Bring the Finest Robe!

Sunday March 6, 2016

A Reflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11-32, N.A.B.

By: Larry T

The Parable of the Lost Son is arguably the most beautiful of Jesus’ parables. In a non-biblical publication such as Aesop’s Fables the story might begin with, “Once upon a time there was a man who had two sons . . .” Upon reading the story we might shake our heads in wonderment at the young son’s foolhardiness; we may well marvel at the father’s love and understanding, and puzzle over the older son’s bitterness. Aesop’s fables always had a point; the wisdom of this story might be a lesson for young people and their inheritances.

¹ The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him,

² but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ So to them he addressed this parable.

¹¹ Then he said, “A man had two sons,

¹² and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.

¹³ After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

¹⁴ When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.

¹⁵ So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.

¹⁶ And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.

¹⁷ Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.

¹⁸ I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁹ I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’

²⁰ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’

²² But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

²³ Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast,

²⁴ because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.

²⁵ Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.

²⁶ He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.

²⁷ The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.

²⁹ He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.

³⁰ But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’

³¹ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.

³² But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

The faces of any Jews in this group of tax collectors and sinners would have contorted with revulsion at this story because for Jews pigs were the most unclean of all animals. Moreover, in Jesus’ time, Jews simply did not associate with Gentiles. They were permitted to have business dealings with them, but upon leaving a Gentile town they ceremoniously shook the dust from their sandals to show their complete separation from Gentile practices. For any Jew the image of feeding pigs and depending on a Gentile for starvation wages would have been revolting.

The Pharisees and scribes listening to this story would have probably recognized themselves in the older son. For them the very spirit of God was expressed in the six hundred and thirteen commandments set out in the Torah (Mosaic Law). As administrators and interpreters of the law, they saw themselves as being in a right relationship with God. When they saw Jesus welcoming tax collectors and sinners they might well have shuffled their feet and muttered angrily, “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders”. Jesus was telling the Pharisees and scribes to convert from their Law-God to the God of love and mercy. We should note that the father in the parable doesn’t dispute the older son’s fidelity, but asserts his love for him: “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.”

Early Church Fathers saw the lost son as an image of humanity. To them the younger son’s journey “to a distant country” was willful and intentional alienation from the father – the world of God. The freedom-seeking younger son wanted to taste everything life had to offer, especially forbidden fruit. He didn’t want to be subject to any commandment, rule, or authority and felt that he had the right to govern himself. The eventual consequence of being forced to work for a gentile as a swineherd and craving pig food was an expression of man’s extreme misery and poverty in living a life without God. In the end the totally free man became a miserable slave. At this point a conversion takes place: the lost son decided to return home, to the father. In the parable the father orders the servants to bring quickly “the finest robe.” For the Church Fathers, this “finest robe” meant the lost robe of grace which man had been originally clothed with, but which he forfeited by sin. But now this “finest robe” is given back to him and the joyous celebration begins.

At one time or another most teenagers can identify with the younger son. And if they are honest, most parents will admit to harboring some of those same feelings when they were teenagers themselves. Some teenagers become so desperate for a life without rules that they run away from home; sometimes they end up living on dangerous city streets. All the while their parents can only wait for them to grow up, to come to their senses, for a conversion. Imagine the joy of the parents when their wayward son or daughter does repent and returns home! In this story Jesus shares an aspect of the Father’s character by presenting us with a vivid image of the Father’s love for his children, for us. Only Jesus who knows the Father could reveal the depth of the Father’s love and mercy in such a beautiful way.

Jesus’ story about the lost son is about conversion and love: the tax collectors and sinners had repented and converted or were in the process of repenting and converting; the lost son did repent and convert; the older son needed to repent and convert. But what does conversion look like to us?

Admit it or not, a number of us have some things in common with the older brother: we faithfully fulfill our Sunday obligation, pray, tithe, and try to good people. Still yet, some of us haven’t truly converted from the Law-God to the God of mercy and love where we will find joy in our faith. We can begin by recognizing the love that the Father has for us as described by Jesus in this parable. The next step is to love the Father – as he abides in us so should we abide in him. Finally, we must love our brothers and sisters because this is when our love for God is brought to perfection:

²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²¹ This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

-1 John 4:20-21 N.A.B.

 We cannot claim to have a right relationship with God if we hate our brothers and sisters because there is no room in God’s Kingdom for bigotry of any kind. 

Peace

 And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus 

Philippians 4:7

 Reflection by:  Sharon Nelsen

I was on the phone conversing with my friend who said, “I had the most unusual experience yesterday; I felt enveloped in peace at the same time I was experiencing a deep sadness.”

For the past thirty years he has worked with at-risk youth, and presently is entrusted with youth on probation, so I certainly related to his experience of deep sadness.  He works in areas many of us are not inclined to drive through, much less stop and visit the families that live there.

His comment inspired me to think about how I view peace.  I realized that often I think of peace as that sense experienced when everything works out well; when a challenging situation has good results; when what I have hoped and hoped for, finally happens.  Is that the peace promised and given to us by Jesus?  The peace bestowed not as the world gives?  I would name what I experience, “relief,” for it is the same sense I have when the ache in my shoulder goes away.

I went to the Gospel of John where we find so many comforting, challenging words of Jesus.  The first passage I read showed me that the Peace Jesus gives us is connected to who we are.  Knowing our identity and that God's desire is to preserve us from evil, is perhaps our foundation for receiving this peace,  a peace that exists because it is based on truth, the Truth that is grounded in the reality that we are not OF this world, but here to sanctify it in the power of Jesus.  

(John 17.14-18)  “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them.  For they are not of the world, just as I, too, am not of the world.  I am not praying that you would take them out of the world, but that you would preserve them from evil.  They are not of the world, just as I also am not of the world.  Sanctify them in truth.  Your word is truth.  Just as you have sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

Another aspect of this peace is, as in my friend's experience of deep sadness and comforting peace, that it can coexist with all circumstances of our lives.  (John 16.33)  “These things I have spoken to you, so that you may have peace in me.  In the world, you will have difficulties.  But have confidence:  I have overcome the world.”

And yet another mark of this peace is that it sets us apart, again because we rely not on passing circumstances but on the transforming power of God.   (John 16.20)  “Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall mourn and weep, but the world will rejoice.  And you shall  be greatly saddened, yet your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” 

It is a peace we lose only through sin.  This thought came to me as another friend and I were chatting about his work experience:  He said.  “I can't do less.  I have realized that even though it is tiring, challenging and sometimes seems impossible, I need to stay with my job.  Years ago, I got tired of it.  I took another job that was a lot less work, thinking this would give me a respite.  But I had no peace. I was miserable.  I had less demands upon me, but I was upset all the time.  So, I went back to my former job.  I am sometimes tired, worn out by the demands, frustrated by the slowness of some aspects of it, yet I am at peace.  This is who I am and I can't settle for less.”

My friend illustrated in a most powerful way, what sin is.  So often we think of sin as a list of do nots

and weaknesses, when actually, it is a deliberate, knowledgable choice; we decide to settle for less even though we know what we are called to do.  We'd like an extended vacation and we're tempted to take it.  When Jesus lived His Truth,   “ ... many of his disciples went back, and they no longer walked with him.  Therefore, Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” Then Simon Peter answered him:  “Lord to whom would we go?  You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6.67- 69) When we are trying to live our true calling, where else do we have to go except to the Source, who strengthens us constantly with His Eternal Peace, the first gift He gave as Risen Lord:  (John 20.19)  “Then, when it was late on the same day, on the first of the Sabbaths, and the doors were closed where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and he said to them: 'Peace to you.' ”

Nothing had changed in external circumstances;  everything changed internally with the Presence and the Promise of the Risen Lord because His Peace transcends the physical stage of tranquility; it is an  internal dynamic that empowers us to endure.  It is a gift grounded in truth, not circumstances, that we can receive in the midst of our trials.  It is a gift that only our choice to settle for less can affect, and even then its very absence is often the most effective message to return to truth.  In that way and in others beyond our full understanding, this Peace of Christ is our protector.   “Be anxious about nothing.  But in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.  And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4.6-7)  And not only guard, but elevate, encourage, inspire, put things in perspective:  “And let the peace of Christ lift up your hearts.  For in this peace, you have been called, as one body.  And be thankful.”  (Col. 3.15)

Peace is wonderfully contagious.  If you've ever been upset and you move into the presence of a peace-filled person, somehow, you catch that peace.  It goes beyond words, answers, solutions, or any changes in circumstances. It's just there, and you know it.   A world filled with individual bearers of this Peace of Christ, can be powerfully contagious.  With that in mind, let us greet each other this Lent with the prayer of 1Peter 1.2:  “May grace and peace be multiplied for you.”   

Journaling with Sharon: Lenten Pondering

 By: Sharon Nelsen

Pondering leads to performance. 

Performance does not take us always to understanding, knowing, holding onto the revelations we receive.  Sometimes we rush into things and then wonder afterwards if what we did was the Father's

Will or our own inclination.

Mary pondered the word in her heart.  Her response, her action, her performance flowed out of that process and bore fruit.

I pray:  Dear Mary, teach me how to ponder the word of God.

And I ask:

What are the elements of pondering?

1)      Listening, which requires

- hearing

- being open to the “message” --that which stirs my heart

- concentrating on that message long enough to recall it

2)      Repeating the message to myself until it is part of my long-term memory

- as I go about my daily tasks

- writing it down AND re-reading it

3)      Savoring the message

- in a quiet place set aside

- repeat, repeat, repeat until I “taste” the words

- connect its message, its meaning to my present situation

4)      Acting on the message

-praying for confidence

-discerning choices

-proceeding in trust

In the January issue of “Give us This Day,”  there was a quote from Maisie Ward, co-founder of Sheed and Ward Publishing, that spoke to me about pondering:

“It is the chief characteristic of a life lived for God 

that there is time in it for everything that matters.”

Pondering matters.  I decided to focus on pondering for Lent, which fit well with the “Exercise in Love” that was already included in my Lenten journey.   Perhaps the Lord had more for me to ponder? 

With that in mind, I re-read each entry in my January journal.  I became aware that particular phrases really moved me as I re-read.  I decided to collect them into Lenten pondering, mindful that God will not overburden me.  I also trust  that God will lead me to a particular item on the list as I am faithful to this forty day exercise, so I am not concerned about the sequence as I recorded it.

2016 LENTEN PONDERING  FROM MY JANUARY JOURNAL

1. Pray for constancy.

2. To experience “Boundless Love” (St. Catherine of Siena's phrase), turn to God

- in my loneliness

- when I feel overwhelmed

- in my deepest desires

3. “We have this confidence in Him, that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us.” (1John 5.14 NAB) “And this is the confidence which we have toward God: that no matter what we shall request, in accord with his will, he hears us.” (NRSV)

4. May my worldly wants decrease and God's desires for me increase.

5. “Listen for the truth of a thing and obey what makes your heart more human.” 

(Joan Chittister, OSB)

6. Constantly trust in God's Goodness, in God, Goodness Itself.

7. No one can walk your path for you.

8. “Exercise in Love.”

            If you are so inclined, ask the Holy Spirit  to assist you in making your own Lenten Pondering List  from the words that seem to keep coming back to you, stand out a little, bring comfort, move you in some way.

            We have a great model and a loving companion for our Lenten Journey:

    

Dear Mary, 

Teach us how to ponder God's word to us.

Be with us so that with you, 

We may be blessed,

Believing what we hear,

And acting upon it.

Amen

Full Fishing Nets

Sunday Feb 7, 2016

A Reflection on Luke 5:1-11, N.A.B.

By: Larry T

Galileans ate little meat besides fish. So fishing on Lake Gennesaret, also known as the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias, was big business. The shoals just offshore were a fisherman’s paradise. In Jesus’ day, hundreds of fishing boats trawled the lake. Simon, Andrew (Mark 1:16), James, and John had fished the entire night casting umbrella shaped fishing nets from the side of their boats into usually productive waters without catching a single fish. Imagine their weariness and frustration.

This Sunday we read about how these empty-handed fishermen first listened to Jesus teach the crowd about the Kingdom of God, then reluctantly followed his instructions to “Put into deep water” where they caught so many fish that their nets were tearing and their boats were in danger of capsizing from the weight. Aside from being a really great fish story, what is the point of this Gospel reading? What can we learn from it?

¹ While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.

² He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.

³ Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

⁴ After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”

⁶ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

⁹ For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him,

¹⁰ and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

¹¹ When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

-Luke 5:1-11, N.A.B.

We can only guess at what Jesus taught the people about the Kingdom of God, but the power of his reputation and teaching was enough to convince these bone weary fishermen to obey his request to “Put out into deep water . . .” Astounded and excited at the size of their catch Simon Peter threw himself at Jesus’ feet and exuberantly blurted out, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” We should understand Simon Peter’s declaration that he was a sinner not primarily in moral terms but as an expression of awe before the power of the Holy One of God. These fishermen abandoned their belongings and family to follow Jesus because they believed him to be the Anointed One. They became part of the foundation on which Jesus was to build the Kingdom of God on earth.

What was the world like in their time? It was a dangerous, brutal, and violent time. Robbery, murder, extortion, assassinations, and public executions were common happenings. Taxes levied by the Romans drove many people into poverty and even slavery. Corrupt politicians and public officials added to the people’s misery. Judaism had divided into four factions: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. And the militant Zealots were determined to overthrow the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms. What did Jesus bring to this world? Did He bring world peace? Did He bring universal prosperity? Did He overthrow the Roman Empire and restore the Davidic Kingdom thereby eliminating oppression? Did He eliminate corruption? If not, what did Jesus bring to the world of his time, to the world of our time?

Concerning what Jesus brought to the world, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we may call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about our origin and destiny: faith, hope, and love. It is only because of the hardness of our heart that we think this is too little. Yes, indeed, God’s power works quietly in this world, but it is the true and lasting power. Again and again, God’s cause seems to be in its death throes. Yet over and over again it proves to be the thing that truly endures and saves. The earthy kingdoms that Satan was able to put before the Lord at that time have all passed away. Their glory, beliefs, and common opinions, have proven to be a mere semblance. But the glory of Christ, the humble, self-sacrificing glory of his love, has not passed away, nor will it ever do so.”

On the surface our world might seem to be crumbling. Everywhere we look we see abortion, wars, terrorism, corruption, murder, immorality, drug abuse, and refugees fleeing for their lives in unprecedented numbers, and so on. If we aren’t careful we could easily be convinced that our civilization is circling the drain. That is, unless we remember that “the glory of Christ, the humble, self-sacrificing glory of his love, has not passed away, nor will it ever do so.”

An Excercise in Love

A reflection on 1 Cor. 12:31-13:13 (NAB)

 By Sharon Nelsen

This morning as I pondered the second reading, I decided to write out this well-known love passage of Paul, substituting my name for the word “love.” 

Sharon is patient,

Sharon is kind.

Sharon is not jealous...

With each movement of my pen, the truth of those attributes active within me became more tangible.  By the time I got down to

Sharon never fails,

I realized that if I graded myself on a scale of one to ten from the mighty list of Paul, I would get a five at best in any of them and that only because over the years, a bit of the Love of God has seeped into me in spite of my resistance.  A more accurate writing of the passage would be:

Sharon is sometimes patient,

Sharon is sometimes kind.

Sharon still gets jealous...

And often, Sharon fails.

But the exercise encouraged me to regard Love more practically,  moving me from the concept to the flesh and blood reality of myself in a real world.    I think that God is giving me good material for a nightly examen and I trust that the Holy Spirit will set a fire of light to those areas in which I am doing better, and those that are flashing “Serious work needed here.”

I continued the process through the whole passage that concludes with 13.13,  and which includes a nearly complete compatibility with Paul's words:

When I was a child I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child,

When I became a woman, I put aside childish things...

Presently, I know  partially;

Then I shall know fully

as I am fully known.  (Another invitation to ponder--what does it mean to be “fully known?”)

Today I have received my Lenten assignment that I hope will go full circle from concept to present  reality, to eternal truth:

“Faith, Hope, Love remain these three.  But the greatest of these is Love.” 

Right Where I Am

A prayer by Sharon Nelsen

This prayer came to me this morning after I had written out a quote from Joan Chittister, OSB "listen with compassion,...listen for the truth of a thing...(and) obey what makes your heart more human." That popped out at me from all of my morning readings. Then this scripture from which came the prayer:

"To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise." (Psalm 116.17a)



Praise You, Lord, right where I am
Praise You in the strengths and weaknesses
of my body
of my mind
of my emotions
of my spirit
May all of my weaknesses become vessels of Your Strength
May I use all--strength and weakness
to give your glory
now and forever.

 Amen!

Praise Him!

March of the Magi

Sunday January 3, 2016

A Reflection on Matthew 2:1-12, N.A.B.

By: Larry T

Who were the “magi”? Were they wise men, kings, or astrologers? In this Sunday’s Gospel reading the magi are astrologers/astronomers who looked to the movement of stars and planets as signals of major events. Since they do not know where the Christ is to be born, they are presumed to be Gentiles. Where in the east they came from isn’t clear, but magi suggests Persia, and their practice of astrology points to Babylon.

¹ When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

² saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

³ When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴ Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.

⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”

⁹ After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.

¹⁰ They were overjoyed at seeing the star,

¹¹ and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

How did we get to know the magi as kings? The tradition of their kingship rose from the Church’s reading of Psalm 72:8-10 as part of the Christmas story:

⁸ May he rule from sea to sea,

    from the river to the ends of the earth.

⁹ May his foes kneel before him,

    his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute,

    the kings of Arabia and Seba offer gifts.

¹¹ May all kings bow before him,

    all nations serve him.

The only known continents of the time were Africa, Asia, and Europe. At some point the idea that one king came from each continent became popular; in this light they were seen as being universal representatives of mankind. Furthermore, the existence of the black king promoted the belief that in Jesus’ kingdom there are no distinctions of race and origin. In Him and through Him, all humanity is united.

In time the three kings even came to be associated with the three phases of human life: youth, maturity, and old age. For Christians there is wisdom in this because in each of the stages of human life Jesus is the sole gateway to true meaning and inner harmony.

Still yet, Bethlehem is nearly 500 miles from Babylon. Why would these three Gentile astrologers set off on such a perilous journey in search of the newborn “king of the Jews”? In one sense they are successors of Abraham, who set off on a journey in response to God’s call; like Abraham they represent a new beginning for humanity. In another sense they represent humanity subjected to the gravitational pull of Jesus. Moreover, the very first step of their journey initiated a procession toward the Lord that will continue to the end of time.