Reorientation

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

Reorientation

Adaptive Transformative

Restoring Reversing Regenerating

Beyond Blindness and Unbelief

Turnaround

(the picture and poem are by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture: Genesis 12: 1 to 3

The Lord spoke to Abram: "Leave your family and go to a land that I will point out to you. I will make a great people come from you and I will bless you. Your name will be known by everyone and goodness will flow from you. If anyone blesses you, I will make sure that that person is also blessed. If anyone gives you a problem, I will give them a problem also. Everyone on earth shall find bounty in you."

(scripture adapted by John J. McNamara)

Reflection:

Have you ever started in one direction and then got a little confused and wondered if you were going in the right direction? As a typical guy I hate to ask for directions! Of course with our GPS we have things much easier; but even that can fail us!

Abram had it much harder. He was asked to leave the familiar and the comfortable and take a journey into the unknown. A scary proposition.

Kathy's photo has me journeying on the beach at Fire Island at night. The full moon helped me to stay on the path as I made it to the Fire Island Lighthouse. 

That journey was much easier than Abram's. During his journey he was transformed. He became even more dependent on God. He followed God's Word. He placed complete trust in God.

He moved his life in a different direction. He risked everything. This move could have been a total disaster.

In our own lives we face similar situations. Should we listen to the voice of God? Should we follow God's Word? If my life has been going in one direction, can I change and follow a different path?

I remember when I was first asked to teach Religion. It was in a Special Education Program on a Saturday morning. I was assigned a young man who could not communicate at all. I taught him using pictures and engaged him in the message----the Good News. 

The amazing thing in that experience for me was that he looked forward so much to coming each week. I thought my experience of teaching would be more interactive. I went in a different direction. God blessed me with an even deeper experience of God's Love. I realized that words were not needed on our journey in learning. The expression in the eyes told the story. 

At times we have to reorient and take a different path and another look at what we have been doing. That second look can bring those amazing blessings that God promised to Abram. 

My blessing that night on Fire Island was in meeting some wonderful people on my journey----when I finally went in the right direction!

1. Have you ever had to reorient your life?

2. Abram showed an amazing trust in God. Is it easy or hard for you to trust in God?

3. What are the blessings that God has shared with you on your journeys? 

Hand

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

                        Hand

Outstretched Clasped

Guiding Healing Lifting

Open wide your hand

Manus

(photograph and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:    Psalm 104:24 to 31

Your works are so varied, O Lord!

You have created them in wisdom.

Those that live in the sea look to you to nourish them.

You give them food and they gather it up.

You open wide your hand and they are satisfied.

You breathe upon them and they come to life.

You renew the entire earth.

The glory of the Lord will never end!

The Lord feels joy in all these works.

(scripture adapted by John J. McNamara)

Reflection:

What an amazing thought: the hand of God is open wide for us! 

I feel so good when I meet someone and they open their hand to me. Of course in the time of our current pandemic, we are reluctant to open our hand to anyone. We are afraid of infection so we keep our distance. The handshake has been replaced by the elbow touch.

It makes us feel sad that we have to follow these precautions. We yearn for a return to the days when we could shake someone's hand and not worry. That handshake reminds me of friendliness, caring, and love. 

I think of the times when I met someone for the first time and we shook hands and we felt a connection. As I reflect on this Psalm it is reassuring to realize that God's hand is stretched out for me.

I feel loved and cared for. God provides for me and wants to nourish me with the Word and with the Bread of Life. God wants to breathe life into us. It is this life that comes from the hand of God open wide that renews all of us. 

As a grandfather I think of the many times the hand of one of our grandchildren reached out to me in trust, looking for guidance and direction. That trust brings with it a big responsibility. I try to follow the care of God----with my hand open to our grandchildren as God's hand is open wide to me.

1. How do you feel when you hear that the hand of God is open wide for you?

2. Are there some situations when you find it difficult to be open?

3. Do you find it a challenge to place your trust in God?

Listen

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

Listen

Attentive Focused

Hearing Heeding Immersing

Be still and know

Shema

(photograph and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:     Proverbs 8:32 to 35

Listen to me, children: those who follow my ways are happy. Listen to teaching and you will grow in wisdom. Do not cast it aside. Those who listen to me are full of joy, they wait for me every day at my gates, they are on guard at my door. When they find me, they will find life and win favor from God.

(scripture adapted by John J. McNamara)

Reflection:

What a joy when we find someone who really listens to us! So many times when we are in a conversation with some one, we can get the feeling that she or he is talking past us. The person is interested in what she or he is saying but not in what you have to share.

Being a good listener involves becoming empty of your own thoughts and desires for a few moments and allowing someone else to fill that void with her or his concerns and ideas.

How can we listen to God?

In prayer we empty ourselves of the many burdens and worries that can dominate our thoughts and become still. We take time to hear the Voice of God. It comes to us in many ways.

Sometimes it is in the unexpected. I encountered someone walking by our home and he mentioned how much he appreciated a sign we have on our front lawn that says,

 "Hate Has No Home Here". 

As I listened to him, I felt his  sincerity.  As he spoke, I heard the love and kindness of God through his words. 

When we empty ourselves and listen to God, we become full of joy---a joy I felt that day. We want to be with God more and more so we can grow in wisdom. We come to God daily in prayer because God wants to fill us with Life. 

When someone truly listens to us, we feel good. Dealing with our problems seems a little easier because we are not alone.

When we feel that God is listening to us, we know we will never be alone. 

1. Reflect on an experience with someone when you really felt that person was truly listening to you. How did you feel?

2. Can you remember an experience in your life when  listening to God brought you joy?

3. Can you think of a time when listening to someone  helped you grow in wisdom?

Prophet

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

Prophet

divine transformative

messaging inspiring directing

We're all God's coworkers

Intermediary

(poem and photo by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture: Numbers 11: 25b to 29

God bestowed the spirit that was on Moses on the seventy elders and they prophesied. Two men, Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp yet the spirit came to rest on them as well. When this was reported to Joshua he told Moses and felt that Moses should stop them. Moses answered him and said, "Do not be upset. It would be a blessing if all the People of God were prophets! "

(scripture adapted by John J. McNamara)

Reflection:

Are you called to be a prophet?

When we examine this question, a lot of us would think that we are not worthy or spiritual enough to be a prophet.  

We think of prophets as holy people. We imagine God whispering some special secrets into their ears. We all believe that this could not happen to us.

Our reading from the Book of Numbers paints a different picture. The spirit rests on some of the elders who remain in the camp! This upsets some of the other elders because the spirit does not follow the "rules".

God is generous. God pours out the spirit on all of us. Each one has a GIFT. 

The role of the prophet is to use the GIFT. The prophet speaks for God. The prophet leads other people to God.  In this passage Moses hopes that the spirit would fall on all of the People of God! 

It seems like the GIFT of the spirit is not one that is dependent on our worthiness but on our openness to the goodness and Love of God. 

How is your prophecy going today? 

To ponder:

1. Have you ever thought of yourself as a prophet?

2. Do you see Pope Francis as a prophet?

3. How can prophets help us today?

Skandalon

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

                              Skandalon

Offensive Defensive

Stumbling Disparaging Offending

Lead One Into Doubt

Trap

(photograph and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture: Matthew 16: 21 to 23

Jesus was talking to his disciples and told them that he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day. Peter spoke to Jesus privately and said, "No, Lord! This shall not happen to you." Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are not looking at this as God does, but as human beings do."

(adapted by John J. McNamara)

At first Jesus seems rather harsh in this passage. He calls Peter "Satan" and an "obstacle" (or in Greek a "skandalon") because Peter wants to stop the suffering and death of Jesus. Peter loves Jesus so much that he does not want anything this bad to happen to Jesus.

We can understand why Peter feels this way. We too love Jesus and would love to spare Jesus any suffering at all just like we work so hard to make sure that anyone we love dearly does not suffer.

 Jesus reacts so strongly because He is presenting His mission in this passage. Jesus was faithful in proclaiming the Good News and came to offer us the gift of salvation.  Because Jesus remained faithful, there were some who thought that He was a danger. They did not understand that Jesus was trying to bring all of us to the Father. They felt threatened by the words and deeds of Jesus.

In this moment Jesus wanted to prepare the apostles for what was going to happen. Jesus knew that this would be a difficult moment for them. He wanted to get them ready for this. This was hard news Jesus was sharing. 

Peter reacted strongly to this news. Jesus calls this type of reaction an "obstacle to me" or a "skandalon", that is a stumbling block that causes us to trip and fall. Jesus reminds us that it is important to look at this with God's perspective and to see that Jesus must remain faithful to His mission just as we are called to remain faithful to our mission to follow the teachings of Jesus. This faithfulness led Jesus to the resurrection and leads us to eternal life.

Reflection: 

1. Why does Peter get in the way of the mission of Jesus?

2. What are the "skandalons" or obstacles that you have tripped over as you have tried to follow Jesus?

3. Why do we sometimes miss the Good News of Jesus, as Peter did, when we are dealing with suffering and death?

Wisdom

 The Spiritual Waiting Room

Wisdom

Prudent Prophetic

Discerning Understanding Learning

The beginning of knowledge

Enlightenment

(photograph and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:    Job 28: 20 to 24

Where does wisdom come from? Where do we find understanding? She is hidden from the eyes of all who are alive but God understands how to find her. God knows where she lives. For God is familiar with the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. God speaks to all of us and says: respect for the Lord is wisdom and turning away from evil is true understanding.

(adapted by John J. McNamara)

We are all on the search for wisdom. We are surrounded by so much "instant wisdom" today. The wisdom of Twitter often seems to rule the day. After all, if we have a lot of "followers", if we are an "influencer" we are thought to be wise.  Yet these influencers can disappear overnight. Our tastes can be fickle. We can settle for what is popular and quickly abandon the hard work that is needed to find wisdom. This is why Job tells us that wisdom is "hidden" from our eyes.

We know from experience that wisdom does not come that easily. There are twists and turns. We can encounter some dead ends. Then we have to start over again. We know that God can be our guide and lead us on the right road.

True wisdom is prophetic. It challenges us to go beyond our comfort zones and to wrestle with our preconceived ideas. When we find it after our struggle, we hold on to it. Just as God knows where wisdom lives so, finally, do we.

We know it can guide us and help us through our difficult moments because God knows all of those difficulties. He knows "everything under the heavens". When we are confused or when people are putting us down, we turn to that wisdom and realize how precious it is. It leads us to respect God who is the source of all Wisdom. It leads us to turn away from evil, to find true understanding, and to embrace Peace.

For Reflection: 

1. How do you find wisdom in your life?

2. Why do we have so much "instant wisdom" around us?

3. When were some times in your life when you were challenged to go beyond your comfort zone?