Us

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Us

For     Against

Accepting     Welcoming     Including

Our Way Of Being

Church

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Mark 9: 38 to 41

At that time, John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we noticed that there was someone who was driving out evil spirits in your name. We went to stop him because he does not follow us."

Jesus replied, "Do not stop him. If someone is doing a great deed in my name, that person will not be able to speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you are one with Christ, amen, I say to you, that person will always have a reward."

Reflection

John is very upset in this reading from the Gospel of Mark. He has seen someone casting out evil spirits and that person was using the name of Jesus to do this.

John realized that this person was not one of the disciples who was traveling with Jesus. He felt that this was wrong and brought it to the attention of Jesus. 

Jesus is happy that this person is driving out the evil spirits in His name. In doing this Jesus is radically expanding what it means to follow Him.

You don't have to be one of the Twelve or even one of the disciples who traveled with Jesus. You just have to be "for" Jesus---you have to embrace His message, the Good News.

John is an example of the tendency that we can all have to limit the power of Jesus. It is a natural trap that we can fall into because we can easily think that we are the true followers of Jesus and others fall short of the time, effort, and energy that we have put into our walk with Jesus.

We can judge others as inadequate because they have not followed the same rigorous steps that we have. Jesus is much more inclusive than many of His followers!

 Jesus looks into our hearts and He knows when we really and truly want to do His work. He points out that He will take care of the rewards. We do not have to worry about it!

Jesus leads us in the direction of an "us" faith. We are not alone. We are urged to accept and welcome others---even those who do not "follow" exactly.

It is simple, Jesus says. If they are not against us, they are for us.

Our notion of "Church" can be very limiting. Jesus expands it and teaches us to be more accepting of the gifts of others.

It is never about "me".

It is always about "us" and doing what we do in "the name of Jesus"! As Kathy's photo indicates, we have to share the roadway!

1.  Why do we have the tendency to limit the power of Jesus?

2. Do you have an "us" faith or a "me" faith?

3. What is your notion of Church? 

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

Cultivate

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Cultivate

Godly     Wisdom

Growing     Renewing     Reaping

Sow Fruits of Righteousness

Peace

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture: The Letter of James 3:16 to 4:3

Beloved: Where jealousy and selfish ambition thrive, there is chaos and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then full of peace, gentle, agreeable, full of kindness and good fruits, without inconstancy or deceitfulness. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.

Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and are jealous but you cannot acquire; you fight and wage war. You do not acquire because you do not ask. You ask but do not acquire, because you do not ask in the right way, to spend it on your emotions.

Reflection

The author of the Letter of James directs our attention to the attitudes we cultivate within ourselves. Jealousy and selfish ambition are not going to lead us to a good place!

However, if we cultivate wisdom, there is a different story. We will become more peaceful. 

Our world desires and needs more peace. We see too many conflicts and disputes. We worry about terrorism and suicide bombers.

The author knows that peace does not come without our effort. We have to strive to overcome our passions.

We desire more and more. That desiring can lead to coveting what others have. We can become selfish and indifferent to our sisters and brothers who are in need. We turn our backs on them because we are afraid that we might lose what we have.

We can easily see how this can lead to war. We want more and more and will do anything to keep what we have. 

Instead of the path of conflict, the author recommends a different way: gentleness and mercy. When we plant those seeds, peace will grow.

Kathy's photo points us in that direction. It is not about satisfying our own desires and working for our own comfort. It is all about thinking how we can give to others.

Time to cultivate!

1. How do you try to cultivate wisdom?

2. What causes war?

3. How can you plant the seeds of peace?

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

Identity

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Identity

Messianic     Anointed

Self-Questioning     Accepting     Confessing

You Are The Christ

Witness

(picture and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Mark 8:27 to 35

Jesus and his disciples were heading for the towns of Caesarea Philippi. As they were traveling, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

The disciples replied, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets."

Jesus asked them, "What about you. Who do you say that I am?"

Peter replied, "You are the Christ."

Jesus warned them to keep this quiet.

Jesus then started to teach them that the Son of Man would experience a lot of suffering and undergo rejection from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. He would be killed but then He would rise again on the third day. Jesus spoke very plainly about this.

Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. Jesus turned towards His disciples and rebuked Peter saying, "Get behind me Satan. You are thinking as a human being and not following God's ways."

Jesus then called the crowd over with His disciples and said to them, "If you want to be my follower, you have to deny yourself, take up your cross, and then you can follow me. If you want to save your life, you will lose it. If you lose your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it."

Reflection

In our reading from Mark we find Jesus in a questioning mode. He wants to find out exactly where He stands with the disciples. He has been teaching them and performing many amazing miracles. He is wondering if the disciples have heard any comments from the crowd about who He really is.

The disciples have heard Jesus compared to some very special people. They mention John the Baptist, Elijah, and the prophets. Not too shabby! An All Star lineup!

From those responses you can see how the people are valuing Jesus. They know that someone special is in their midst.

When Jesus directs that same question to the disciples, Peter does not hesitate. He shows his faith in Jesus and his insight into the true identity of Jesus. He moves the response of the people to a much higher level. He proclaims that Jesus is the Christ---the Anointed, the Messiah.

What a statement of belief!

Jesus does not want this to get out to anyone else but the disciples. He warns them not to tell anyone else. He is not ready yet to have that true identity spoken publicly. He is already in trouble with the authorities. Having people talk about Jesus as the Messiah would make it worse.

Jesus then tells the disciples exactly what it means to be the Messiah---it involves suffering, rejection, death, and then resurrection. This was not what the disciples were expecting. Many thought that the Messiah would inaugurate a New Kingdom and would overthrow the Roman rule.

Peter takes Jesus aside to express concern about this. He does not want to see Jesus suffer and die. He loves Jesus and has been following Him. 

We are surprised to see Jesus reacting so strongly. He actually refers to Peter as Satan! He does this because He wants to let the disciples know clearly and strongly that Peter has gotten it wrong.

In order to know what it means to be the Messiah, we have to think differently. We have to look at this from God's perspective.

Jesus elaborates on this with the crowd. He talks about denying ourselves and losing our lives. This is such a different perspective.

Jesus is sharing a challenging message. It is hard to hear and easy to walk away from. The Messiah would have to suffer. There would be rejection involved.

As His followers we face the same reality. There will be suffering for us. There will be rejection for us.

We can understand why Peter finds this difficult and why he wants to "rebuke" Jesus. This, however, is the path to resurrection, to freedom from death, to new life.

Jesus is teaching us what it means to be the Messiah.

Will we follow?

1. Who do you say Jesus is?

2. How do you feel about Peter trying to rebuke Jesus?

3. Do you feel that Jesus is too harsh in His reaction to Peter? 

  

Ephphatha

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Ephphatha

Open     Unlocked

Touching     Unblocking     Releasing

Laying His Hand On

Receptivity

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Mark 7: 31 to 35

Jesus left the area of Tyre and passed through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and into the area of the Decapolis.

Some of the people brought a deaf man to him who had a problem speaking and implored Jesus to lay His hand on him.

Jesus took him away from the crowd so that they were alone.

He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue.

Jesus looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha"---that is, "Be opened!"---And at once the man's ears were opened, his speech was perfect, and he spoke clearly.

Reflection

We encounter Jesus doing an amazing miracle in this passage from Mark. A man who can't hear or speak clearly is brought to Jesus.

The people in this town have heard about Jesus. They know that He has done some powerful healing in His ministry.

It is interesting, however, that Jesus pulls this many aside. He is not trying to show off in front of the crowd.

Jesus is very physical in His approach---the way He puts His finger in the man's ears and touches his tongue after spitting.

Jesus also groans before this miracle is done. We get the impression that this was a challenging miracle for Jesus.

Then Jesus utters the Aramaic word Ephphatha and prays that this man might be open. Immediately he is cured.

Such a compelling story. We are amazed at what Jesus can do.

It leads us to reflect on our own relationship with God and with others. How open are we to the gifts that people bring to us?

Jesus reminds us that we need to be willing to enter into the lives of those God sends to us and not to turn away from their needs. Do we really listen to others or are we more involved with our own concerns?

We are also made aware of those times when we did not speak out against an injustice or evil that we saw. We took the easy path and were quiet. We did not want to upset anyone.

Jesus is the antidote to all of that. He wants to heal us and to help us truly encounter others and to use all the gifts that He shares with us.

The immediacy of the cure is striking. There is no waiting period here. Jesus can heal us instantly.

The touch of Jesus transforms!

1. Has Jesus ever touched your tongue to speak out against evil?

2. What are the ways that you would like to be transformed by Jesus to become more Ephphatha----more open?

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