We Are Easter People

 

On Good Friday, I the shared the following story. An art therapist presented a seminar on art therapy helping veterans coping with PTSD. She concluded her presentation by sharing the following poem and asked the participants to reflect on the poem and think how they wanted to be remembered at the end of their life.

 

The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning to the end.

He noted first came the date of the birth and spoke the following date with tears. But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between the years.

For that dash represents all the time that they spent life on Earth.
And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand the way other people feel.

Be less quick to anger and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

I then shared stories about how I have spent my dash in my 49 years of ministry.

I shared some of my dashes on Good Friday and one I want to share with you this Easter is the following story,,,

Retirement for a priest is a myth, this Easter I travelled to Las Vegas to help Fr. Erick at Divine Mercy Parish for Holy Week services. I am meeting old friends, make new friends  and spending time talking and listening to God. I serve as the “unofficial” vocation director to Bishop Mack mentoring men who are discerning a vocation seeking to be deacons or priests. A memorable and joyful dash last year was celebrating the ordination of Fr. Erick, Divine Mercy’s pastor, with whom I am grateful to be his brother priest and good friend.

On this Easter day, I want to share another story and it begins with the  following online message:

"Used tombstone for sale." That's what the advertisement said on the Facebook page. "Used tombstone for sale." A real bargain for someone named Diego. For information, call. It seems obvious to me that Diego must have been a Christian because who else wouldn't need a tombstone? Tombstones indicate the end. You've invested yourself in life and now it's over. But the church simply isn't tombstone territory. We are Easter people, and Easter people believe death is not the end. Now the gospels were created by four different writers and different places, but they all agree on the same basic things. There's no dispute. When? Early in the morning on a Sunday. Who? Women go to the tomb. What? The stone is gone. How? Angels or there's some kind of Supernatural encounter. They discover the tomb is empty. The result? Fear and confusion. Fact? Jesus isn't there. All four gospels share these same basic seven things. It's pretty remarkable, don't you think? Four documents, nearly 2,000 years old, all with the same basic eyewitness testimony. That's strong. And that right there is the bedrock foundation of the Christian faith. We are Easter people. That means our lives are filled with holy moments. Easter people know that faith conquers fear. 

 

Easter people know where they're going. We know where we're going. I remember, as one man told me, "God's not in the business of granting wishes. He's in the business of raising the dead, not all of whom are willing." Easter means we know where we're going, as that man says. Suppose an unborn infant in the womb is able to speak and think. Suppose someone says to her, soon you must leave this place to be born. You're going to enter a different realm." The infant might protest and say, "Nah, I like it here. I'm fed. It's warm. I feel loved. I don't want to leave this place to be born." But nature takes its course and the baby is born. After she endures a slap on the bottom and good cry, she looks up into a loving face, and she's cuddled into loving arms. And soon she discovers that she can get anything she wants if she just coos or cries. 

 

So the infant says to herself, "This is nicer than I thought it would be." Childhood passes. She becomes a teenager, then an adult, and then she grows old. Her bodily parts begin to ache and to wear out. And one day, the thought of death begins to worry her and she says to herself, "I like this place. I don't want to leave. Death scares me." 

 

Nature, again, takes its course and she dies. What happens then? Jesus promises that his children will be purified and born once more. She will look into a face more beautiful than her mother's. Loving eyes look down on her and beneath her are everlasting arms. She will be born again into a Heavenly realm where there is no pain. There is no death. There is no sin. She will be home at last. In other words, we don't need tombstones. We are Easter people.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that listening to God they hear deep in their hearts that everything is fine, no worries. We are children of God who don’t need tombstones, for we are Easter people.

 

 

 

How To Do Holy Week

 

I like to encourage you and challenge you this Holy Week to identify the most dominant question in your life right now. What question about you and your future is preoccupying your heart? It might be, Should I marry him? It may be, Should I retire? It might be, What should I study in college? It may be, How do I improve my marriage? How do I deal with the health challenge I'm facing? How do I recover from the trauma with the death of my spouse? How do I cope with the betrayal of a close friend? How do I become a better parent? How do I get my personal finances under control? Or how do I center my life spiritually? It could be a million different things. But it is only one question for you right now. What is the dominant question in your heart at this time in your life? You may know immediately what that question is. You may need to think about it. Either way, take some time today to identify that question, write it down, and place this question before God each day this week. Just keep placing this question before God.

Each time you go to church this week, in your heart and mind, place this question on the altar and listen deep in your heart for the answer God brings you. If you have trouble identifying the question, consider this. If you could have lunch with God and ask him one question about what comes next in your life, what would that question be? What would you ask him? This is just one of the many ways this Holy Week experience can be deeply personal and anything but routine.

I've had a theory that I would like your help testing this week. The theory is this: Everything that happens in your life, the big things and the small things, can be found in these eight days of Jesus' experience. And that these eight days that make up Holy Week have something to say about every human experience. Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem today has something to say about the successes and victories of your life. Whatever you're angry about, when Jesus cleanses the temple tomorrow, there is a lesson there. On Tuesday, when the woman anoints Jesus with the perfumed oil, we find every expression of gratitude and appreciation we have ever given or received.

On Wednesday, as Judas plots his betrayal, we find all our broken friendships and our own encounters with betrayal. The epic loneliness of Jesus in the garden Thursday speaks to our own loneliness, past or present. On Friday, we enter deep into the mystery of the suffering of our lives and in the world. On Saturday, when the world goes dark with Jesus dead in the tomb, we come face-to-face with emptiness. And on Sunday, the resurrection brings with it hope, new life, and celebration.

This week, take some time to sit down in a quiet place and just talk to Jesus as you would talk with a friend over coffee. The saints and mystics of every age have practiced this particular form of prayer. This conversational prayer is called mental prayer, but the name can be misleading because it is a deeply personal, intimate form of prayer in which we talk to God in our own words about whatever is on our hearts.

If you want to improve your relationship with God, if you want to take your spiritual life to the next level, talk to Him. Talk to Him. Sit down and spend some time talking to God. Trust, surrender, believe, and receive.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we make the time to sit quietly with our tea and coffee in hand and just listen, just listen, and know that He has us in the palm of His hand to bring us calm and peace to our lives.

 

 

Coming to Pieces

 

A tiny grain plants itself deep within the soil. It is tucked into complete darkness. It is fearless, comforted by the tough, safe shell that is its home. It belongs there, and knows it. In quiet. In growth. Home. 

 

Then the shell-shelter turns tight and invading and painful. 

 

The growing seed’s former peace is replaced by shock. Its earlier great protector is now opposing it, holding it back. Crushing it. Then, suddenly, as if planned from all eternity, the protecting shell cracks right open, letting in the outside. “Wait, wait, I need you,” shouts the seed.

Nothing doing. The shelter is going to pieces! Moisture trickles in, and bits of dank, cold soil. Anything and everything can now wriggle right into the heart of what was a quiet, pure place.

The seed goes crazy. 

 

But it copes somehow, wildly extending a new, thin arm outward, then slithering out its whole self. “Steady by jerks,” it says, through the cracks in its shell. It had to get out of there, so it dares its way into the rough, cold mud. How foolish and how shaming. Stay where safety is, you fool! 

 

But the transforming tiny self seems to take on a new life. Is this its new home now? Buried in the slippery soil? Ok, it moves with caution. 

 

Too much is in its path, including a huge, unyielding rock. A jagged, rough, uncaring rock, heedless of tiny green shoots. 

 

And so the story ends. 

 

But not yet. The former seed appears to have will power. It is seeking something—urging itself toward some pressing objective, rooting its way by intuition. Along the under-edge of the rock it goes, brutally, fearfully and with rending pain. After what seems like years it achieves the far under-edge of the gnarly rock and, guess what. 

 

It starts upward again. 

 

Now there are hard clods it has to press through, and plenty of pebbles. The higher it goes the more dry the surrounding soil. Finally, the top crust. But it too forbids penetration. It is an ultimate, intractable, stupefying barrier. 

 

And so the story ends. 

 

Except for one voice from deep within. Push, push, it murmurs. I am with you. Now just a thinnest lesion in the tough crust. With a certainty that might have been written on its heart, this vine-to-be squeezes through and gets to the place it was meant to be all along. In a haven of light and warmth, bathed in the sun’s astonishing rays. It is now a plant and it relaxes and stretches and yawns in the wafting breezes of Spring. 

 

This is just like our own journey, isn’t it? Of course, dark mud can take a chokehold on our life.

But, Jesus says, do not worry, child, trust me. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that you give them the power to push through the difficulties of life so that they find your light waiting for them at the end of their journey.

 

Making Pancakes and A Change of Heart

 

Six-year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then, he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process!

 

That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our job, or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

 

What God wants from us is a change of heart, a change of direction in the course of our lives through good works. And good works do not begin overseas somewhere in Mexico or Africa or Asia, or even in some poor inner city area. Good works should begin in our own families, in our own neighborhoods and in our everyday lives. They begin with the little things-- the kind word, the encouraging pat on the back, or doing what the author of our story did, being willing to listen to someone pour out his heart. These small acts of kindness are of far more weight than an envelope in the offering plate or a prayer for a missionary overseas. How often we long to do the great things for Christ, but overlook these daily critical signs of faith that should be our way of life. 

 

Remember just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes" for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried...

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that during Lent we look for any wounds that need to be healed, friendships that need rekindled or three words that to be said, sometimes, "I love you" that can heal and bless!

 

 

Would You Like to Come to My Church?

 

The former pastor was laicIzed by his Roman Catholic diocese for misappropriation of church funds. He had been removed from the Polish Catholic Church a year earlier for the same crime. However, in the Roman statement, it reported that any sacraments that he administered in the PNCC tradition were invalid. The PNCC bishop was outraged.

How do we handle situations that make us so mad that we want to spit?

Jesus braided a whip. He had emotions just like we do. And he sometimes got angry, just like we do. But the difference between him and us is in how he expressed his emotions. That's something we don't all know how to do

We read from the Gospel of John that Jesus told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" That's one way that Jesus' anger is different from so much of ours. He feels the feelings that we feel, but he can say what he's angry about.

What was Jesus angry about? His Father's house had been turned into a marketplace. You can understand why he'd be upset about that. Anger isn't always so unreasonable. Most of the time we are justified in our anger, but we get all messed up in coming to terms with what it is that we're really angry about, and then deciding what it is that we're going to do about it.

In John’s gospel, we read, "Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle." In all four of the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life and ministry he storms into the Temple kicking over tables, scattering the coins of the money changers, and setting free the animals, but only in John does he first make a whip of cords.

Do you know how long it takes to braid a whip of cords? I don't. And I don't know, not only because I've never done it, but also because when I get angry, I don't first stop to do anything that might help me calm down or process my thoughts. Instead, I either just start talking without thinking or go silent and brooding. Hardly, if ever, do I stop what I'm doing to sit down to think about why it is that I'm angry and what it is that I'm going to do about it.

Jesus is different. Jesus gets angry and then he braids a whip of cords. There are those among us who get angry then send off a Twitter message. Others who get angry, then yell at the first person they see.

Another thing we do with anger is keep it inside so that it rots our guts and hollows our spirit. Some try to drown it with liquor, numb it with drugs, either of which is destructive, and few take the time to sit down and really think about it. What am I mad about? Then, what am I going to do about it? The knee-jerk response - to get somebody fired or excommunicated, or doubt their sacramental status, - can do more harm than good.

Jesus, fueled by anger, purifies the Temple so that it might no longer be a marketplace, but a Temple. No longer a place for greed, but a sanctuary for the hurting.

And how did he do it? Through anger. Through an anger that is frustrated with what is and directed towards that which stands in the way of a better future.

Instead, he braids a whip. So what did I tell the parishioners this weekend after this news about their former pastor and their sacraments were labeled unworthy.

Go out and with anyone you meet say: “Would you like to come to my church?” Here you take the anger and turn it around with a message that says: “Divine Mercy Church or Holy Family Church or Mother of the Rosary Cathedral, we are a Temple and sanctuary for healing.”

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who have been angered by their church statements that have made us feel unworthy, outcasts, misunderstood. Jesus came to bring healing and the compassionate love that bring hope to those who feel abandoned. This week take that anger and as you walk in the parking lot or check out counter simple say to that person with a smile: “Would you like to come to my church?”  

 

Lord, It Is Good That We Are Here

  

There are times in our lives when we have a mountain-top experience and we can easily use Peter’s words to describe it. “Lord it is good that we are here.” These moments are be very special: at our own wedding, or the wedding of someone we love; a new job that fulfills a dream; getting into the college of our first choice; retirement after years of hard work and saving.

AND there are everyday experiences when we can also say, “Lord is good that we are here”: watching our child take his/her first steps; holidays with the whole family around the table and everyone getting along; having coffee with our best friend; good seats at the opening of the baseball season; watching a grandchild perform at a kindergarten play. These are moments when we feel we are on a mountain top and we can say with Peter, “It is good that we are here.” And we thank God for these times.

But our lives aren’t always as comfortable as Peter describes. However, there are times when we don’t want to be “here”– and would rather be anywhere else: not sick; not without a job; not struggling with relationships; not failing at school; not in the process of a divorce; not undergoing chemotherapy; not in the wrong job. This past week, I was asked to lead the Opening Prayer at a funeral in a Presbyterian Church where a good neighbor and farmer was buried. For his spouse and son and daughter it was a nightmare. These are hardly mountain-top experiences - during these times we could hardly say, “It is good that we are here.” We would prefer to say, “I want out!”

For the ancient peoples, and even in some places today, mountains are special meeting places with God. “To go up a mountain” was a term used for those seeking a special relationship with God.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and ask what would listening to Jesus mean at this moment in your life? We, like the disciples, periodically need to go to a listening place, our own private “mountain top.” The photo below is a place where I find some quiet time to listen to Jesus. Take a moment to gaze upon this image to listen to Jesus. 

 

 

 

Obstacles

 

After a recent snow storm with wind gusts of 60 mph, I walked the trails in our forest and found that a huge tree had broken hallway up its trunk and fell across the trail, blocking the path forward. Yes, there are obstacles that we stumble upon in life, but when it comes to a down tree, I have learned to ask for help.

 

What are some of the obstacles you are facing at this time. My next door neighbor food stamp card wasn’t working, coworkers were adjusting after the traumatic accidental death of one of their workers. I had received a phone call from Florida asking for help to transport their spouse back home for cancer treatment. Sadly, this morning I drove to the home of this a man’s step son to inform him that his stepdad had died this morning in hospice.

 

Yes, there is much suffering in our lives, but I have learned to call on good friends to help cut up the branches of that down tree so that we can move forward again along the trail. Lent invites us to reconnect with our friend Jesus. You might ask does God really need our friendship?

 

My answer is definitely yes!  Like that down tree, I could have tried on my own to cut up the limbs, but fearful the trunk might break away and cause an injury. Rather, my good friend and arborist John knows where to cut the limbs safely. So together we carefully removed the branches and opened the trail again. 

 

 

 

I am grateful for all my mentors. Friends who come to be with us in silence in times of sorrow. Friends who come to share the joys in our life. Friends who wisely share their experience to keep us safe out of harms way. Jesus created his children so that He could be there for us in our sorrow and joys, in sickness and health, in moments we despair or exhausted from all the stresses in our life.

 

I have one obstacle that I have struggled with for five years. My goal for my farm that we call “Reviresco” a Latin word meaning. “to be green again” is to create a community to serve adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. My vision is to develop an agricultural-style community that offers an inclusive environment to learn, work, live and grow.

 

I regret to share that I have contacted various agencies, colleges, and foundations to make this vision for the land into a perpetual learning center.  Their response is an invitation to donate at the end life and funds would support their programs.

 

I am searching for a friend, or friends, or an agency, school or foundation willing to accept the challenge to help recreate Reviresco into a learning center for those

with physically, intellectual, and emotional challenges who would appreciate visiting along the banks of a stream, watching a waterfall or glancing up at an owl in the trees.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, and I ask all who come to this blog to forward this reflection to your friends, neighbors and colleagues. I welcome a helping hand with this obstacle that continues to block the trail and help bring the beauty of this parkland into the lives of those who would appreciate the opportunity to come to Reviresco and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Free free to call or email if you or someone would like to help.

Fr. Matt 585-520-86750 or email: drmattkawiak@gmail.com

                                 

                                                               REVIRESCO

 

 

 

 

Art & Faith: Ash Wednesday

 

Carl Spitzweg’s “Ash Wednesday” invites us into the Lenten season with a spirit of introspective piety. We meet a downcast carnival clown, seated in the corner of a cell, his head bent, arms crossed, and face in shadows. A clown normally represents revelry, satire, excess, exuberance, letting go of convention, and laughing at life. But here, seated somber in a cell, he offers none of that. Instead, he sits in a nearly empty stone room, the color of ash and arid desert, with only a pitcher of water as provision. Leaving the revelry of Mardi Gras, this clown now dwells in the simplicity of the Lenten season.

The Gospel for Ash Wednesday finds remarkable expression in the figure of this clown. From head to toe, the clown is a figure who is made for attracting attention—his antics and costume say “Look at me!” In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us to be less concerned with how others may see us. In this light, the clown is not just a symbol of Mardi Gras exuberance, but also of the “look at me” culture that Jesus warns against. Here, the isolation is the attention-hog clown’s genuine moment of conversion—the moment of discovering his inner room where he may pray to God in secret.

Spitzweg’s clown is central, but the image’s background tells the rest of the story. The clown is bathed in light from an upper window, a subtle sign that his prison cell is perhaps instead a place of retreat, repentance, and conversion. In contrast to this upper light is a dark archway, the entrance to the cell. The composition of the clown, the window, and the archway forms a narrative triangle. The dark archway, directly across from the clown, shows us where he has come from. The window above lets in the light, and the rays point the way upward and invite the clown toward fullness, possibility, and hope. This time for him is a crossroads, a change of direction from darkness to light, just as the season of Lent can be for us.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that this season of Lent we make time to discern and reflect on how God invites us to use His gifts to bring comfort and peace to all the outcasts and children of God in our world.

God Loves the Outcasts

 

Leprosy is mentioned in both the first reading and in the Gospel. Implicit in both of these is the theme of suffering. The following is a list of paradoxes about suffering. See if they make sense to you. 

 

Suffering is NOT God's desire for us, nor a gift from God. The paradox is that suffering occurs in the process of this thing we call life.
Suffering is NOT given in order to teach us something. The paradox is that we can learn from suffering, and grow.
Suffering is NOT given to punish us. The paradox is that suffering sometimes comes as the result of poor choices we make.
Suffering is NOT given to teach others something. The paradox is that through suffering we can learn about faith, character, endurance, hope as well as weakness, struggle, humility.
Suffering does NOT occur because one's faith is weak. The paradox is that our faith may be strengthened by the journey through suffering.
God does NOT DEPEND on human suffering to achieve divine purposes. The paradox is that, sometimes, God's purposes are fulfilled through suffering.
Suffering is NOT always to be avoided at all costs. The paradox is that people sometimes choose suffering.
Suffering can sometimes destroy us. The paradox is that it can add meaning to our lives. 

 

Many things in life humble us and the man in today's Gospel reading clearly knew the importance of prayer. His body language is moving as he approached Jesus on his knees. Like countless pilgrims in Fatima who approach the Shrine on their knees and in smaller ways when we adopt the posture of kneeling during Mass. Maybe remembering in our minds' eye when we were that little boy or girl saying our night-time prayers kneeling beside our bed. He models prayer by asking "if you want to, you can cure me." We know the rest...he stretched out his hand and in that unheard of gesture to a man bearing the mark of leprosy- taught us something. To ask big questions for one thing. 

 

Who are our outcasts? Who do we not fully welcome into our community? Where do we push away those to whom Jesus might well fasten himself, cling to? Who do we need to fully restore to community?

Whenever we discriminate with any supposed moral superiority against different human groups (vagabonds, prostitutes, drug addicts, people with AIDS, immigrants, LGBT...) or we exclude ANYONE from living with us, denying them our acceptance, we are seriously distancing ourselves from Jesus. There is enough suffering in life- don’t add to it. 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we are open, patient and understanding that labels are the true cause of much suffering in the world. Like Jesus may our arms and hearts be open in need of His acceptance and love.

 

Whatever It Takes

 

 

In today's gospel we see Jesus involving himself in the ordinary lives of people. He was at Peter's house where he healed Peter's mother-in-law. As a result of his presence among the people, the whole surrounding neighborhood brought their sick and ill so that Jesus could heal. That is why Jesus came: To be a human like us, to live and share our daily lives, to do whatever it takes to bring the Spirit of healing into our lives. 

 

Jesus performed miracles in his life. But the pastoral worker, or any Christian, need not perform miracles. It is enough just to be there and listen. 

 

In the past two weeks, I had been deployed to provide comfort and healing to factory workers whose coworker died in an industrial accident. Two young coworkers who witnessed the accident were suffering normal trauma symptoms after the incident. They shared praised for their mentor who was intelligent in his job and had a wonderful sense of humor. After listening to their pain and giving them the tools to cope with this difficult memory, they both plan to return to work today. Most reassuring after they attended the funeral Mass, they hung up his holy card with the picture of their mentor on their refrigerator door as a reminder of his gift to each of them. Sometimes the best thing we can do is listen. Jesus did a lot of it in his ministry. 

 

A motivational speaker once said there are two kinds of people in this world: those who say "whatever" and those who say, "Whatever it takes." And he's right! Some people live their lives with the motto of a petulant teenager on their lips, "Whatever." Have you ever asked a young person to do something that you think is important and have them shrug their shoulders and respond, "Whatever?" Some people are like that with regard to their faith. In fact, let's turn this into a responsive reading. I'm going to make some statements. After each statement I want you to answer with a shrug, "Whatever." Say it with a loud sigh. "Whatever." O.K. Jesus said to love your neighbor. "Whatever." Jesus said there is more rejoicing over one sinner who is found than the ninety-nine that stayed within the fold. "Whatever." Jesus said that when you have done it to the least of these. "Whatever." 

 

Now, let's change our response from whatever to "Whatever it takes." OK, let's try it. Jesus said to love your neighbor. "Whatever it takes." Jesus said there is more rejoicing over one sinner who is found than the ninety-nine that stayed within the safety of the fold. "Whatever it takes." Jesus said that when you have done it to the least of these. "Whatever it takes." Are you and I, like St. Paul, willing to do whatever it takes to win the world to Christ? 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, like Jesus, Paul was willing to go the limit, to do whatever it takes to win souls. In today's glimpse of a life in the day of Jesus, we can see that Jesus was too. He did not glory in hanging around where he had performed miracles, but he went on, with the aid of his life of prayer to the Father to guide him, and he spread the Gospel. We are called to do the same.

 

Satan and the Devil

 

Let’s be honest, today the devil is either naively ignored as some dark superstition from the past, or is falsely attended to, as some underworld force that can throw little girls into mustard-spitting convulsions, as in the infamous movie, The Exorcist. Indeed, most people today do not even believe in the devil, either as a person or a force. What is to be said about the devil?

 

The kingdom Jesus preaches is about coming together 

 

The gospels name the forces of hell in two ways: sometimes they speak of the devil (diabolus) and at other times of satan (satanus). Are the terms synonymous? Not exactly: Diabolus means to divide, to tear apart; whereas satanus, most curiously, means almost the opposite, it connotes a frenzied, sick, group-think that accuses somebody or something. In essence what the gospels tell us is that the powers of hell, satan and the devil, work in two ways: sometimes they work as the devil by dividing us from God, each other, and from what is best within us. Sometimes they work in just the opposite way, as satan. Here they unite us to each other but through the grip of mob-hysteria, envy-induced hype, and the kind of sick unity that makes for gang-rapes and crucifixions and excommunications.

 

And at the root of both lies the same thing, envy. It is no accident that, among the ten commandments, only envy has two inscriptions against it. Jealousy is the devil’s tool and Satan’s weapon. Through envy, the devil works at dividing us from each other. From envy we get the kind of paranoia, jealousy, sense of being wronged, and bitterness that divides families, communities, churches, and whole nations. The devil tears us apart. Satan, using the same weapon, works differently. As Satan, envy unites us so as to put us into the frenzied, mad pitch of the lynch mob, the crowd hell-bent on crucifixion. Satan uses envy to pit the crowd against an outsider. 

 

In Jesus we see the opposite. The first word out of his mouth (“metanoia”) is a word uttered against the power of the devil: be un-paranoid, do not let envy and suspicion divide you from each other, God, and what is the best inside yourself! Everything else Jesus says and does is intended precisely to lead us beyond division, bias, segregation, and being apart from each other. The kingdom he preaches is about coming together (the opposite of the devil).

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that our hearts are not writhing in a paranoia and a jealousy that tears us apart from each other, and crowds writhing in a sick energy that wants, in God’s name, to spill some blood. Rather, bring us together as a family, a church, a nation that seeks a spirit to be compassionate, generous, humble and kind.

 

Crazy Act of Love

First winter storm in Buffalo had the Buffalo Bills postpone their playoff game. In my neck of the woods, outside my windows, East Bethany looked liked this.

                            

One week later, Southtowns in Buffalo got six feet of snow while our farm received three foot. However, our outdoor feral kitty Mittens disappeared. Susan made kitty igloos insulated from the cold and provided food and water.

 

But Mittens decided to look for better shelter. About 500 feet from the kitty igloos is an abandoned shed where he likes to hangout.

The only one problem. It’s 500 feet from our house and there was three feet of snow deep blocking his path back to the food and water.

 

This is where ”kitty love” or shall we say a “crazy act of love” comes to save the day. I get out the snow shovel and start digging a path from the kitty igloos to Mitten’s winter storm shed.

 

 

You may want to ask yourself when was the last time you went outside the box and did something really special for someone.

 

 Perhaps, you bought a boatload of food and took it to the local shelter. Or, maybe you visited a friend or relative in a nursing home to let them know that they were still on your radar. If you got a story, forward a text or email and I like to hear it.

 It was one shovel at a time, snow was heavy and deep but I knew Mitten’s needed a path so he could find his way back to the kitty igloos and grab some food and water.

I wonder how many times in your lifetime you have gone out of your way to really show your love and that you care. God everyday gives you a breath and have we offered our thanks. Mitten’s I’m sure is hiding inside his winter shed, but the path leads him back to food and water.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who busted their hump for 20 minutes to let someone know that you really love and care for them. If no one noticed your sweat and tears, then let me offer my thanks for your unconditional love.

‘When you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you won't get a reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to the poor, don't blow a loud horn. That's what show-offs do in the synagogues and on the street corners, because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward. When you give to the poor, don't let anyone know about it. Then your gift will be given in secret. Your Father knows what is done in secret and will reward you.” Matthew 6: 1-3.