Identity

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Identity

Beloved   Son

Transfigured   Confirmed   Fulfilled

Then A Cloud Came

Listen

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Mark 9:7

Then a cloud came. A shadow was cast over all of them. From the cloud a voice was heard:

"This is my beloved son. Listen to him."

Reflection

Mark relates an amazing experience that Jesus has on the mountain. He is with Peter, James, and John and becomes transfigured before them. His clothes become dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appear with him. 

The three apostles who were with Jesus were stunned. They could not believe what was happening. They had never seen anything like this before.

Jesus was revealing His identity. He was showing them who He really was. It was overwhelming for the three apostles as it would be for any of us.

They knew that Jesus was a special teacher who taught with authority. They saw Him do fantastic miracles and heal many people. 

This was something very different. Jesus was demonstrating His extraordinary power to become totally transformed. He was in this world but not of this world. He showed that as He was conversing with Elijah and Moses.

Then a voice came which fully revealed the identity of Jesus. It was the voice of God which told the three apostles that Jesus was God's Son.

We all wonder about our true identity. The question, "Who am I?", is one we all have to answer. 

Jesus shows us the way to answer this question. We have to listen to God. We have to hear God's voice. Prayer is the key.

As we take some time to commune with God, we can discover our true identity. We also can become transfigured by God's grace and experience how deeply and completely we are loved.

The shadows are lifted. We are beloved! We know who we are and whose we are!

1. How do you answer the question, "Who am I?"

2. How does prayer help you find your identity?

3. Do you see yourself as beloved by God?

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

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

Temptation

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Temptation

Desire   Enticement

Resist   Pray   Listen

Believe In The Gospel

Repent

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Mark 1:15

After Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan, He went to Galilee and spread the Good News. He told them, "Repent and believe in the Gospel."

Reflection

We all face a variety of temptations, just as Jesus did. We have our time in the desert when we are alone. Voices come to us to tell us how right we are. Other people are to blame. If only they would follow our advice, the world would be so much better!

The voices can tempt us to thirst for power over others or to belittle them. We can be tempted to turn our back on those who are in need.

Prayer and reflection can help us to put those temptations into perspective. We can listen to the voice of God and open our hearts and our lives to the example of Jesus.

Jesus comes to share Good News with us. We can repent from our lack of caring and embrace the Good News that we are loved.

Now is the time to live that Good News by looking around our communities and seeing what we can do to make them better. 

We will be tempted by that voice that says our little actions won't really make a difference. However, when we listen to the voice of Jesus in prayer, we will be led on another path. 

Our actions, which can seem to be so insignificant when we contemplate the huge problems we face, can deeply touch others and let each person know that she or he is deeply loved.

1. What are some of the temptations that you face?

2. Do you think that your little actions of caring and kindness can really make a difference?

3. Can you think of a time in your life when the kindness someone showed you made a difference in your life?

4. What do you think of when you contemplate Kathy's photo?

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

Imitators

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Imitators

Witnesses   Evangelizers

Touch   Cleanse   Renew

I Am Of Christ

Fulfill

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 11:1

Be imitators of me just as I am of Christ.

Mark 1:40 to 42

A leper approached Jesus. He knelt down and started begging Jesus, saying "If you want to, you can make me clean."

Jesus was moved with compassion and reached out His hand. 

Jesus touched him and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean."

The leprosy left him at that moment, and he was made clean.

Reflection

We are given the choice of who we wish to imitate in our lives. Some of us choose to follow a sports hero. Others model their lives on a great singer or actor. Still others have been very moved by a special teacher who has influenced them. For others it might be someone on Tik Tok.

Paul, in the First Letter to the Corinthians makes a very bold statement. He is asking the people in the community at Corinth to imitate him. 

Our first reaction might be, "Who does he think he is?" It seems like a very egotistical statement. 

If we look closer though, what Paul is really saying is that he tries in his life to imitate Christ. He is really asking the Corinthians to focus on Jesus and to try, as best they can, to follow what Jesus said and did.

Paul can make that bold statement because he has given himself fully and completely to Jesus. His whole life as an evangelizer was to proclaim Jesus with his every thought, word, and deed.

We learn in our reading from Mark what that involves. We see Jesus as a healer.

This is not an ordinary healing. Jesus breaks the Law by touching the man who has leprosy. This action would have made Jesus unclean. 

We see the love of Jesus clearly in this story. He is not limited by the confines of the Law. He puts the wellbeing of this man first.

This man was breaking the Law also by approaching Jesus. He was hoping that Jesus could help him and restore him to the community. The lepers had to live by themselves and keep their distance from everyone else because of the fear that they might spread this disease and infect others in the community.

Jesus saw his desperation, his desire for more human contact, his wish to be with others. Jesus made him clean so that he could be with everyone else. The man was so filled with joy, that he ignored what Jesus commanded him about not telling anyone. He let everyone know what happened to him and who cured him. 

Our challenge is to imitate this compassion and love of Jesus in our lives. We are called to reach out to those in our society who are ignored by others. There are many lepers in our society today who are not suffering from the physical disease of leprosy but who are just as ignored by people today as the lepers were in the time of Jesus.

Who are you going to imitate?

1. Who are some of the people that you have followed in your life?

2. How do you try to imitate Christ?

3. Whom do you feel are the lepers of today?

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

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

Purpose

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Purpose

Plan   Create

Preaching   Healing   Casting Out

I Have Come Now

Salvation

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Mark 1: 38

Jesus spoke to His disciples and told them, "Let us move on from here to the surrounding towns and so that I can share the Good News there as well. I have come for this purpose."

Reflection

I think that we all realize the need to have a purpose in our lives. It gives us a focus each day. It gives meaning to our lives. 

A purpose is a statement of belief that we can fully embrace. We wake up with excitement and energy because we want to work out that purpose in our daily lives.

Jesus at this point in the Gospel of Mark is at the beginning of His public ministry. He has been very successful in curing a man who was possessed, curing Simon's mother-in-law, and healing many others in Capernaum. He was much in demand in the town.

It would have been easy for Jesus to stay there and to accept the praise from all those who were benefiting from His ministry.

Jesus knew, however, that there was more to be done. He went off and spent some time in prayer and realized exactly what His purpose was. He was called to share the Gospel with those in the surrounding area. 

He was not going to stay in His "comfort zone". He was going to continue to share about the Kingdom of God and to invite all those He encountered to follow Him by reaching out to those in need.

The example of Jesus is an invitation for us to reach out to those who are on the margins as He did. We can reflect on our purpose and ask ourselves is there any better purpose than to share the faith that we have been given by God.

Like Jesus we can come out of our comfort zones and reach out to those in other areas whom we have never met but who are waiting for some Good News.

Let us embrace our purpose as Jesus embraced His!

1. What is your purpose in life?

2. Does your purpose give you excitement and energy?

3. How important is prayer in finding your purpose in life?

4. How difficult is it for you to move out of your comfort zone and to take on a new challenge?

5. How does Kathy's photo help you to find your purpose in life?

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