Afterlife

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Afterlife

Lazarus   Rich Man

Faith    Wealth    Reversal

Listen To Moses Prophets

Chasm

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 16:29

Jesus told his disciples a story about a rich man who ignored a poor man, Lazarus, who was begging by his door. When Lazarus died, he went to the bosom of Abraham, but the rich man went to the underworld where he was facing torment. The rich man asked Abraham to send messengers to his five brothers so that they would change their ways and avoid what he was experiencing.

"But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'"

Reflection

Many of us wonder exactly what the afterlife will be like. We do not have an exact description; but in this story Jesus tells in Luke, it sounds very good for Lazarus but very miserable for the rich man!

It seems like the issue of faith is crucial in this story. Lazarus has put his faith in God and is asking for help from those who have more blessings than he does. The rich man simply ignores the needs of Lazarus and enjoys his feasting while Lazarus is hungry.

Faith is not just a recitation of abstract beliefs. We have to live our faith every day in the ways we treat others. If we turn away from those who are struggling, our faith is empty and meaningless. 

Wealth is not something that we should keep for ourselves. With that wealth comes our responsibility to share the blessings that God has given to us with others, particularly those who are neglected and live on the margins of society as Lazarus does.

I remember a Mass Kathy and I attended at Yankee Stadium on October 2nd, 1979, where Pope John Paul II presided and gave the homily on this story from Luke. He reminded those of us in wealthier countries to share our resources with those in the developing world. It was a challenging message for us then and even more so now as our country has discontinued much of the life-saving aid that we formerly gave to people who are hungry and need medical care in developing countries. 

This story depicts a reversal, Lazarus goes from hardship to eternal bliss, and the rich man goes from feasting to suffering. This shows us the importance of not settling for a temporary advantage but of being true to what God asks of us. We might feel that we are losing something by sharing our wealth and blessings with others, but, in the wider picture, we are only gaining more love and being enriched with more blessings. 

We are encouraged by Jesus to listen to the message of Moses and the prophets. It was a message that was consistent in the Hebrew Scriptures: we must take care of the stranger, the poor, the widow, and the orphan. The prophets never tired of proclaiming this message and exhorting the people to remain faithful to the covenant with God by giving to those in need.

Abraham reminds the rich man of the chasm that exists between him and Lazarus. It is a chasm that is built on indifference to the needs of others. 

We have the opportunity to close that chasm every day in this life so that there are no chasms in the afterlife.

Enjoy your efforts to fill in that chasm!

1. What is your picture of the afterlife?

2. How important is it for you to put your faith into action?

3. Do you feel that wealth is bad in itself?

4. Do you feel, as Pope John Paul II said, that wealthier countries have an obligation to assist developing countries?

5. What do you feel about the afterlife as you ponder Kathy's photo?

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

 

Public Prayer

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Public Prayer

Supplications   Petitions

Prioritize   Offer   Encompass

Pray For All People

Ransomed

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   First Timothy 2:1

The first thing that I ask is that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for all people.

Reflection

Do you find it hard to pray for certain people?

There might be people with whom you have a difficult relationship. You might have been arguing with them recently. You might not agree with certain people who have different political beliefs. Some people might have treated you badly.

Paul encourages us in this reading from First Timothy to enlarge our approach to prayer. He is challenging us pray for all people.

Public prayer speaks to this larger perspective. We all try to pray privately using prayers that we have been taught and bible readings with which we are comfortable. Public prayer invites us to see many events in our everyday lives and many different places as possibilities to raise our voices to God or to simply be silent and listen to what God wants to say to us.

This can lead to our supplications during which we can beg God for assistance to deal with difficult situations. I can think of times in my life when those I love deeply were facing challenging medical conditions and I turned to God for help. Those prayers can be lifted up (and certainly were!) in very public places like doctor offices and hospital waiting rooms. 

This can lead also to our petitions where we pray in a very public way for an end to war and the exploitation and suffering of people throughout the world. Those petitions come from our hearts as we feel the pain and hardship that so many are experiencing. 

We have to make sure that our priorities are established. We all have a tendency to put ourselves first. We have to offer our prayers for all people. We have to encompass that vision of Jesus as we pray for others and not just for our own needs.

The difficulty in Paul's challenge to us is definitely that word "all". There are certain people that we tend to leave off our prayer list. Perhaps what Jesus is telling us is that the people we find it hardest to pray for are the ones we should pray for the most. 

We need to drop our "enemies list" and realize that Jesus came to ransom all of us and not just the people that we might like. Our public prayer must include everyone. 

It's Prayer Time!!

1. Are there certain people for whom you find it hard to pray?

2. Can you pray for those on the other end of the political spectrum from you?

3. Are there certain public places where you are comfortable praying?

4. How do you overcome the tendency to put yourself and your own needs first as you pray?

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

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

Name

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Name

Save    Redeem

Humble   Obedient   Servant

Jesus Christ Is Lord

Exalt

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Philippians 2:9 

God greatly exalted Jesus and gave Him a name that is above every other name.

Reflection

We are all curious to know the origin and meaning of the names of different people we encounter. Some names are common and easy to comprehend. Others are unusual and cause us to wonder why someone might have that particular name.

Some names have a special importance and reveal a lot about the person or about the one or couple who gave the name. In our passage from Philippians, we learn that Jesus received His name from God. It is a name that means "the one who saves".

We learn that Jesus has come to redeem us. Sometimes we take this for granted; but when you reflect on it, you realize that this is an indication of how deeply God loves us. God did not have to send Jesus to redeem us. God cares for us this much!

Jesus humbled Himself to become one with us. He was obedient to what God asked of Him. He trusted in God's plan for Him. 

Jesus came to serve us. He knew the problems we face. He came to help and to heal. He reached out to those who others ignored---the lepers, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the widows, and the poor.

As we experience Jesus in our lives, we come to realize that Jesus is Lord. We are committed to Jesus because we believe in His mission and in His message. He has the words of eternal life and shows us how to live a life of caring for our sisters and brothers and gives us the strength to truly help others.

God has exalted Jesus so that He can come into our lives to lift us up. Jesus wants us to know how deeply we are loved. His name tells it all. He has come to save!

1. What does your name indicate about you?

2. What does the name of Jesus tell us about Him?

3. How did Jesus humble Himself?

4. How do you try to be humble?

5. Why are you committed to Jesus?

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

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

Cost

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Cost

Radical   Commitment

Relinquish   Surrender   Follow

Renounce All Your Possessions

Discipleship

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 14:33

One day Jesus was talking to a huge crowd that was following Him. He spoke to them about what it means to really follow Him and said,

"If you do not renounce all of your possessions, you cannot be My disciple."

Reflection

We are all worried about costs. There is always talk of inflation and people are concerned that they will not have enough money to feed their families and to pay for housing. Costs seem to be rising all the time.

If we apply costs to following Jesus, we might wonder how much we would give of ourselves in following Jesus. Would you follow Jesus just a little bit or would you give yourself completely to Jesus?

We could respond by claiming that I follow Jesus by going to Mass on Sunday. A lot of my fellow Catholics do not bother to go to Mass on Sundays. Therefore, I follow Jesus more than they do.

However, Jesus seems to be asking for much more from us. He is asking us to make a radical commitment to following Him. It means that we put Jesus first. It means that we are willing to make sacrifices of our time, talent, and treasure to share the Good News.

We do this when we relinquish our own desires and reflect on what Jesus would want us to do. Imagine being in a situation where your friends are putting someone down and destroying this person's reputation. 

In that type of circumstance, we might have the desire to either go along with our friends in order to be more accepted or to just be quiet. When we bring Jesus into the equation, we might talk about the dignity of each human being as a child of God. We should not be putting anyone down.

We surrender our desire to be accepted and liked. We make the decision to follow Jesus instead. It can be very challenging and uncomfortable to do this. 

I remember a conversation that I was part of during which all the participants were complaining about our profession as religious educators. I spoke up and said that I felt it was a blessing to be able to share the gospel message with children, teens, and adults. After an awkward silence, the dialogue went in a different direction.  

Jesus calls us in this passage from Luke to renounce all of our possessions, both our material possessions and our desire to be accepted by others. It can seem like a great cost to pay to follow Jesus. We like certain possessions and can become very attached to them. 

The question we have to ask ourselves is, "Are those possessions more important to me than following Jesus?" Our answer to that question comes from our relationship with Jesus. If I place Jesus first in my life and in my heart, all of those possessions pale in importance to that relationship. 

Being a disciple of Jesus involves sacrifice and a radical commitment. What flows from that cost of discipleship is a love for the message of Jesus and all of God's children. That Love fills us, and we begin to realize that the cost is minimal compared to the joy that dwells within us. 

Are you willing to pay the cost?

1. Are you concerned about the costs you have to pay for food and housing?

2. Do you feel that you follow Jesus completely?

3. Is going to Mass on Sunday following Jesus completely?

4. Is it more important to you to be accepted by others or to follow Jesus?

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

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