Fishing

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Fishing

Untorn     Nets

Cast     Feed     Tend

Do You Love Me

Follow

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture: John 21: 3, 6, 10, 12, 13, 15

Simon Peter said to the disciples who were there, "I am going fishing."

They went with him.

They caught nothing but Jesus was standing on the shore.

They did not recognize that it was Jesus.

He said to them,

"If you cast your net over the right side of the boat, you will find some fish."

They did what Jesus said and the net was so full of fish that they could not pull it in.

Jesus told them to bring some of the fish they had caught. Jesus said, "Come have breakfast."

Jesus took some of the bread and gave it to them and also the fish.

After the breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Do you love me more than those?"

Peter said, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."

Reflection

Breakfast time!

How would you like to have breakfast with Jesus? Jesus prepares an early morning feast of bread and fish for some weary fishermen.

They have just spent a frustrating night trying to catch some fish but they come up empty. Jesus helps them in two ways:

He tells them where to cast their net. They catch a huge amount of fish!

Then He makes a delicious breakfast for them!

A great combination.

Jesus then has a moving encounter with Peter. He asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Peter responds that he does and Jesus tells him to feed and tend His lambs.

In these appearances after His resurrection, Jesus is sending an important message to His disciples and to us.

He is letting us know that He will be with us to sustain us and lead us in our "fishing" today and always. He is with us in the Eucharist to nourish us.

This strength that Jesus shares with us helps us to "feed His lambs" as He encouraged Peter to do.

The Resurrected Jesus knows that we will need His help and He is very generous with it. He displays that generosity in the way He reaches out to Peter.

He realizes that Peter is still upset that he denied Jesus three times. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. The healing has begun.

Jesus knows what we need. He asks us today if we love him.

How will we answer?

Are we ready to go fishing?

1. How would you like to have breakfast with Jesus?

2. How do you experience Jesus with you each day?

3. Where have you gone "fishing" lately?

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

 

Doubt

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Doubt

Incredulity     Skepticism

Redefining     Acknowledging     Believing

Jesus Is The Christ

Understanding

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 20:19 to 31

During that night of the first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came to them and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

When Jesus said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said once more, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I will also send you."

As Jesus said this, He breathed on them and said,

"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, those sins will be forgiven. Whose sins you shall retain, those sins will be retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not there when Jesus appeared. 

The other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."

Thomas said to them, "Unless I see where the nails went into His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

Now a week later His disciples were again inside and Thomas was there. 

Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

Then He turned to Thomas and said, "Place your finger here and notice the marks in my hand. Then place your hand in my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believe."

Thomas responded and said to Him,

"My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus performed many other signs that His disciples witnessed. These are not written down in this book.

The ones that are recorded will help you to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

As you come to believe this, you will have life in His name.

Reflection

John shares an amazing story with us in this passage. We see the disciples journey from fear of the authorities to rejoicing with Jesus.

Jesus gives them what they really need: Peace!

After the disappointment they went through when Jesus was crucified, the disciples needed some reassurance. Their hopes and expectations were dashed. 

Seeing Jesus among them, filled them with joy. They realized now that Jesus could overcome death. He had told them that He was the resurrection and the life. Now they saw it with their own eyes.

However, Thomas was not there. He could not believe that this really happened. 

He is a great example of what we all struggle with. Belief in something which seems so beyond our experience is very difficult.

Doubt can stimulate us to ask more questions and to look deeper. This can lead to great discoveries. We can find our personal truths that actually help to deepen our faith.

This is the case with Thomas. His doubt results in the clearest statement about the divinity of Jesus in the scriptures: "My Lord and my God!"

It was difficult for the apostles to truly understand who Jesus was. They were confused.

In many ways they are like us. It takes us time to know Jesus on a personal level. 

Doubts can be part of that process. As we question, we can discover the deeper Life that the Resurrected Jesus wants to share with us.

That Life brings Peace!

1. Why can belief be difficult at times?

2. Has doubt ever led you to a deeper understanding?

3. How has your faith in Jesus brought you Peace?

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

    

Reparation

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Reparation

Divine     Just

Offering     Surrendering     Amending

Interceding For Our Transgressions

Atonement

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Isaiah 53: 10b to 12

By making his life as a reparation offering, he shall see his children, shall lengthen his days, and the will of the Lord shall be fulfilled through him. Because of his suffering, he shall see the light; because of his wisdom, he shall be happy.

My servant, the just one, shall justify the many.

He shall bear their sin.

Therefore I will give him his share among the many.

He shall divide the spoils with those in power.

Because he surrendered himself to death, he was counted among the transgressors.

He bore the sins of the many and interceded for the transgressors.

Reflection

Isaiah speaks of a person who is willing to give his life to help others. He talks of a "servant" who will take on suffering.

This suffering will lead to the "light". It is not suffering for the sake of suffering. It is a suffering that leads to wisdom.

The servant will justify the people by bearing their sin. The servant is not afraid of death because it will lead to life for everyone.

In his prophecy Isaiah shows us the way to Jesus. "No greater love can a person have than to be willing to lay down one's life for one's friends." 

Jesus responds to His call from the Father. It is a call to let others know how deeply God loves them.

There is nothing that can stand in the way of that Love. Jesus is willing to embrace suffering and death because He has the wisdom that comes from being at one with God.

He shows us what that atonement is. We have no fear because we know that our God is with us. 

His life is an offering for us. He holds nothing back.

He leads us in the struggle to establish justice. If we are to truly be at one with God, we are called to love others, especially those most in need. 

The reparations that have been paid are a sign of that justice. In our time there are many calls for reparations. 

The reparations are an attempt to heal the hurts that have been caused by sin---the sin of not treating other people in a dignified way. Jesus shows us that His Passion, Death, and Resurrection have overcome that sin.

He shows us how to become one with God and with others. The Victory has been won!

1. How does suffering lead to wisdom?

2. What is your experience of atonement?

3. Why are reparations necessary?

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

Tomb

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

                                                            Tomb

Holy      Sepulcher

Uncovered     Emptied     Risen

He Saw And Believed

Conquered

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 20: 1 to 9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb very early in the morning.

It was still dark.

She noticed that the stone had ben removed from the tomb.

She immediately ran as quickly as she could to Simon Peter and the other disciple---the one whom Jesus loved.

She said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb. We don't have an idea where they have put him."

Peter and the other disciple started out at once to go to the tomb.

They both ran but the other disciple was quicker than Peter. He arrived at the tomb first. He looked down and saw the burial cloths; but he did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived, he went into the tomb. He noticed the burial cloths there. He also saw the cloth that was placed over His head. It was not with the other burial cloths; but it was rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple went in. He had arrived  first but he waited. 

He saw and he believed.

They did not comprehend the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Reflection

The tomb is at the center of this passage from John. Mary of Magdala is surprised to find it empty. She has come early to minister to Jesus. She loved Jesus and wanted to check everything out.

When she goes to tell Peter and the others, they come quickly and find the same thing. John tells us that they did not understand yet about the resurrection.

And who could blame them?

Yes, Jesus had spoken about it.

He told them that He was "the resurrection and the life". He told them that He was one with the Father.

They saw the Signs that He did.

However, this final Sign---the Resurrection---was so amazing that the disciples had a difficult time imagining that it could actually happen.

The empty tomb gave them the first big clue. If Jesus was not in the tomb, where was He? Why were those burial cloths left behind?

John tells us that the "disciple whom Jesus loved" saw and believed. For many of us that is what it takes---we want to see it with our own eyes. 

Jesus understands that and He sends us Signs. We see them all around us.

They are the resurrections that we experience through the acts of love and kindness that people share with us and that we try to pay forward to others.

We see it in those who try to work for peace and understanding. A simple act of kindness---like a group of senior citizens making Easter baskets for children who have been displaced because of war--- can touch the hearts of others.

Kathy's photo shows us an empty tomb; but it is a tomb with a bright light shining forth.

That same Light leads us to overcome the hatred and evil that Jesus has conquered. 

The tomb is empty.

Our hearts are full.

1. With which of the people in this passage from John do you identify?

2. Why was it so difficult for the disciples to understand about the resurrection?

3. Do you need to see to believe like the "disciple Jesus loved"?

4. What are some of the "signs of the resurrection" that you have experienced?

Untethered

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Untethered

Triumphant     Entry

Acclaiming     Praising     Aloud

Stones Will Cry Out

Jerusalem

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 19: 28-30; 35-40

Jesus continued traveling to Jerusalem.

As He came to Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples.

He told them, "Enter the village opposite you, and as you go in you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here."  

They brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it and helped Jesus get on.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road.

As Jesus was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the entire crowd of His disciples started to praise God aloud with joy for all the powerful deeds they had witnessed.

They were saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the Lord's name. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest."

Some of the Pharisees who were there said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell your disciples to stop saying this."

Jesus said in reply, "I say to you, if they are silenced, the stones will cry out."

Reflection

In our reading from Luke, Jesus makes an unusual request. Jesus asks two of His disciples to go into the local town and untether a colt for His use.

The disciples must have wondered about this but they obeyed and helped Jesus get on the colt as He came into Jerusalem. The crowd acclaimed Jesus as a king.

This scripture challenges us to untether our faith as well. It calls us to walk more completely with Him.

The symbol of the tethered colt reminds us what following Jesus is all about. It can be easy and comfortable to step back from difficult issues. We can take the attitude of not wanting to offend others who might feel differently.

An example comes to mind when we think of environmental issues. Pope Francis has spoken out clearly about the importance for us as a society to confront the damage that has been done to our air, water, and soil.

Pope Francis calls all of us to an "ecological conversion" to tackle the complex issue of climate change. Many do not accept this and have spoken out against Pope Francis.

When we follow Jesus and "untether the colt", it can take us into difficult situations. Jesus knew that the Jerusalem He was entering was a place full of danger for Him.

Jesus, riding on that untethered colt, tells these Pharisees that He will not silence the disciples. If He tried to do this, the very stones would cry out---all of creation reflects the glory of Jesus.

Jesus is not afraid to confront those who might disagree with Him or who do not accept His message. He does this in a peaceful way as the disciples acknowledge in their acclamation.

Kathy's photo invites us to embrace that way and to soar higher. Our colts can also be untethered.

Enjoy the ride!

1. How can you untether your faith?

2. How do you deal with those challenging situations where you might offend others by taking a stance to follow Jesus more completely? 

3. What do you feel as you contemplate Kathy's photo?    

Called

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Called

Least     Brothers

Feeding     Clothing     Visiting

You Did For Me

Inheritance

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Matthew 25:35-36

When I was hungry, you shared some food with Me.

When I needed something to drink, you shared that with Me.

When you did not even know Me, you welcomed Me.

When I had nothing to wear, you found clothes for Me.

When I was feeling ill, you came to visit Me.

When I was locked up in a jail, you showed up to comfort Me.

Reflection

This week, during a Morning of Prayer, we reflected on the meaning of a passage from Matthew 25. 

Jesus challenges us in this section from the Gospel of Matthew to "walk the walk". We can't just talk and write about the Gospel, we have to live it each day through our actions.

In our day we see so many examples of this. In many areas besieged by the horror of wars, we see people responding with food, clothes, and housing. 

We know that war is wrong. We know that violence is not the answer.

The reaction of so many people to the slapping incident at the Oscars is so instructive. People were offended by a performer coming on stage and assaulting a comedian. 

It tells us that we all know that this is not the way to resolve a conflict. When one country attacks another, we know there are much better ways to bring opposing sides together.

The victims of war are the innocent. We see millions of people displaced from their homes in so many areas of our world. We see families split apart. Hospitals and schools that should be healing and educating people are reduced to rubble.

We wonder when people will learn the lessons of Jesus: we are all children of God and we should treat each person as if that person were Jesus because Jesus dwells in each of us.

Jesus calls us to act in a radically different way: to reject violence and killing and to provide for the needs of each and every person.

We cannot look down on any person and dismiss them and turn away from them when there is a need. If we do that, we are turning away from Jesus.

Kathy's picture this week is from the entrance to the Good Shepherd Hospice in Port Jefferson. Those who are seriously ill are comforted and consoled. Their families are able to be present and to surround their loved one with kindness and caring.

The staff there sees each patient and family member as Jesus. They accompany them with sensitivity and gentleness.

They have been called.

So are we!

1. Do you find this passage from Matthew to be a challenging one?

2. Can you remember a time when you were hungry, thirsty, naked, ill, or imprisoned and someone reached out to you?

3. How have you responded to the horrors of war?

4. What goes through your heart as you ponder the picture of Good Shepherd Hospice?

5. How have you responded to the Call to see Jesus in those who come to you in need? 

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