Word

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Word

Written     Victory

Knowing     Disclosing     Flourishing

Fullness of the Heart

Speak

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   1 Corinthians 15: 54b, 57

Then the word that is written shall be fulfilled: Death is conquered in victory.

Where, O death is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?

Thanks be to God who leads us to victory through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Luke 6: 45

A good person out of the deposit of what is good in the heart produces good, but an evil person produces only what is evil: for from the fullness of the heart the mouth shares.

Reflection

Our readings show us the power of the Word of God. Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians is talking about immortality and the gift of eternal life that Jesus has won for us.

To illustrate his point about the victory of Jesus over death, Saint Paul quotes a passage from the Prophet Hosea. In chapter 13 verse 14 Hosea is talking about the lack of gratitude among the people and how they have turned away from God. 

God reminds the people of the power God has over death. There are no limits that death can place on God.

Saint Paul knows that this prophecy from Hosea (who lived during the reign of King Jeroboam II in the Northern Kingdom from 786 to 746 BCE) was fulfilled by Jesus when He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. 

Death now has no power over us.

It has been conquered through the Paschal Mystery---the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

The Victory has been won!

It is amazing how powerful the Word of God is. Even though Hosea was writing so many years before Jesus, his words rang true in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Luke reminds us that there is this ongoing battle between good and evil. We experience this every day. 

As we read the news from far away or as we encounter people in our own communities, we see that contest play out.  If a person has good intentions and a good heart, much goodness will flow from them.

We encounter that goodness many times through the words that people speak.

Do we use our speech to affirm others?

Do we refrain from judging others in our comments?

Do we use our words to help and heal others?

We have all had the experience of suffering a loss or feeling down after hearing some difficult news. A kind word from someone can lift our spirits and gently remind us that Jesus is with us and the Victory has been won.

Speak that Victory!

1. What do you feel when you hear that Jesus has conquered sin and death?

2. Can you think of a time in your life when someone lifted your spirits with their words?

3. What do you see as you reflect on Kathy's photo?

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

 

 

Measure

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Measure

Goodness     Kindness

Loving     Giving     Forgiving

Lend Expecting Nothing Back

Rewarded

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 6: 27-28, 30a, 32, 35a, 36, 37b, 38b

Jesus said to His disciples,

"To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who are opposed to you, give a blessing to those who curse you, and pray for those who are mean to you.

Give to all who ask from you.

If you love someone who loves you, why should you get a reward? Even sinners will do that!

Rather you should love your enemies and be kind to them.

When you lend, expect nothing back. 

Be merciful in the same way that your Heavenly Father is merciful.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Reflection

In this passage from Luke Jesus is challenging His disciples to love at a much deeper level. Jesus knows that there are certain people that we all find it difficult to love.

We generally say that if someone treats us with respect than we will also treat them with respect. The problem comes when we encounter people who are mean to us, who make it obvious that they do not like us, and who seem to delight in giving us a hard time.

Jesus has a solution for us when we run into these people. 

If they are opposed to us, do something good for them.

If they get really angry and start to curse at us, just say to them, "I bless you."

If they are mean and cruel to us, just start praying for them.

This is a different game plan than the one to which we are accustomed. The usual response is to get angry at these people and to curse back at them.

Why is Jesus encouraging a different path? Jesus points towards our Heavenly Father who shows mercy on all, who offers forgiveness to all, and who never turns away from anyone.

Jesus tells us what true love is all about. It is not just an attraction or a good feeling. Love looks into the heart of the other and encourages the other to follow a path of goodness and kindness.

Love knows that we all have our faults and our good days and our bad days. Love knows that the person that I forgive today could very well be the same person whom I will need to ask for forgiveness tomorrow.

I always think here of the example of Jesus. On the cross while He was experiencing excruciating pain, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing."

If Jesus can forgive all of us, how is it possible for us to refuse to forgive someone who has hurt us?

As we measure our love out to others, Jesus is calling us to measure generously, to give generously, to hold nothing back.

1. How do you usually deal with people you find it hard to love?

2. Do you feel that the path Jesus outlines for dealing with our enemies is a practical one for you?

3. Does the example of Jesus help you to be a more forgiving person?

4. When you have measured generously and given generously to others, how has that affected you? 

Trust

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Trust

Humans     Savior

Stretching     Reaching     Believing

Hope Is The Lord

Planted

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Jeremiah 17: 5 to 8

The Lord says: The person who trusts in human beings is cursed.

This one seeks strength in flesh causing the heart to abandon the Holy One.

Such a person is like a barren bush in the desert that does not change with the seasons but remains in a lava waste, an empty earth with salt.

The person who trusts in the Holy One and whose hope is the Lord will be blessed.

Such a one is like a tree that is planted by the waters. 

It stretches its roots to the stream.

The heat will not bother it.

Its leaves will remain green.

When there is a drought, it will have no distress.

It will bear fruit.

Reflection

Our reading from Jeremiah talks about the importance of trust. When we place our trust in human beings, we can be very disappointed.

Such a challenge for us because we can wonder: who else can I trust? In many situations I have to trust other people.

If I am working at my job, I have to trust my boss and fellow workers. If I get on a plane, I have to trust the mechanics and pilots. 

Jeremiah is referring to a person who trusts so much in other people that there is no room left for trust in God. It is the Adam and Eve situation: I don't trust in God because there is something that I want that is more important to me than following what God would want.

I place my desires first and trust in people who are trying to manipulate me, confuse me, and mislead me. A common example is the supposed "friend" who is trying to convince me of the benefits of experimenting with an illegal drug.

When I wind up like a "barren bush in the desert" as Jeremiah indicates, that "friend" is nowhere to be found. Then I ask, "Why did I ever trust in that person?"

In contrast, Jeremiah shows us what happens when we trust in the Lord. He uses the beautiful image of a tree that it planted near a stream. 

That tree is not bothered by the heat. While the other trees are dying, this tree gets stronger and still bears fruit.

We know that God will not abandon us. The Holy One will lead us along true paths. We will find hope.

We have all encountered people in our age who are disappointed and confused. They have been deceived by a person that they trusted. They placed that person on a pedestal and then found out that this person was lying to them or harming or taking advantage of others.

Jeremiah points us in a different direction. He tells us to ground our trust in God and to measure our other relationships by that grounding.

If we do that, then we will have no distress if a drought comes!

1. Have you ever been disappointed by someone you trusted?

2. What happens when we trust in the Lord?

3. How have you found hope in your life?

4. What do you see as you contemplate Kathy's photo?

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

Accordance

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Accordance

Resurrection     Scripture

Receiving     Hearing     Touching

Handed On To You

Response

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Isaiah 6: 7 and 8

One of the seraphim touched my mouth with an ember, and said,

"See, now that this ember has touched your lips, your evil is gone, your sin has been turned away."

Then the Holy One said,

"Whom shall I send on my mission? Who will be the one to share the message?"

"Here I am," I proclaimed.

"Send me."

1 Corinthians 15: 3 to 5

For I handed on to you as of most importance what I was also given:

that Christ gave his life for us in accordance with the Scriptures;

that He was buried;

that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;

that He came to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

Luke 5: 4 to 6

Jesus said to Simon, "Go out into the deep water and you can lower your nets for a catch."

Simon replied, "Master, we have been fishing all night and have caught nothing. However, at your command I will lower the nets."

When he did this, they caught a huge number of fish and their nets could not contain them.

Reflection

Our scriptures present the responses of three people to God's call. In all of them we see an initial reluctance.

Isaiah thinks that he is unworthy, he is sinful. He cannot possibly be a messenger for God. There has to be somebody better!

I think we can all relate to that sentiment. How many times have we thought of others who could do a much better job in sharing the faith than we do?

God will have none of that. God calls us and God takes care of our objections. God sends an angel (one of the Seraphim no less!) to Isaiah and purifies his lips with an ember. This reminds us of how the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles at Pentecost and transformed them from frightened followers to powerful proclaimers of the Good News.

Paul was more than reluctant---he did everything he could to stop the spread of the Gospel. He persecuted the new Christians.

When Jesus called Paul personally, he responded completely and took on missionary journeys to many different countries. He really knew the message was important and did not let any obstacles stop him---from being stoned with rocks to being shipwrecked!

Peter is reluctant for a different reason. He is tired. He has been fishing all night. He caught no fish. He just wants to go home and go to sleep. 

When Jesus tells him to do some more fishing, we can imagine how Peter felt. He very reluctantly does what Jesus asks.

The result is amazing! Peter can't take the fish into his own boat and has to call over his partners for help in taking the huge catch into their boat as well!

Our response can be very much like those of Isaiah, Paul, or Peter. We can also be reluctant to do things in accordance with the will of God. We can easily feel that we know better. We can come up with a million excuses.

God wants to hand on Good News to us.

How will we respond?

1. Do you feel unworthy to be God's messenger?

2. What are the obstacles that can get in the way of you proclaiming the Good News?

3. Do you find it hard sometimes to do what Jesus asks of you?

4. Have you ever been surprised by the results when you tried to follow God's will? 

5. What do you see when you contemplate Kathy's photo?