A Reflection on Habakkuk

by Sharon Nelsen

One day in our weekly faith-sharing group, we prayed for the Lord to give us words of knowledge for each other; words that would build up our faith.  I received the word, “Habakkuk.”

I knew the short book of Habakkuk, which is found between Nahum and Zephaniah and was written just prior to the Babylonian Exile, and I wondered why God was leading me to it now.  As I began to read, I was struck with the dialogue between Habakkuk and God that begins with the prophet strongly expressing his feelings:

   “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen!” (1.2)

And God responding as if Habakkuk had asked a totally different question:

“Look over the nations and see, and be utterly amazed! For a work is being done in your days that you would not have believed, were it told.” (1.5)

Well, here I am, writing letters to God for over thirty years, expressing a cauldron of feelings and always hearing God respond with words that seem to circumvent what I was asking.  I’m beginning to relate to this man with the drum-like melodic name who speaks with such boldness to God. 

Does this have anything to do with what the Lord might be asking of me now? I am very aware of my inner reality.   Oh timid spirit, where is your boldness?  Are you waiting for God to do something magical--to wave a holy wand, and “poof” out springs a manuscript?

A woman mired in waiting, I go back to Habakkuk.  Now he is boldly asking God, “Why then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself?” (1.13)

Again God responds by getting to the heart of the matter, this time with an encouraging mandate:

        Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.  For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.” (2.2-3)

Well, old Habakkuk, I hear God speaking to me through you--right to the heart of my dilemma: “Write down the vision clearly so that one can read it readily.”   I decide to talk to God about it.

“Help me, Lord.  You know how uncomfortable I feel in sharing what I hear from You.  I am waiting for You to show me if what I hear I need to pass on to others, and if so, how?  I ask you to remove all barriers within me.”

And the Lord says, “Yes, I hear you.  Yes, I answer you-- in My words to you and in My words to Habakkuk.”

“First,” I hear God say, “Let’s look at how you perceive waiting: It is difficult for you to wait when apparently there is no resolution.  Things are not clearly resolved and that bothers you.  Why?  Because you think unresolved means:

·         Not good

·         Not what I hope for

·         Not favorable.

Unresolved simply means, “not yet resolved.”  If you believe and trust that I complete what I have begun, and you believe and trust that even if it is something that seems like your idea, I can bring good out of it, you will be able to wait in peace while the “not yet” unfolds.  In regard to our dialogues, you remain in an unresolved state because you are waiting to receive permission from a “higher authority.”  You have received permission from a higher authority, but you don’t trust that you have.  Essential to the walk of faith is stepping out because the Truth has embraced you and you cannot ignore it, deny it, or suppress it.  What you hear in the dark and are able to proclaim in the light comes from the gift of boldness that you so admire in Habakkuk and that is resting in your soul waiting to be activated.

Can you trust that I will not lead you, my beloved, astray?  Are you self-conscious because you are aware of your flaws, your weaknesses, your sins?  Whether you do things perfectly or not, I am with you.  Does “with you” mean agreeing with you in every aspect of your life?  Do you agree with your spouse, your children, your siblings, your friends on every issue, every subject?  Do they agree with you on every issue?  Yet, are you not “with each other” for life?  Do you not love each other deeply?

Agreement is not the issue; you can agree without love and you can love without agreeing.   When you let go of self-conscious and become God-conscious, you are in right relationship with Me, and you will find yourself “agreeing” more and more with My ways, which as I have said before, are not your ways.  Yet, know that I love you whether I agree with you or not.  And, I love you whether you agree with me or not.

Let’s look at My words to Habakkuk that struck your heart: “If the vision delays, wait for it.  It will surely come.  It will not be late.”

Delay is the key word here.  Delay means, “not yet here.”  Delay is about your perspective of My timing.  You hope for it now, you think it is better the sooner it arrives, and when it does not meet your expectations, you fall into your old thinking patterns about unresolved issues. And, like many before you, you risk missing the vision when its time has come. 

Those who wait for Me with courage, who are stout-hearted and wait through the delays, knowing that the vision is Truth, that its source is Me, recognize the vision when its time has come--when it is fulfilled.  A good example is Luke’s story of Simeon who waited for the vision to be fulfilled and recognized the Savior of the world. (Luke 2.27-32) 

While “not yet” is at the core of delays, “not timely” is at the core of late.  Late is about the earthly reality of time-- a time to be born and a time to die, a time for everything under the sun.  When the rains are late, the seedlings will wither and die.  If you arrive late at the airport, you miss your flight (unless it was delayed!)  Late misses the acceptable time, the day of salvation.

You are able to stay with the delays in the unknown and unresolved when you are confident that the source is Me.  Then you can wait, trusting that I bring all things to fulfillment at the proper time; that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, that I make all things new; that My words to the Church, My words to each person who listens and hears My Voice are trustworthy and true.

Recognize, as did Habukkuk, that now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation, and write down what you hear clearly so that it can be read.  Boldness in My Spirit empowers you to proclaim the Truth you have heard.  As you obey, new life is born in you, life that bears fruit as a tree planted by running streams. Even as we speak, it is being fulfilled.

I thank you Dear Father of Life for waiting for me to catch up to the vision you have for me.  Thank you Habukkuk, for writing about your own process clearly so that I could read it today. I can sum up today’s experience with your own closing words:

         
God, my Lord, is my strength;
He makes my feet swift as those of hinds
And enables me to go upon the heights.” (3.19)

Hymn of a Grateful Heart

A reflection by Sharon Nelsen

From Psalm 138 – 

1I thank you Lord with all my heart

You have heard the words of my mouth…

3On the day I called, you answered me

You increased the strength of my soul…

7aYou give me life though I walk amid affliction.

We could spend the rest of our lives thanking God and that would be enough!

What are we doing when we thank God?

·         We are acknowledging the source

·         We are recognizing gift

·         We are welcoming God’s Way in a variety of forms and areas: material, spiritual, relationships, desires of the heart.

·         Most importantly, we are making our acknowledgment, recognition, and welcoming a priority—the first act, the first words from our lips.

Why is giving thanks the priority?

Giving thanks

·         Increases hope for myself and for others-- for the Body of Christ

·         Increases trust in the loving power of God as we recognize unfolding “answers” to prayers

·         Increases our love for God, the One who hears us

·         Increases our faith, so that in long, difficult situations, we are able to persevere

·         Reminds us that God can and will bring all things to the good for those who love Him—those who trust and hope in Him.

·         Shifts our focus from neediness, from what is not yet done, to recognizing, remembering what has been accomplished, what is.

·         Inspires us to proclaim with the poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, that “The world is charged with the Grandeur of God!”

·         Inspires us to express creatively the abiding, caring presence of God in all aspects of life

·         Engenders joy and delight in the present –in what is right before us.

Giving thanks is not a legalistic mandate, something we’d better do, “or else!” Giving thanks is a gift that flows out of wisdom; a gift for us, an enduring gift that brings us into the abiding presence of God, now and forever.

The Runaway Bride

A Reflection on Isaiah 5:1-7 N.A.B. 

By: Larry T

In the 1999 romantic comedy film Runaway Bride Julia Roberts plays Maggie Carpenter and Richard Gere plays Homer Eisenhower (Ike) Graham. Maggie is a spirited and attractive young woman who has a long history of unsuccessful relationships. She has been engaged three times, but anxiety over the permanence of marriage has caused her to runaway each time on the morning of her wedding day. On three occasions husbands-to-be, parents, bridesmaids, groomsmen, ministers, friends, musicians and caterers have gasped in shock at her failure to appear.

Meanwhile, in New York, columnist Homer Eisenhower Graham or "Ike" writes an article about Maggie that contains several factual errors, supplied to him by a man he meets in a bar who Ike later learns was one of Maggie's former fiancés. Ike is fired for not verifying his source, but is invited to write an in-depth article about Maggie in a bid to restore his reputation. He travels to Hale, Maryland, where he finds Maggie living with her family. And once again she’s engaged to be married. The fourth husband-to-be is Bob Kelly, played by Christopher Meloni, a football coach at the local high school.

Maggie predictably runs away the fourth time deserting Bob and the wedding party at the church. Eventually Maggie and Ike fall in love, marry, and live happily ever after.

The screenplay authors could have looked to the Bible for inspiration because of the Prophet Isaiah’s song about a runaway bride.

¹ Let me now sing of my friend,

          my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.

My friend had a vineyard

          on a fertile hillside;

² He spaded it, cleared it of stones,

          and planted the choicest vines;

Within it he built a watchtower,

          and hewed out a wine press.

Then he looked for the crop of grapes,

          but what it yielded was wild grapes.

³ Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

          judge between me and my vineyard:

⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard

          that I had not done?

Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,

          did it bring forth wild grapes?

⁵ Now, I will let you know

          what I mean to do to my vineyard:

Take away its hedge, give it to grazing,

          break through its wall, let it be trampled!

⁶ Yes, I will make it a ruin:

          it shall not be pruned or hoed,

          but overgrown with thorns and briers;

I will command the clouds

          not to send rain upon it.

⁷ The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,

          and the men of Judah are his cherished plant;

He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!

          for justice, but hark, the outcry!

- Isaiah 5:1-7 N.A.B.

Isaiah’s sang his song about a vineyard at a gathering of some sort, possibly at the annual harvest Feast of Tabernacles. All sorts of performances would have been going on in the area between the booths built of leaves and branches; I can visualize the Prophet mingling with the celebrating people and announcing a love song about his friend and his vineyard.

To his listeners the vineyard was an image for a bride (Song of Solomon), so they were looking forward to a ballad suited to the festive atmosphere. And Isaiah’s song does get off to a good note. His friend’s vineyard was on rich soil; he planted the choicest vines on it, and did everything he could to make them flourish. The audience must have settled back smiling in anticipation of Isaiah’s next words, but the mood suddenly changed; instead of choice fruit, the vines produced nothing but inedible sour grapes, small, hard smelly things - the vineyard was a bitter disappointment.

The group immediately understood the point of Isaiah’s song: the bride was unfaithful - trust and hope were betrayed - his friend’s love was rejected. How will the song end? The terribly saddened friend handed over his vineyard to be plundered - he renounced the bride, leaving her in the dishonor for which she had no one to blame but herself.

The stunned audience suddenly realized the deeper meaning of Isaiah’s song: The vineyard, the bride, is Israel – the very people who are present. God gave them the way of justice in the Torah, he loved them, he did everything for them, and they answered him with unjust action and a regime of injustice. Isaiah’s love song was a threat of judgment. It finished with a gloomy prospect – that of God’s abandonment of Israel, with no sign at this stage of any further promise.

In the movie Maggie ran away from four bridegrooms on the morning of her wedding day. Engaged couple’s excitement and anticipation rise incrementally with the purchase of wedding rings, selection of a wedding dress, mailing of wedding invitations, rehearsal dinners, and all of the detailed planning that goes into even the simplest of weddings. Emotions on the morning of the wedding are at a feverish pitch ranging from joy, elation, worry, to hope. But what if our loved one, that person that we planned to spend the rest of our lives with, failed to show? Wouldn’t we be overwhelmed by disbelief, shock, shame, dismay, and betrayal? How does God feel when he is left standing at the altar by his people? His anguish is expressed through the Prophet Jeremiah’s lament:

² Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!

I remember the devotion of your youth,

          how you loved me as a bride,

Following me in the desert,

          in a land unsown.

³ Sacred to the LORD was Israel,

          the first fruits of his harvest;

Should anyone presume to partake of them,

          evil would befall him, says the LORD.

⁴ Listen to the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob!

All you clans of the house of Israel,

⁵ thus says the LORD:

What fault did your fathers find in me

          that they withdrew from me,

Went after empty idols,

          and became empty themselves?

⁶ They did not ask, “Where is the LORD

          who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the desert,

          through a land of wastes and gullies,

Through a land of drought and darkness,

          through a land which no one crosses, where no man dwells?”

⁷ When I brought you into the garden land

          to eat its goodly fruits,

You entered and defiled my land,

          you made my heritage loathsome.

- Jeremiah 2:2-7 N.A.B.

Still, we know that God never gives up on his people. It’s in the New Testament where we get a sense of His love for us. Allegorically in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37 N.A.B.), “the road from Jerusalem to Jericho turns out to be an image of human history; the half-dead man lying by the side of the road is an image of humanity. Priest and Levite pass by; from earthly history alone, from its cultures and religions alone, no healing comes. If the assault victim is the image of Everyman, the Good Samaritan can only be the image of Jesus.” (Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict).

In the gospel of Luke we read about God’s joy when just one of his children accepts his love:

⁷ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

- Luke 15:7 N.A.B. 

The Heavenly wedding party is waiting. Will I be a runaway bride leaving God standing at the altar lamenting over me, or do I have the humility to reconcile myself to him? This is an unavoidable decision that we all have to make.

Your Way, Lord

A reflection on the Mass readings for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By: Sharon Nelsen

The Lord recycles truth in our lives; always giving us new thoughts, new words, new ways to think, speak and to act on old truths.  Today, as I read from Isaiah 55.7-8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord,” I smiled—yet again the Lord had recycled that truth in my life.

When I was an RCIA companion in our parish several years ago, I was inspired to write this prayer, a prayer I knew was inspired by the Holy Spirit for it flowed from my pen and needed little editing.  After I wrote it down, I named it, “A Prayer for Continued Growth.”

Blessed Lord, God of Heaven and earth,

            Draw me into right relationship with You:

                        May Your Thoughts become my thoughts

                        May Your Ways become my ways

                        May Your Words become my words

            I invite You to touch and heal all that is wounded

                        Within my mind

                        Within my heart

                        Within my spirit

            Set me free from any false beliefs I hold

                        In my thoughts

                        In my habits

                        In my values

            Fill me with Jesus, Your Way, Your Truth, Your Life

                        In my relationship with You

                        In my relationship with others

                        In my relationship with self

Open my lips that my mouth may proclaim Your Wondrous Deeds, praising  You now and forever.  Amen.            Sharon Nelsen, April 18, 2012

This past week was a week full of conflicts and so I asked the members of our faith-sharing group to pray over me.  As they prayed, the prayer for continued growth came to my mind.  I realized that I had something deep within me that perceived the words as conflictual, as if God and I were at odds in our thoughts, words and ways; we were on a collision course.  In an understanding that can only come from the Holy Spirit, I realized that God, who calls us into partnership, is not in conflict with us.  Rather, God reassures us that the seed we plant, the leaven we work into the dough of our lives are beginnings; our thoughts, words and ways are not necessarily “wrong.”  They are by nature, our good human nature, limited. 

When God says, “I will complete the work I have begun in you,” God reveals that my good thoughts, good words, and good ways are materials for God’s thoughts, words, and ways, which are cosmic, while mine are very local.  God welcomes those beginnings in us and longs to receive them so that He can do even greater works with them.

The Gospel reading from Matthew 20.1-16a illustrates the point clearly:  The laborers, who were hired at the end of the day, received the same wage as those who had been hired at the beginning of the day, express their thoughts about the justice of it all:  “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.”  (Matthew 20.12)

God’s way, as landowner in the parable, is generosity, a generosity that hovers high above human justice, leavening the dough of Divine Justice with cosmic compassion.  Have you ever stood on a corner and waited for a truck to come by to pick you up and take you out to the job site so you could earn a day’s wage and feed your family?  Recently, as I drove through a section of downtown Omaha around 8:00 in the morning, I saw four Hispanic men standing on a corner, waiting.  It reminded me of my high school days in Los Angeles, when I first saw a crowd of Hispanic men clothed for labor, standing along a whole block of sidewalk.  I asked my Dad why they were there.  He replied that they were “day laborers” waiting to be hired.  When we drove by the same area hours later, there were still many men waiting.  And if we had driven by even later, we would have seen men still waiting.

What does it take to stand in the day’s heat and wait, wondering if your family will have food that night, or if the rent can be paid, or if the water and light bills can be paid? 

Would you rather be standing idle, struggling with fearful thoughts, or laboring with others, knowing you can provide what is needed for those entrusted to you?

Help us grow, Lord, into your way, a way that urges us to generous compassion.  May we sow our tiny seeds with hope, entrusting the growth to Your Ways which are “As high as the heavens are above the earth.”  (Isaiah 55.9)

Happy Birthday Mary, Teach Me to be Lowly.

I am re-posting a reflection I wrote a couple years ago, May the Mother of God bless us all today with her motherly love and guidance into the heart of her Son Jesus!

Today is the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Mary, whose immaculate conception was celebrated 9 months ago, was born on this September day.  And as is the way of the Lord, this monumental day, this wondrous birth went quietly by in time, and still goes quietly by in our lives, we could easily miss it. In fact, we often do miss it.  Yet, this feast day invites us to ponder the woman whose life modeled most fully how to allow the word of the Lord to be conceived in us and born through us, in our own words and deeds.  Insignificance and lowliness are not barriers to these wonders, they are requirements.

Which is good, because  I do not have much to offer. I am a Catholic who fails a lot in living my faith.  I am a wife who fails a lot at being a wife.  I am a mother, who fails a lot with her children (I have two crying, fighting and whining in my presence right now - thankfully they are only mildly annoying me, so I am ignoring them...).  And, in a culture that is pragmatic, cliquey and materialistic, I am a stay-at-home mother of 8 who writes for an insignificant blog because I perceived a call to do it from Him, no money in it, no huge following, no "career" to validate me - nothing.  I am nothing.  And oh, how I have caused myself and others around me much pain in fighting that truth for most of my life.

When I was in high school, it got back to me that an acquaintance of mine had described me as a "cipher"....a nobody.  In her world, I was a quiet and fairly shy girl, who was not friends with her friends and who did not leave a huge impression on her friends.  Since I was not terribly concerned with her opinion of me at that time, I was able to brush off the insult fairly easily...or so I thought.  Because every once in awhile the words would come back to me, whispering to me that I was a cipher, a nobody.  And I would fight that identity with much ferocity!  I would deny it, offer proofs against it, but mostly I would fear it.  The label became heavier and heavier.

 But,  one day I finally heard the words of Our Blessed Mother.  My spiritual ears were opened.

Luke 1:46-56:The Canticle of Mary."My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.  For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.  The Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his name.  His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.  He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.  He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.  The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.  He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his prose to our father to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Was I to accept that identity that was so thoughtlessly assigned to me? Instantly my spirit rebelled: "I am not a cipher! I am not a nobody, do not let that nasty girl be right!" The arrogant and prideful aspirations of my heart, which fed upon my fear of nothingness, did not yield easily. Yet a wave of grace washed over my heart as I thought of the words: "He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly." My pride was dispersed, I was thrown down, and lifted up. In a moment I was confronted with all that I wanted to be, thought I should be and was failing at, and yet I was given an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Because I was nothing.  I was nothing so that I could be lifted up; there is no other way.

That thoughtless comment of so many years before was instantly transformed, and the weight of it lifted. The Lord needed to show me I am nothing so I can be filled with His love, His Spirit, His life.  So that he can lift me up, out of my mediocrity and into His heart, and I do not have to grasp at earthly honors, or rewards or recognition. Without Jesus I am nothing, without Him I will cling to false egos and false identities, and be let down by them, or even worse, I will be blindly self-satisfied! The heavy burden of that word "cipher" gave way to tearful gratitude and awe. In a world where wealth, popularity and honors are seen as indicators of goodness and worthiness Mary has shown me that it is only lowliness, nothingness, that can acquire the interior vision and wisdom to give Him our fiat, with complete trust in His compassionate love that will lift us up.

So Happy Birthday Mary, Queen of Heaven, who so gently taught me about lowliness. I still have to submit my fears and insecurities to God, I still have to have Him disperse pride and arrogance with His mighty arm.  But I do not fear the nothingness as I once did, and I have come to see a little how God's kingdom conquers and transforms this world of shallowness and ugliness.   I now look upon that dismissive, and shallow description of me so long ago through Mary's eyes, without the shame and fear that the world attaches to it.  In those words came the might of His arm and revealed the true and eternal beauty of His Mother.

Blessed Be God, and Blessed Be His Most Holy Mother!

Blessings, Heidi

Blessed are Those Who Mourn!

A Reflection on Ezekiel 33:7-9 N.A.B.

By: Larry T

⁷ You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.

⁸ If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he [the wicked man] shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.

⁹ But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.

- Ezekiel 33:7-9 N.A.B.

God called Ezekiel to the thankless and dangerous task of preaching to a society that had hardened their hearts against Him. It was a message that the people and their leaders didn’t want to hear; it called them back to God’s unchanged covenant. Old Testament prophets were usually met with misunderstanding, derision and rejection by the general populace and Ezekiel was not an exception.

We may not be biblical prophets, but we are anointed priests, prophets, and kings though baptism.

1241 The anointing with sacred chrism, perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop, signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, who has become a Christian, that is, one “anointed” by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ who is anointed priest, prophet, and king. – Catechism of the Catholic Church

God calls all baptized Christians to the prophetic task of being mourners. In Matthew’s gospel the second beatitude is: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” What does that really mean? “The mourning of which the Lord speaks is nonconformity with evil; it is a way of resisting models of behavior that the individual is pressured to accept because ‘everyone does it.’ The world cannot tolerate this kind of resistance; it demands conformity. It considers this mourning to be an accusation directed against the numbing of consciences. And so it is. That is why those who mourn suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness.” says Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth.

God’s orders for Ezekiel were typically something like, “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.” What are God’s orders for us? If we are to discern which models of behavior to resist we need a degree of wisdom.

The Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer authored by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). The best-known form is:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Some things will never change. For example, when taking a shower, it is always going to be better if the shower curtain is on the inside of the bathtub instead of on the outside – that will never change. Countless people can try to convince us that the shower curtain should go on the outside of the bathtub, but we know better. So the ability to recognize when something can’t change in the face of a society that says it is can change is wisdom of a different sort. Today a seemingly large part of society is trying to convince us that God’s laws are changeable, but we know better. 

Ezekiel fulfilled his prophetic mission by doggedly carrying out God’s instructions. One way that we can fulfill our prophetic calling is by refusing to cave into societal pressure to accept models of behavior that are clearly against God’s laws, and to live our lives as God’s people with the understanding that we too will sometimes be met with rejection and derision.

You Duped Me

Sunday, Aug 31: 22ndSunday in Ordinary Time

Today's readings are taken from:

Jeremiah  20:7-9

Psalm 63:2-9

Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans  12:1-2

Gospel according to Matthew 16: 21-27

Jeremiah cried out to the Lord, "You duped me and I let myself be duped. You were too strong for me, and you triumphed.  All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me."  Jeremiah continues on to tell us that he is determined not to talk about the Lord anymore.  Jeremiah will be silent, but then the name of the Lord burns within Jeremiah and he must speak.

I asked myself and I ask you, have we been duped by the Lord? In a way I hope the answer is yes. Have we been seduced by Jesus to take up the mission of proclaiming the Word?  Do we stand up against the worldliness that can turn us into uncaring people, looking only for our personal gain and comfort.  Are we brave enough to speak out when needed and then accept the derision we might receive when we testify to our mission?  In many ways, we too can be prophets and then be willing to suffer the mocking and laughter that can follow. But in our hearts we can hold tight to the name of the Lord that indeed burns within us knowing that the Lord is always with us and within us.

As I reflected on the Gospel reading, I wondered if Peter too, felt that he had been duped. In the previous passages of Matthew, Jesus told Peter that he was blessed and that Peter would be the rock upon which Jesus would build His Church. Peter must have felt both fear and delight in hearing that he would be a vital part of the kingdom on earth.  Through God the Father, Peter had been able to proclaim that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter was probably both humbled and proud.

This week, as Peter hears more and more about what Jesus will endure for our Salvation, he must be horrified.  Jesus is the Son of God; things should be easy for Him.  Instead, Jesus will walk the path of humiliation, great suffering and death.  Peter rejects the possibility of a suffering Jesus and is sharply rebuked by Jesus.  Peter is compared to Satan; an obstacle to Jesus; perhaps tempting Jesus to take an easier path.  Jesus tells us, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it." 

And so Peter learns, as did Jeremiah, that the prophetic message may not be received with joy and happiness, but rather may be received with derision and even hatred.  We need to be careful not to conform to this age. We need to point out when power is abused; when our worth is defined by our wealth; when many people around us are deep into poverty and homelessness.  I'm not sure it is enough to live our lives in virtue and piety; maybe we need to take some action, speak out, etc.  I don't know what my next step should be, but I do know that when Jesus didn't know what to do next, He spent the night in prayer, asking His father to show Him what He should do next.  Maybe that's a good place for me to start.

Peace and Blessings,

Judy