Be

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Be

Bold   Unafraid

Believe   Proclaim   Champion

Fear No One Speak

Truth

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Matthew 10: 26 and 27

Jesus was speaking to the Apostles and said:

Fear no one.

The message that I will share with you in the darkness speak in the light.

Reflection

What are some of the things you confront in life that make you afraid?

Some people fear thunderstorms. Others are concerned about criminals. Many become afraid when they are in the dark after a loss of power.

In our reading from Matthew, Jesus is telling us to be afraid of no one. We are challenged to be bold and to take on those difficulties we face with courage and conviction.

That boldness flows from our relationship with Jesus. We gradually realize that we are not alone in those difficult moments. We have a strength in our very being that comes from our knowledge that just as Jesus instructed and guided those original Twelve Apostles, He is with us today.

Our fears are normal. We all face them because we are aware of our limitations and failures. We know that we are not perfect.

We believe that Jesus knows our souls very well. He knows what we need. He knows our weaknesses. He sees our fears and that is why He speaks so much in the gospels about our need to overcome those fears that can cripple and confuse us.

When we are able to overcome those fears through our belief in Jesus, we can proclaim the Good News. Our message is simple: fear does not rule us or inhibit us. It is always there. It is real. However, it will not rule our being. We are called to be more and to do more. The fear will not paralyze us.

An athlete becomes a champion by facing fears and continuing to play on despite them. An Apostle becomes an evangelizer by proclaiming the Good News in the face of rejection and humiliation. Those difficult experiences make the athlete and Apostle stronger and much more appreciative and grateful when success does come.

We grow to the point where, as Jesus says, we fear no one. We see this in Jesus as He confronts religious leaders and political rulers with calm and wisdom. He knows that they do not accept His message and His claims. He knows that some want to put Him to death. 

He speaks the truth that the Father has shared with Him in prayer. His fear of rejection and death does not limit Him. He has confronted those fears in His innermost being. 

He knows that He is never alone in facing down those very real fears---fears that we all have to face. The Father is with Him always.

In a similar way Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. We are never alone in confronting and trying to overcome our fears.

We can BE confident in the power of God to guide us to embrace the truth and to proclaim the Good News.

We leave those fears behind.

We are loved.

We can speak that message in the LIGHT!

1. What are the fears that paralyze you the most?

2. How has your relationship with Jesus helped you to overcome those fears?

3. What can help you to become a champion evangelizer?

4. Do you feel that you have become stronger as you have faced your failures and disappointments?

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

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

Commissioning

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Commissioning

Spiritual   Harvest

Battered   Exhausted   Abandoned

Jesus' Heart Was Moved

Compassion

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Matthew 9:36

As Jesus looked out at the crowd that was following Him, His heart was moved with compassion for them. He could see that they were troubled. They seemed to Him like they were sheep without a shepherd.

Reflection

How do you feel when you sense that Jesus is asking you to do something?

Sometimes as I am praying, a person just pops into my mind. I think that maybe Jesus is asking me to reach out to that person and see how they are doing. It might also be a person who is sick and Jesus is telling me to pray for them. 

The experience is like a commissioning from Jesus. He is planting a seed in our hearts to reach out to someone else. All of a sudden we are not just thinking about ourselves and our own needs. Our vision becomes wider and we want to help someone else.

Jesus has that experience in our reading from Matthew. As He looks out at the crowd, His focus goes from the truths He wants to teach the people about the Kingdom of God to the actual lives of the people: what are they feeling?

Jesus can sense their confusion, pain, and discouragement. He can feel their spiritual needs. They need to hear Good News.

He knows that there can be a great harvest: the people are ready for the message He has come to share. It is a message of healing for those who have been battered, refreshment for those who are exhausted, and community for those who feel abandoned.

Jesus knows their needs. He can see into their souls and their hearts. He is moved to reach out to them. 

In the following verses Jesus is going to select twelve apostles to assist Him in bringing the Good News and healing to the people. He knows that this is not a task for one person. 

We are commissioned by Jesus to be ministers of compassion to the People of God. Just as He commissioned the twelve, He commissions us today. Each one of us is important. Each one of us is gifted. Each one of us has the Holy Spirit within us to guide us.

Those moments when we are praying and we get the name of someone to whom we should reach out, those are Holy Spirit moments. Jesus is asking us to make a difference with our compassion. Just as the heart of Jesus was moved, so our hearts are moved to help those who are struggling today. 

How will you respond?

1. When you are praying, do you ever get the feeling that you should reach out to someone who might need your help?

2. What do you feel that Jesus is commissioning you to do?

3. Do you sense that there is a great harvest awaiting the Church today?

4. What is your gift that Jesus wants you to share with the People of God?

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

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

Sharing

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Sharing

Body   Blood

Eat   Live   Abide

I Am Living Bread

Union

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 6: 51

Jesus was speaking to the people that were following Him after He had fed the large crowd:

"I am the living bread that has come down from heaven."

Reflection

Everyone looks forward to a good meal.

The other day Kathy whipped up a delicious meat loaf and we delighted in it. It was so tasty!

Jesus, in our passage from John, is talking about an even better meal. He is saying to the people who were following Him after He had multiplied the small number of loaves and fish and fed so many that He will give them His very self. He will become living bread for them!

You can imagine their reaction to this statement. They didn't know what to make of it. Was He mad? They just could not accept this. Most of the crowd, with the exception of Peter and the apostles, turned away from Jesus at this point. They had wanted to make Him king after His miracle. Now they wanted nothing to do with Him. He made no sense.

For Jesus it was all about sharing. He wanted to give Himself to the people in a profound way. He wanted to share His Body and His Blood with them. 

It is like us when we meet someone we love deeply. We want to share ourselves with them completely. We trust them. We don't want to hold back.

Jesus knew that the people needed more than just bread. Yes that would satisfy them momentarily. Their hunger, however, went much deeper than that. 

They needed not just to eat some bread. They needed to know how to live with each other in community and to understand and care for each other. 

Jesus came to show them and us the way to live. We all have the tendency to be selfish and to think of our own needs first. We find it hard to put the needs of others before our own desires. 

Jesus showed us that the way to do that is first to abide with God in prayer. To truly know God and to understand God's ways. To admit that we do not have all the answers and turn to God for guidance and truth.

Jesus is the living bread because He wants us to truly live life completely by giving ourselves to others. Jesus never holds back. He always wants to feed us on wisdom, truth, kindness, understanding, and compassion.

Jesus knows what we need. We need union with God and with one another. We need to feel connected. We need to overcome the division and exploitation we find in our culture and live in a different way.

We find this hard to understand two thousand years after Jesus showed us the way. We too walk away from Jesus as the crowd did. We cannot comprehend that Jesus would want to share His Body and His Blood with us. 

How can anyone possibly love us that deeply?

It is beyond us.

It is the Jesus Way.

It is Love!

1. How can Jesus be the living bread for you?

2. Why does Jesus want to share His Body and His Blood with you?

3. When do you abide in God?

4. How do you experience union with God?

5. What do you experience as you meditate on Kathy's photo?

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