Kingship

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Kingship

Humility   Love

Sacrifice   Promised   Salvation

Remember Me In Kingdom

Inheritance

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 23:42 and 43

Jesus was on the cross and two criminals were crucified beside Him. One of the criminals was reviling Jesus while the second recognized the innocence of Jesus.

The second criminal said to Jesus, "Jesus remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

Reflection

In the United States we are not too happy with the concept of a king or a queen. We think of kings as individuals with too much power and very little accountability to anyone else. We are used to having a say in how we are governed.

The kingship of Jesus is very different. Jesus does not exercise power over others. He comes with humility. He wants to serve and to help. He brings Good News. He has come to bring freedom and not oppression.

The kingship of Jesus is a kingship of Love and not of power. Jesus thinks of the needs of the people. He feeds them when they are hungry. He heals them when they are sick. He listens to those whom everyone else ignores.

Jesus is willing to make sacrifices and to offer Himself in sacrifice. He faced opposition and eventually death. He remained faithful to His mission from the Father in spite of all the obstacles He would face.

Instead of promising that people would be His subjects and have no freedom, Jesus promised salvation. He spoke about forgiveness and encouraged people to forgive others if they wanted to experience God's forgiveness. On the cross Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who were putting Him to death.

In our reading from Luke, we see the contrast between two attitudes toward Jesus. The one criminal attacks Jesus and puts Him down. He wants Jesus to save him without putting any faith in Jesus or trust in Him. 

The second criminal recognizes who Jesus is. He knows Jesus is innocent. He humbly asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. He knows that Jesus is different---He is special.

Jesus responds with Love. He tells this criminal that He will take care of him. He will protect him forever. He will be with him always. They will be together in Paradise.

Jesus is a different kind of king. He has come to serve others and not to subjugate them. His kingship leads those He evangelizes to form a community that will accept everyone and help those in need and those who are forgotten by others.

When we follow Jesus, we are called to imitate His forgiveness, His humility, and His service to all. Our King will always be with us and encourage us with His Love!

1. What is your feeling about kings?

2. How is Jesus different from other kings?

3. How important is forgiveness to being a good king?

4. What are some ways you try to follow Jesus as your King?

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

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

Son/Sun

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Son/Sun

Justice   Healing Rays

Judgment   Answer   Salvation

The Day Is Coming

Prepare

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Malachi 3:19 to 20a

The day is coming!

It is blazing like an oven.

The proud and the evildoers will be reduced to stubble.

The day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of hosts.

If you respect My Name, the sun of justice will come with its healing rays!

Reflection

The Son of God has come to lead us to the Light. We want to move out of darkness and ignorance. It's time now to bask in the Sun and feel the warmth.

We follow that Light when we work for justice. We know that there are people who are suffering discrimination and exploitation. We want to respect the dignity of each person and end the wars that destroy people's lives and homes.

We want to bring the healing rays of the Son to those who are suffering and overlooked. Pope Francis has used the image of the field hospital for the Church. People are wounded, and they need the bandages and medicines of our love and compassion.

When we neglect those who come to us in need, we will face the judgment of the Son. We are accountable for our actions. In our reading from Malachi, we are reminded that if we do evil and are proud, we can be reduced to stubble. 

We have seen this throughout history. Those who were once so powerful and thought that they would never be taken down have suddenly been brought low. We remember the Hitlers who tried to conquer the world and wind up taking their own lives in an underground bunker.

The answer that the Son gives us is to follow the Light. Jesus has come to share the gift of salvation with us. He wants only good for us and asks us to share the Gospel with each person we encounter.

The prophet Malachi tells us that the day is coming. It is the day of ending and new beginning. Our old way of selfishness and neglect for those in need has to end if we wish to begin a new life in the Light.

We prepare for that day each and every time we work for justice. We want each person in our family, our community, our nation, and our world to experience the healing power of salvation.

The Son of God is calling us to walk in His Light and to leave the darkness of selfishness and arrogance.

Enjoy your walk with the Light!

1. How can you walk in the Light?

2. What are the main areas of injustice that you see?

3. Do you see the Church as a field hospital?

4. When were you healed of your wounds?

5. How have you seen evildoers be punished and held accountable?

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

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

Foundation

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Foundation

Believers   Holy Spirit

Restore   Love   Unity

You Are God's Building

Dwell

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   First Corinthians 3:9c and 10

You are God's building.

Because of the grace God gave to me, I put down a foundation like a wise master builder.

Another is building upon it.

Reflection

Have you ever tried to build something?

When I was younger, my grandfather and I built a shed in the backyard for storing our lawnmower and gardening tools. Our very first step was to buy a bag of cement mix and to put down a sturdy foundation. We wanted to make sure that the wind, snow, and rain did not cause the shed to collapse. That shed stayed up for many years!

I learned from an early age how important a strong foundation was. I realized it also with my education. When we began learning about sentence structure in our elementary education, I could see how important this was for writing compositions.

Paul is telling the people in Corinth that he has given them a foundation in his teaching. He has spent a lot of time with them to help them understand the message of Jesus. 

They have become believers. As Paul proclaimed the Gospel, it resonated within their hearts. They were moved by what they heard, and it made sense to them based on their own life experience. 

The Holy Spirit helped them to accept Jesus and His teaching. They were baptized and joined with the community at Corinth in worship and service. 

This church tried to restore spiritual and moral values to the people of Corinth and faced many challenges in doing this. Corinth had a reputation as a "sin city" because of its wealth and the diversity of the people who called it home. 

The foundation that Paul built with the help of Jesus and the Holy Spirit was centered on love. Paul would write to the people at Corinth that there were many great gifts of The Holy Spirit, but the greatest of the gifts was love.

It was that love that bound the church together and made them one. That unity of purpose, that unity of faith, that unity of loving service made the Corinthians a strong and vibrant church community.

They became God's building because all who encountered them saw the presence of God in their concern for the poor, the lonely, the crippled, the hungry, and the homeless. They reflected the Love of God through their actions.

God dwelt in them and with them. Paul had given them a strong foundation, and it lasted when he moved on to other communities.

They became church not as a building but as the People of God. 

Time now for us to build foundations of love and unity to proclaim that God dwells in us today!

1. What are some of the experiences that have built your foundation?

2. Is there a certain part of the message of Jesus that resonates with your heart?

3. Are there any Gifts of the Holy Spirit that have helped you in your faith journey?

4. How do you see your role in the Church today?

5. What do you see as you look into the eyes of the people in Kathy's photo?

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