Firstfruits

The Spiritual Waiting Room

 

Firstfruits

Pure     Undefiled

Offering     Harvesting    Planting

Begat By The Truth

Doers

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   James 1: 17 to 18; 21b to 22; 27

Dearest sisters and brothers: All good giving and every wonderful gift is from above, coming to us from the Father of Light, with whom there is no alteration or shadow brought on by change.

God willed to bring us to new life by the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of God's creatures.

Welcome the word humbly that has been planted in you and is able to bring you to salvation.

Be doers of the word and not just hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God consists of this: to care for orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself untainted by the world.

Reflection

We learn from the Letter of James that God has gifted us. 

God has shared truth with us.

We are God's firstfruits.

Hard for us to imagine that God loves us that much.

Our reading tells us that we have a part to play in this. We are called to welcome what God has planted in us. We welcome God's word with humility---not bragging about our own greatness but realizing what God wants to share with us.

When we become aware of what we have been given, we are moved to respond---to put our gifts into action.

A great example of this is the story of Jason Brown. 

Jason was a fantastic football player who walked away from his career because he felt God was calling him to become a farmer. He had no experience farming but learned all about it by watching You Tube.

Jason said it was just like football where the players would watch a lot of video to learn how to play better. He bought a farm and called it Firstfruits.

He put out a call for help with harvesting his crop of sweet potatoes and a lot of volunteers turned up from the community. He gave the harvest to help feed the hungry in the area. 

He felt God had gifted him and he wanted to give back. Not the leftovers.

The firstfruits.

The Letter of James tells us exactly what that is: to help those in need.

We are challenged by God's word to care for the orphans and the widows---those who are neglected and overlooked.

We are called to give them our best because God has given so much to us.

Kathy's picture is an example of a "gift" that God gave to us. We did not plant any pumpkins but they appeared in our backyard. God's gifts can come in a surprising fashion sometimes!

1. Do you consider yourself to be God's firstfruit?

2. Why is it so important to welcome God's word with humility?

3. How have you become a "doer" of the word?

4. What "surprises" has God given you lately?

Humankind

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Humankind

All     Spirit-filled

Entering     Expanding     Uniting

Room For God Within

Heart 

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 6: 66 to 69

After Jesus taught this many of His followers left Him and returned to their previous way of life and no longer journeyed with Him. 

Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave me?"

Simon Peter responded and said, "Master, to whom else shall we go? You have the words that bring us to true life. We now believe and are convinced that you are the Holy God whom God has sent."

Reflection

It is hard for us to believe that this is the one year anniversary of our blog! 

We would like to thank all of you who have taken time to read our weekly blog and to forward your comments and encouragement to us.

We feel deeply blessed by your words and your kindness.

The scripture today speaks about a difficult time in the life of Jesus. He has just given a beautiful teaching about the Bread of Life to His disciples.

In a way they have been in the Spiritual Waiting Room of Jesus----reflecting on His words. They found the words hard to comprehend.

They asked themselves how Jesus could give them His very flesh to eat. He had done a tremendous miracle just before this when He fed five thousand men from just 5 loaves and two fish. There were many in the crowd who wanted to make Jesus a king.

When He told them that He would give them something even greater, they could not understand how this could be. It seemed crazy to them and so they left Jesus.

We are in the same situation today. Can we accept the depth of the Love of Jesus? Can we accept that Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, wants to come into our body and soul and to be with us always?

As we come into the Spiritual Waiting Room each week----we to reflect Jesus through our photos and words and you to pray, we can ask ourselves if we accept this message of Jesus.

Do we want to walk away?

The words of Peter keep ringing in our hearts.

To whom else shall we go?

We realize that Jesus has the words of Eternal Life.

Jesus desires only to nourish us and to love us.

As we wait, we can take time to ponder this message and to say thank you (Eucharist) to Jesus!

1. How do you picture Jesus in this reading? How was He feeling?

2. What does it mean to you when Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life?

3. To whom else would you go?

(scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)

Servant

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Servant

Lowly     Generational

Remembering     Proclaiming     Fulfilling

His Promise Of Mercy

Magnified

(photo of a painting by Mariotto Albertinelli found in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 1: 46 to 50

Mary said: 

"My soul proclaims the power of God. 

My spirit finds joy in God my savior.

God has looked upon my lowliness as a servant.

From now on all ages will call me blessed.

The Awesome One has done great things for me.

God's name is holy!

The mercy of God flows from age to age for those who cherish God's message.

Reflection

I think Albertinelli's painting of this scene says it all. Elizabeth is reaching out to Mary to reassure her. She seems young and scared.

Elizabeth is reaching out to her with love and compassion. She places her hand on Mary's arm and looks into her eyes.

Moved by Elizabeth's support, Mary is able to speak the words in our scripture. She gives praise to God and thanks God for the way God has honored her and lifted her up.

Mary shares the joy she feels in what God has done for her. There is a universal quality to this as we all reflect on what God has done for us and how God tries to lift us up as well.

Mary faced the most remarkable circumstances. She was to conceive a child in such an extraordinary way---through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We see this in our own lives. The Holy Spirit leads us to do amazing things. We look back and wonder "How was I able to accomplish all the tasks I did today?"

As God has lifted up Mary, so too does God lift us up each day. We can do amazing things because we reflect the power of God.

We are lowly but God takes our humble service and transforms it in ways that we do not know. So many times I have been thanked for something I said or did and I have no memory of the particular words or actions.

God's promise of mercy can be fulfilled in so many ways that are beyond our knowledge or understanding. Mary has experienced this but she is still filled with fear.

We all need Elizabeths in our lives who can point out how God is blessing us. Sometimes we just can't see it!

Our simple efforts are magnified through the awesome power of God. We reflect on what God accomplished through Mary and we are truly amazed.

God's Word dwelt among us because of her "Yes". She served God as a result of her trust in God's Promise.

God's mercy comes to us and fills us with forgiveness and peace. We realize how the very name of God leads us to holiness.

It is a message to cherish and proclaim to each generation: God is with us.

Always!

1. As you gaze at Mariotto Albertinelli's painting of the Visitation, what strikes you?

2. How has God lifted you up?

3. Who are some of the Elizabeths in your life?

(scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara) 

 

Imitators

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Imitators

Beloved     Children

Be     Kind     Compassionate

God Has Forgiven You

Love

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Ephesians 4:30 to 5:2

Sisters and brothers: Do not upset the Holy Spirit, with whom you were sealed for the time of salvation. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and name calling must be emptied from you, along with all evil thoughts. Instead be kind to each person you meet, full of compassion, and forgive each other in the same way that God has forgiven you in Christ.

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, in the same way that Jesus loved us and handed Himself over for us as an offering of sacrifice to God for a pleasing aroma.

Reflection

Our reading from Ephesians challenges us to be imitators of God.

Quite a task!

What does it mean to imitate God? 

The reading speaks of all those things we must first "empty" out: we have to remove the bitterness and anger that we sometimes feel. This can be very difficult in an era when many of our talk shows and social media seem based on stoking anger in us and in vilifying others.

Of course there will be disagreements and different points of view. That is only natural. Our reading, however, is calling us to avoid evil thoughts about others and to take a different path.

What is that path?

Again our reading points us in a certain direction: one of kindness and compassion for others. It asks us to offer forgiveness to others because we have been forgiven. The ministry and mission of Jesus was all about offering forgiveness.

We imitate God because we are the children of God. God invites us into the Family of God. We have a close, personal, and intimate relationship with God because this is what God wants.

We don't earn it. We don't merit it. It is God's Gift to us.

When we accept that gift of a special relationship with God, we are transformed. We live in a different way---we "live in love".

We know what that means because we can discern it in Jesus. We look at how Jesus lived and we try to imitate His Way.

Jesus lived a life of sacrifice: He gave His life to help others, to redeem others, to heal others, and to save others.

Kathy's picture captures that moment. A grandmother is embracing two of her grandchildren and sharing the beauty and majesty of God's creation with them. 

We are called to share what we have been given with others and to pass on the love we have received.

We have a great example to imitate: the Love of Jesus for us!

1. Who have been some examples of God's Love for you?

2. How do you try to imitate God? 

3. Is there something that you have to "empty out" so that you can be a better imitator of God?

(scripture adapted, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)