning a photo contest, and the lesson is striking: most of us drive to a breathtaking place like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, roll down the window, snap a quick shot on our phone, and drive away. We call it a tourist photo. The odds of winning a gold medal with that kind of effort? About one in a billion.

And then comes the harder truth. A photo judge reviewing 2,600 entries has only three seconds — three seconds — to look at each image and assign a score between one and ten. Three seconds to decide whether a photograph says something worth saying, or whether it is just another snapshot of a place everyone else has already photographed a thousand times before.

Now here we are, on the Second Sunday of Lent, and the Gospel places us on top of a mountain.  Six days after Jesus had spoken plainly about his coming suffering and death, he took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. There, he was transfigured before them — his face shining like the sun, his clothes becoming white as light.

This is no tourist snapshot. This is the WOW moment. And it raises a serious question for all of us as we make our way through these forty days: what kind of Lent are we planning to live?

Because let's be honest with ourselves. Lent can feel a lot like that tourist photo. We examine our conscience, come up with something to give up — chocolate, a glass of wine, scrolling through our phones — and we hope we can survive forty days without going completely sideways. Habits are hard to break, especially the ones that are not good for us. And if we handed that Lenten practice to the Lord the way a photographer hands a tourist snapshot to a judge, what score do you think we would receive?

The WOW factor in photography, as it turns out, begins with planning. Before going to photograph Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona — a place photographed a billion times by tourists and professionals alike — the serious photographer does the homework first. You study what has already been done. You look for the image that would make someone stop, look twice, and say, "WOW." You plan your shot so that when the light hits just right, you are ready. You are not just pointing and hoping. You know what you are looking for.

Christ's Transfiguration aims at strengthening the apostles' faith in anticipation of his Passion: the ascent onto the "high mountain" prepares for the ascent to Calvary.

That is not accidental. Jesus did not simply wander up a mountain and happen to glow. This was deliberate, planned, purposeful. In other words, Jesus was planning ahead for his disciples. He knew what was coming — the arrest, the trial, the cross — and he wanted them to have something to hold onto when the darkness fell. He gave them a glimpse of the destination before asking them to walk the road.

Jesus was not putting on a show. He was equipping his closest friends with something they would need desperately in the days ahead — the memory of having seen the glory of God with their own eyes.

From the bright cloud came the voice of the Father: "This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them, saying, "Stand up, do not be afraid."

Notice what the disciples received on that mountain. Not a checklist. Not a set of rules. Two things: a command to listen, and a command not to be afraid. Those two instructions are the entire blueprint for a Lenten WOW factor. Listen to Jesus. And do not be afraid.

In this Transfiguration, the glory on the mountain was meant to carry the disciples through the agony in the garden. It was meant to carry them through Good Friday. It was the image they were meant to hold in their hearts when everything else looked like defeat.

And here is where the photo contest metaphor becomes something more than clever. The photographer who wins the gold medal is not the one who drove to the Grand Canyon and points a cell phone at it. The winner is the one who studied the light, planned the composition, arrived before dawn, waited patiently, and captured something nobody else had seen in quite that way. The winner is the one who was fully present, fully intentional, fully committed.

So what does a WOW factor Lent actually look like? It looks like planning. It looks like asking, honestly and prayerfully, where the Lord is calling you to make a real difference — not just in your own comfort level, but in the lives of actual people around you.

For me, it is reaching out to a family member struggling with dementia and their exhausted caregiver spouse, and not just offering sympathy, but rolling up your sleeves to find them real help — a medical team, a care plan, a safe place to live, a path forward. It might look like connecting my fire chief who has volunteers but no grant funding with someone who can teach him how to apply for what he needs. It might look like standing with our Latino brothers and sisters who are living in fear right now — not just feeling sad about it, but providing them with concrete, practical guidance to protect their rights and their dignity. It might look like protesting unjust policies, volunteering at an animal shelter, or simply helping a neighbor access medical or home care services they cannot navigate alone.

The divine voice commands us to listen to Jesus. But listening is more than hearing. As Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, building on the rock means not only hearing his words, but acting on them. Lent is not a season for better intentions. It is a season for becoming people who act on what we hear.

I have a good friend 83 years old whose spouse died in 2024, he shared that reading this reflection brought back the loneliness that he felt with the loss of his Rosemary but also the comfort of his family and friends who brought him through the pain and feeling of despair. He wrote: “I will never forget all the love and support I felt. It brought to mind the love and support he felt as a 9 year old when his dear mother died suddenly.  By the grace of God he survived. That is a wonderful feeling."

That hard walk is human life itself, marked by suffering, doubt, broken dreams, anxiety and loss. Without a glimpse of what lies ahead at the end of our striving, despair easily takes hold. And the nightly news gives us plenty of reasons for despair, doesn't it? Violence, injustice, corruption, people living in fear, communities being torn apart. It is precisely for moments like these that we return to the mountaintop. We return to the memory of the Transfiguration — not to escape the valley, but to find the courage to go back down into it.

The Transfiguration serves as a foretaste of the glorified state in heaven awaiting the faithful. It reminds us of our ultimate destiny — to share in the divine life and glory. The glory we glimpsed on that mountain is not just for Jesus. It is the destination to which he is leading all of us.

So what will be the focus of your WOW factor this Lent? What photograph of yourself are you going to hand to the Lord? What image of your life, your love, your service, will make him stop and say — WOW?

The three disciples fell to the ground in fear. But Jesus reached down and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Do not be afraid." Those words are for us too, right now. Whatever feels overwhelming — whatever injustice feels too large, whatever need feels too great, whatever cross feels too heavy — get up. Do not be afraid. You have seen the glory of the Lord. You know where this road leads.

Lord, I pray for all your people this Lent, that we will take the time to search our hearts for a plan that will truly make a difference — not just for ourselves, but for the people you have placed in our lives. Give us the wisdom to make of ourselves a picture that reflects your love and your compassion for all your people. May the light that shone on that mountaintop shine through us, into every dark corner of this world that needs it.

Listen to Jesus. And do not be afraid.

 

Be an Angel

                                            Frozen Rivendale Waterfalls by Fr Matt
  

Up to this point, Jesus has been a carpenter. I’m sure he had plenty of work to do. Now, however, he’s encountered John the Baptist, he’s been baptized, the Holy Spirit has descended upon him, and God’s voice has declared him God’s beloved son. Everything normal and familiar is gone, and the Spirit sends him out into the wilderness, away from everybody and with nothing to eat. 

How would you feel when everything familiar has slipped away? Here’s Jesus in a transitional stage. He’s left his old life. He’s got no one to talk to. He’s got nothing to eat. He’s in a desert and, as far as the eye can see, there’s nothing to look at. Was he frightened, do you think? Was he lonely? Did he feel confused? How would you feel? 

This is the moment when temptation always seems to strike. Whenever we feel we’ve lost something familiar—even if that thing was toxic to us—we become vulnerable. Maybe it was a bad behavior with alcohol or a drug. Maybe it was a job. Maybe it was your health or a favorite hobby you can’t do anymore. Maybe you’ve retired and are sitting at home wondering what to do with your time. Maybe your cognitive skills are waning with dementia and feel irritated and lost. Maybe your children have gone off to college or moved away and you no longer have the identity of being a parent and care-giver anymore. Maybe your spouse has died. At such moments the Devil loves to whisper stupid stuff in your ears. 

Every transition is a little death. It’s always tempting to dwell on what was lost instead of focusing on the possibilities of what may be ahead. Grief can take us into really frightening places, Or perhaps we’re ready to throw ourselves off the pinnacle of the temple. It may not be a temptation to suicide, but a great temptation to think because something that mattered has gone, nothing matters anymore. There may be the temptation to despair.

So here’s Jesus all alone in a wasteland facing the Devil by himself. But I take comfort in two things. First, that Jesus never was really alone. God was always there. In our times of confusion and temptation, Jesus has been where we are. Jesus has felt the loneliness, the emptiness, and the temptation just as we do. There’s no place we’ll go where he hasn’t been. 

The second thing which really jumps out at me is that angels were there to minister to the tempted. People would never have been able to beat their addiction if it hadn’t been for those in whom they confided, to whom they confess, and who were there to say, “Yeah, we’ve been there too.” 

I pray that God will put into our lives the people who need to be there, who will be understanding and supportive during our wilderness time. So often in my own life, in times of transition, I’ve been waited on by God’s messengers in human form. 

Our wilderness times can be challenging and frightening and leave us vulnerable to temptation. But God’s Word dwells within us, and God’s angels are never far away.

Do you know the legend of Saint Lawrence? He was a deacon in Rome back in the 3^rd century when the Emperor Valerian was persecuting Christians. Valerian liked to crucify and behead Christians. It was kind of his thing. Nevertheless, he’d heard of Lawrence’s charity to the poor, so he told the deacon he’s spare his life if he forked over the wealth of the church into his personal bank account. Lawrence agreed. He assembled before the emperor all the sick, the lame, the blind, and the destitute, and told Valerian, “These are the treasure of the church.” I suggest your “WOW for Lent:” might be a donation to support he poor in your community. May our hearts be with these treasures during this holy season.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that during this Season of Lent may we be angels to those in need our understanding and supportive to those people in their time of wilderness.

WOW Factor for Lent

  

  

 

Tourist photo Horseshoe Bend by Fr. Matt 

 

The “Wow Factor.” I am online learning the secrets to winning a photo contest. Let’s be honest, most of us will drive to an exotic location like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. We get out of the car, point our cell phone somewhere in the distance, take the shot and get back in the car and drive away. The odds of w
inning a photo contest are like a mega ball lottery, one in a billion. Although you might get lucky.

Lent is like taking that tourist photo. We examine our conscience come up with something to give up for Lent like chocolate, drinking or smoking and hope we can survive the 40 days without going insane. Habits are hard to break, especially unhealthy habits.

One judge shared that he was given 2600 photos to review and rank each photo between 1 and 10.  We would like to think that he would take his time to examine each photo for composition, style and color. In reality it would take him days if he could take 10 minutes for each photo to judge. This judge has only “3 seconds” to look and score each photo. Really. He has only 3 seconds to assign a score for each photo between 1 and 10.

So here are faced with another Ash Wednesday, yes we have the sign of the cross placed on our foreheads as a sign of our willingness to do penance or make ourselves the best Christian we can be. Mostly likely we are going to choose a behavior like a tourist shot. If you gave your Lenten practice to the Lord, what do you think your score would be?

The Wow factor to win a gold medal in a photo contest starts first with “planning.” For example, before I went to Page, Arizona last year to photograph Horseshoe Bend that has been photograph a billion times by professionals and tourists, I went online to see what other images had been taken. Online, I click on google images “Fine Art Photo Horseshoe Bend” and instantly you will see what photos have been taken by tourists and professional photographers. You are looking for images that you would be proud to hand up in your living room. Better yet, you are planning your photo tour so when you arrive you have a better idea of the photo you want to take so when the judge reviews your photo they will say “WOW!”

So let’s think about what I am planning to do for Lent this year. I have a brother-in-law struggling with dementia and his caregiver spouse is exhausted and overwhelmed. I offered to find a dementia evaluation team to diagnose the exact cause of his dementia and provide her with a plan how best to care of her spouse now and in the future. Then there is my fire chief who is searching for funding to get needed updated fire equipment. He has volunteers to fire fires but no one to help him get grants to replaced old equipment. I offered to contact a grant writer from my former North Java Fire Department to help the chief learn how to apply for grant funding. Then I think about my brother Latino priests who are serving their Hispanic communities in fear of being deported. Once again, this requires planning but I contacted my brother Hispanic pastor and provided him with guidelines how to protect his Latino parishioners when threaten with deportation. The guidelines have been offered nationwide to all our Latino parishes. Sadly, I learned last night from a brother Latino pastor that a third parishioner has been kidnapped and flown out of state to an immigration prison camp without due process.

The Wow factor might mean you are protesting against immigrant prisons in your community, or you are volunteering at an animal shelter or you are helping a neighbor or family member connect with needed medical or home care services.

So what will be the focus of your “Wow Factor” this Lent?

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends this Lent that they will take the time and search in their hearts for a plan that will really make a difference in their life. Give us the wisdom to make a picture of ourselves that reflects your love and compassion for all your people.

                     WOW photo Horseshoe Bend, Page AZ by Fr. Matt

Valentine-In It to Win It

 

                                               Fr. Matt's Valentine Basket for Sue 
    

Last week’s Sonshine focused on “salt and light” as I shared things that things had been falling apart in our home and the many skilled friends who brought their light “ talents and skills” to make needed repairs. Last night another real scare. Sue and I smelled something smoldering in the house. We discovered that the electrical outlet that had our TV and tuner plugged in was burnt. No damage to the TV and tuner but a call goes out to Brad our Good Shepherd of builders and he calls Tucker his electrician to come to our home to repair the outlet. Lord, it’s a challenge to keep a home in good shape just like it’s a challenge to keep a marriage or relationship in good shape.

Love may be blind, but marriage is sure to restore your sight.

It may look like a fairy tale at the beginning, but eventually you realize that marriage is hard work, however old you are and however long you’ve been married. There is a moment in every marriage that makes or breaks the relationship. It might come early, or it might come late, and it might come multiple times—but it always comes.

That moment is when you have to decide whether you’re really “in it to win it.”

That means that when you see your spouse as a real human being, with flaws and imperfections (even ones that get on your nerves), you commit to making the marriage work no matter what. When bad financial times hit, or one of you has a health crisis, or attraction in the relationship is fading, or yours goals for the future are not in sync —you’re committed to making the marriage work, no matter what. Once you’re in it to win it, there is no taking back that commitment.

Saint Valentine sacrificed his life for young people to be able to make the lifelong commitment of marriage.

Valentine was a bishop in Rome when Emperor Claudius II made it illegal for young people to marry, believing it made the men worse soldiers. Actually, the emperor needed these young men to fight his wars. Valentine disobeyed the decree, and secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young couples. When he was discovered, Valentine was arrested and executed. 

Saint Valentine gave his life for the sake of marriage, even though he himself could never marry. He understood the sacred bond of marriage as a sacrament that joins two persons into one flesh. How would society look if we returned to treating marriage that way?

So, whether you’re married now, or in a relationship with your best friend maybe preparing to get married, or simply want to have marriage or relationship advice at the ready, remember this one question: Are you in it to win it?

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are blessed to have a friend, a partner or a spouse at their side. May you have the grace to accept each other’s uniqueness and be thankful for all their light and seasoning that enriches your life with love, forgiveness and compassion.

 

Anger

  

                                                Reviresco Sunrise by Fr. Matt

Pregnant nostrils. That's what the Old Testament Hebrew Jewish word for anger literally means, pregnant nostrils. Captures it pretty well, doesn't it? In Ephesians it says, "Be angry but do not sin. Don't make room for the devil." Anger can get us in a lot of trouble in a hurry, especially depending on how we express it. Now I know that anger is normal. "Be angry, but do not sin." And it assumes that we'll get angry. There's nothing wrong with anger by itself, anger is normal, and sometimes anger is justifiable.

I mean, most folks know the story of Jesus in the Gospel of John Chapter 2, where he walks into the temple and sees folks who are using the temple for their own personal gain and no interest in the things of God, just motive by pure greed. And Jesus got angry, aggressively so. He turns over the tables, drives out the profiteers, drives out the animals, means justifiable anger. Sometimes we call that righteous indignation. Anger over a senseless shooting. Anger at someone who harms children. But more often than not, our anger is not so pure, is it? There's usually a healthy dose of self-importance or selfishness at the core of our anger. It gets us in trouble, especially when we don't know how to express it well.

Will Rogers was right when he said, "People who fly into a rage seldom make a good landing." So let's look at a few indicators that anger may just be a killer in your life, because when anger is uncontrolled, unbridled, it can lead to more unholy moments than you could ever imagine. Maybe it's trifles. Do you get angry at things that seem small to other folks? Like folks who take a long time at red lights, or days when your chores aren't done just right, or unintended accidents like spilled coffee or flipped over soup, just flip your switch? Do they turn something over inside you that sets off a case of pregnant nostrils?

Or malignant grudges and resentment that are growing within you? Are you still keeping a list of all the people who've ever wronged you? Do you carry it with you everywhere you go? Do you remember every time you've ever felt wronged or anything that's unfair or unjust? That list gets awful long and awful heavy after a while. The funny thing about those grudges, they end up killing us far more than hurting the folks we're holding them against. Or maybe you've got a case of hostility. Are you always suspicious of other people's motives? Do you look for and expect the worst from other people? What happens when you hang on to belignant grudges and resentments long enough, pretty soon you don't trust or like anybody at all?

Or maybe you've got bitterness. That's what grudges and hostilities grow into when they're left unchecked long enough. But today I have good news. There is hope for anger. We don't have to live with resentment and grudges and hostility and bitterness. Hope comes in a single word, grace. The Lord is slow to anger. He's compassionate. Even when we anger Him, He treats us with mercy. He receives us with grace. He is loving toward all that He has made.

And hope comes in a second word, forgiveness. "You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on you." Forgiveness and anger can't live together. I

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that in our moment of anger we say this prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. 

 

Salt & Light

 

                                  Reviresco, Rivendale Frozen Waterfalls by Fr. Matt

You know, there's something fascinating about today's Gospel. Jesus uses two of the most ordinary, everyday things imaginable - salt and light - to tell us who we are as his followers. Not exotic spices or dazzling fireworks, but simple salt and simple light.

And here's what strikes me: both salt and light have this interesting quality. They're meant to be noticed, yes, but not as the main attraction. Think about it - when was the last time you sat down to a meal and said, "Wow, this salt is amazing!" No, you say, "This chicken is delicious!" The salt did its job by making the chicken taste better, but nobody's really focused on the salt itself.

Same with light. We don't turn on a lamp and then just stare at the bulb. We turn it on so we can read a book, see a painting, find our way across a room. The light reveals something else - something more important than the light itself.

That's exactly what Jesus is getting at when he tells us, "You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world." He's saying: your purpose is to point beyond yourself. Your life is meant to reveal something - or rather, Someone - greater than you.

But here's the challenge Jesus presents: salt can lose its taste, and a lamp can be hidden under a basket. In other words, we can fail to be what we are. We can become Christians who don't actually make any difference in the world around us.

So what does it look like to really be salt and light? I think it's simpler than we sometimes make it. It means living in such a way that when people encounter us, they get a taste of God's goodness. When they see our lives, they catch a glimpse of God's love.

This past week, six household items needed repair. The light in Sue’s study has been flickering for months, the shelves need sanding from kitty urine, my bathroom faucet was leaking, the porch outlet was sparking, the washer was beeping randomly and worse the copier cartridge was jammed. On top of all this mess, it was minus 3 degrees this morning, minus 26 wind chill and I have plowed over 110 inches snow this year.

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Now I had a choice, I can be cranky and rattled, but instead I choose to contact friends who are blessed with amazing skills. First, I called Brad my builder who sent me Tucker, his carpenter and plumber. With a tweak here and a twist there, the light is working, the shelves are polyurethane, the faucet stem is not leaking and the electric outlet is replaced and safe. The appliance dealer sent me Jake and he replaced the washer computer board. But the copier, well Ben and Shasa spent 3 hours on the phone to upload a new operating system, but the copier still wouldn’t work. I contacted a Canon dealer, Adim a Lebanese Orthodox, kindly reviewed their steps and got the printer to work, but later it failed to print. On Saturday, I made my fourth call to AppleCare and Chris from Tennessee who has used Apple since the 90’s got the printing working again. This old religious guy needs to find a good IT expert. Any suggestions friends?

 

What does it really mean to be salt and light? It happens in the most ordinary ways. When you show patience with a difficult coworker, you're being salt - you're making that workplace environment a little more bearable, a little more human. When you take time to listen to a friend who's struggling, you're being light - you're helping this retired priest to make repairs in his home and get him through the darkness.

However, Jesus doesn't say, "Let your light shine so people will praise you." No - let your light shine so that people will glorify your Father in heaven. The attention goes to God, not to us.

This is where we can get it wrong sometimes. We can do good things but make it all about us - about how generous we are, how committed we are, how much better we are than those other people who aren't doing what we're doing. When that happens, we've become the main course instead of the seasoning. We've become the object to stare at instead of the light that reveals something else.

My friends who made these repairs helped restore my sanity. They were the salt and light in my life. I am grateful for Brad, Tucker, Jake, Ben, Shasa, Adim and Chris whose light shines brightly because they chose to share their God-given talents to heal the broken light, washer, faucet, outlet and printer.

This week I was asked to: help find a children’s book about grief, provide an online grief support group, find a home health aide for my senior neighbor, a trauma counselor for a senior victim of violence, resources for a caregiver with a family member with dementia, counsel a firefighter with suicidal thoughts, counsel a working mom with teenage daughters coping with divorce, help a dad locate services for his young adult autistic son, provide onsite critical incident services to employees whose coworker died, publish immigration guidelines for pastors to protect Hispanic parishioners from deportation, and pray for all my Sonshine Friends

For you, maybe it was a neighbor who helped you through a difficult time. Maybe it was someone who simply showed you kindness when you needed it most. What made them memorable? Probably not that they drew attention to themselves, but that through them, you experienced something of God's goodness. That's what we're called to be for others. Not impressive or spectacular, necessarily, but genuinely helpful. Not calling attention to ourselves, but pointing toward God's love.

Here's what I find both challenging and encouraging about this: Jesus doesn't say, "Try really hard to become salt and light." He says, "You ARE the salt of the earth. You ARE the light of the world." It's already who we are by virtue of our baptism. The question is whether we're going to live into that identity or hide it.

When we let our light shine - when we live generously, compassionately, honestly - we're not earning God's love or trying to impress anyone. We're simply being what we already are: Christ's presence in the world.

And here's the beautiful part: when we do this, when we really live as salt and light, it's not a burden. Salt doesn't strain to give flavor; it just does. Light doesn't work hard to illuminate; it naturally reveals what's around it. When we're living in union with Christ, being salt and light becomes natural too. It flows from who we are.

So as you go through this week, pay attention to the opportunities right in front of you. Someone needs encouragement - give it. Someone needs help - offer it. Someone needs to see kindness - show it. These simple acts of love are how you season the world with God's goodness. These everyday choices are how you let your light shine.

And don't worry about whether people notice you or thank you or even recognize what you've done. That's not the point. The point is that through your life - through your ordinary, daily choices to love and serve - people encounter something of God's presence in the world.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to be what you are. You are salt - so give flavor. You are light - so let it shine. Not for your own glory, but so that others might taste and see that the Lord is good.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Country Could Use a Little Mercy Now

  

Trying to cover Beatitudes in one message is kind of like that old book the one minute manager because what makes the Beatitudes so special is how powerful, how unique each one is.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Some people find the beatitudes offensive – “I don’t like them, they make us sound like a bunch of wimps.” Blessed are the meek. Some people are offended by them. That’s OK, lots of folks find the gospel offensive. Try to be persecuted or meek – “I rather just do what everyone says, woe is me.” However, Jesus is assuring us of vindication on the last day – giving hope. Suffer and work and act on behalf of God in this lifetime, God will vindicate you in end.

So ask yourself: which one of these Beatitudes do you think is most important? 

Poor in Spirit – we immediately imagine Mother Teresa, tirelessly touching, serving, loving in the streets of Calcutta, but I would add my friends at Volunteers4Animals welcoming abandoned newborn kittens or an older kitty surrendered at the shelter because its owner had died. We might think of mourners – people whose loved ones have died, caregivers of family member with dementia, or neighbors mourning a neighbor killed protesting for democracy. What about the meek? – folks behind the scenes, get no credit even though they work hard. I’m thinking about our volunteer firefighters and EMTs who were working during the recent snow storm. Or, 80 year olds freezing in the cold protesting to protect our constitution.

Could certainly be hunger and thirst for righteousness – tough thing to do – like Sister Julia feeding the hungry in Rochester. or the people in Minnesota and cities around the country protesting the murder of innocent citizens or protecting children in their schools. They could make a strong argument that this is most important.

Maybe it’s the Pure in heart – these folks know that what really makes a difference is the heart – where a decision to serve God is made. Jesus said clean up the inside of your cup and the outside will be clean. 

Speaking of putting lives on line, what about the persecuted?  The population of this country who are trying to save this democracy by peaceful protest, speech and political change. Members of the clergy in Minnesota arrested for their peaceful protest of the murders of  Renee Nicole Wood and Alex Pretti.

Then there’s the peacemakers too – not just keeping the peace but making it. People in all our states occupied by federal agents trying to bring peace to the streets of their cities. Peaceful, relentless protests. No, we are not going to let you build a prison camp for immigrants and their children in our city. Ask yourself, what are you doing to say no?

Which of these is most important?

Me? I say it’s the merciful – the more I look at Jesus’ life and at the Gospel of Matthew, I see a life immersed and saturated in mercy. A king forgives his servant who then won’t forgive another – delivered to jail – so also will the Father do – have some mercy. Some kids come and Jesus says these are God’s people – do not lead one astray or else – no one else wanted them around – tender hearted mercy. The workers in the vineyard – begrudge the owner’s generosity – my mercy. The lame and blind come to him in the temple and he heals them. Prostitutes and tax collectors get in before the unrepentant – mercy for all. Sheep and goats separated by who showed mercy to the naked and prisoner.

Jesus was a man saturated in mercy – in everything he did or said. My hunch is in the Beatitudes, he is calling us to be like Him. Not talking about being some kind of superhero, renowned scholar, celebrity, missionary to China. Simply talking about being a Christian – defending the powerless, the voiceless, the immigration crackdown, one Holy Moment at a time.

God has shown you great mercy – by all means, please share it. Because, Lord knows, our country could use a little mercy right now.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are exhausted by another snow storm or the storms in our country’s city and streets. Give us a heart like yours, and share a little mercy right now.