For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20
Today’s Gospel speaks to the power of community and the responsibility of being a member. Being gathered in the Name of Christ means being gathered in love where each one seeks the good of all others.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We realize that community is itself a ministry and sacrament exercised by a group of people who choose to love God by loving and supporting one another for mission. Whether that be in a family, a religious community, a workplace, a local or universal Church, we owe one another honesty, respect, encouragement, hospitality, and compassion. These gifts release each one of us to minister in love to a broken world.
Poetry: The Things that Count – Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)
Now, dear, it isn’t the bold things, Great deeds of valour and might, That count the most in the summing up of life at the end of the day. But it is the doing of old things, Small acts that are just and right; And doing them over and over again, no matter what others say; In smiling at fate, when you want to cry, and in keeping at work when you want to play— Dear, those are the things that count.
And, dear, it isn’t the new ways Where the wonder-seekers crowd That lead us into the land of content, or help us to find our own. But it is keeping to true ways, Though the music is not so loud, And there may be many a shadowed spot where we journey along alone; In flinging a prayer at the face of fear, and in changing into a song a groan— Dear, these are the things that count.
My dear, it isn’t the loud part Of creeds that are pleasing to God, Not the chant of a prayer, or the hum of a hymn, or a jubilant shout or song. But it is the beautiful proud part Of walking with feet faith-shod; And in loving, loving, loving through all, no matter how things go wrong; In trusting ever, though dark the day, and in keeping your hope when the way seems long— Dear, these are the things that count.
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2
You are hungry. It is a cold, grey, and rainy day. You walk into your gently lit home needing rest and nourishment. Then, imagine the aroma of freshly baked bread, just lifted from the oven.
Jesus tells us that he is that Bread, given to feed the deep hungers of our soul, and the deep hungers of all Creation.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray for the graces we need to allow us a rich appreciation of Eucharist:
in our Church and its liturgies
in the world as we share life and ministry
in the reverence for all Creation which becomes complete by our completeness in Christ
Prose: from The Mass on the World – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Since once again, Lord — though this time not in the forests of the Aisne but in the steppes of Asia — I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I, your priest, will make the whole earth my altar and on it will offer you all the labours and sufferings of the world.
Over there, on the horizon, the sun has just touched with light the outermost fringe of the eastern sky. Once again, beneath this moving sheet of fire, the living surface of the earth wakes and trembles, and once again begins its fearful travail. I will place on my paten, O God, the harvest to be won by this renewal of labour. Into my chalice I shall pour all the sap which is to be pressed out this day from the earth’s fruits.
My paten and my chalice are the depths of a soul laid widely open to all the forces which in a moment will rise up from every corner of the earth and converge upon the Spirit. Grant me the remembrance and the mystic presence of all those whom the light is now awakening to the new day.
Music: Fresh Bread – Chuck Girard
Fresh bread, cool water, come and receive it Fresh bread, cool water, come and receive it Cease from your labors, come now and dine Fresh bread, cool water, come get the oil and wine
In every life there comes a time to dance In every life there comes a time to be still Sometimes you’re given’ out until there’s nothin’ left Then there’s a time that comes to be refreshed and filled
Repeat chorus
Come get the oil of gladness, and the bread of life Come get the living water, be refreshed tonight Come get the fruit of joy, come on and dance in the dirt We’ll get the mud off your shoes and Have you back to the table in time for dessert
Repeat chorus
There’s a season of labor, then a day of rest There’s a time of trial, then you pass the test There’s a time when the wind blows, then a time of peace There’s a time when you have to fast, then a time, a time when you feast
CHORUS
Come get the living water Come get the bread of life Come get the oil of gladness Be refreshed tonight Cease from your labor, come now and dine Fresh bread, cool water, come get the oil and wine
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for you. Mark 14: 22-24
Prose: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – ‘The Priest’, in Writings in Time of War
Your life is so much stronger than ours that it dominates us, absorbs us, and assimilates us to itself…. Although I might have imagined that it was I who held the consecrated Bread and gave myself its nourishment, I now see with blinding clarity that it is the Bread that takes hold of me and draws me to itself.
Music: Ave Verum Corpus – attributed to Pope Innocent (13th century); set to music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (18th century); performed here by The Romanian Foundation for Excellence in Music
Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine: esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
[O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie, O Iesu, fili Mariae. Miserere mei. Amen]
Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary, having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for mankind, from whose pierced side water and blood flowed: Be for us a sweet foretaste in the trial of death!
[O sweet Jesus, O holy Jesus, O Jesus, son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen.]
Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
…This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:32-33;39
Moses invites the people to fix their hearts on God Who amazes us in Divine Self-revelation.
With the solemn celebration of Trinity Sunday, the Church acknowledges the fullness of this revelation in Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Have you ever heard the expression, “I will cover you in prayer”? When a friend says that, we are blessed with the gifts of presence, comfort, accompaniment, hope, and love.
In revealing the Trinity to us, God has covered us with the same gifts. We are called to “fix” our faith and living on this indescribable blessing, the way one would fix a tent by placing the pegs with care and attention.
Prose: from Pope Francis
We can study the whole history of salvation, we can study the whole of Theology, but without the Spirit we cannot understand.
It is the Spirit that makes us realize the truth or — in the words of Our Lord — it is the Spirit that makes us know the voice of Jesus.
Music: O Lux Beata Trinitas – An Ambrosian Hymn, arranged by Ola Gjeilo, sung by ACJC Alumni Choir (Singapore)
The Ambrosian hymns are a collection of early hymns of the Latin liturgical rites, whose core of four hymns were by Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century. The hymns of this core were enriched with another eleven to form the Old Hymnal, which spread from the Ambrosian Rite of Milan throughout Lombard Italy, Visigothic Spain, Anglo-Saxon England and the Frankish Empire during the early medieval period (6th to 8th centuries); in this context, therefore, the term “Ambrosian” does not imply authorship by Ambrose himself, to whom only four hymns are attributed with certainty, but includes all Latin hymns composed in the style of the Old Hymnal.
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Acts 2: 1-4
Prayer: from Bob Holmes
May the quiet fire of God's love and compassion arise in your heart. May its flames of love, joy, and peace enlighten the steps of your path in this world. And may you be like the burning bush, the presence of God for each other, that holy healing light of love.
Video: Imagine being there for the first Pentecost!
You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” John 15: 14-17
What about Matthias and the story of his emerging role in the spread of the Gospel? He must have been holy and good even to be considered for the office of Apostle. Were there just too many holy people initially to fit him into the biblically magic number of 12? And what about Justus who didn’t make the numerical cut? Was his giftedness lost to the early Church because of a short straw or a muffed coin flip?
In our Gospel, Jesus tells us that we are each “appointed” to bear fruit that will remain. No matter our title or function, we are equally “chosen” to nurture and sustain the life of the community.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Let’s pray with Matthias that, whether recognized or unrecognized, we will be faithful to the Gospel in word and action.
Poetry: Fear of Being Chosen – Sister Natalia, member of Christ the Bridegroom Byzantine Catholic Monastery
O Matthias, what did you think, what did you feel, when you were beckoned forward? Did your heart race at the idea of joining ranks with those eleven? Eleven different types of broken, all seeking to be whole.
Did you fear the possibility of secret brokenness revealed? And did you also feel the thrill of sure adventure, after having seen the ups and downs of the men whose eyes were now on you?
You’d seen their pain, their dying, and in your heart felt a pull. One thing you must have known, known without a doubt being witness to the resurrection would mean a life of miracles.
And when you heard your name called out, and reality sunk in, did you feel that joyful pain of knowing that all now know that you are His?
Did your thoughts bounce back and forth between death and resurrection? And did you steal one more glance at Joseph Barsabbas and wonder, “Why not him?”
Music: Mathias Sanctus – Hildegard von Bingen (chanted by Bella Voce Chicago)
Mathias, sanctus per electionem, vir preliator per victoriam, ante sanguinem Agni electionem non habuit, sed tardus in scientia fuit quasi homo qui perfecte non vigilat.
Donum Dei illum excitavit, unde ipse pre gaudio sicut gygas in viribus suis surrexit, quia Deus illum previdit sicut hominem quem de limo formavit cum primus angelus cecidit, qui Deum negavit.
Homo qui electionem vidit – ve, ve, cecidit!
Boves et arietes habuit, sed faciem suam ab eis retrorsum duxit et illos dimisit.
Unde foveam carbonum invasit, et desideria sua osculatus in studio suo, illa sicut Olimpum erexit.
Tunc Mathias per electionem divinitatis sicut gygas surrexit, quia Deus illum posuit in locum quem perditus homo noluit.
O mirabile miraculum quod sic in illo resplenduit!
Deus enim ipsum previdit in miraculis suis cum nondum haberet meritum operationis, sed misterium Dei in illo gaudium habuit, quod idem per institutionem suam non habebat.
O gaudium gaudiorum quod Deus sic operatur, cum nescienti homini gratiam suam impendit, ita quod parvulus nescit ubi magnus volat, cuius alas Deus parvulo tribuit.
Deus enim gustum in illo habet qui seipsum nescit, quia vox eius ad Deum clamat sicut Mathias fecit, qui dixit: O Deus, Deus meus, qui me creasti, omnia opera mea tua sunt.
Nunc ergo gaudeat omnis ecclesia in Mathia, quem Deus in foramine columbe sic elegit. Amen.
Mathias, a saint through being chosen, a champion in his victory, did not know himself chosen before the Lamb’s blood was shed: he was tardy in knowledge, like a man who is not perfectly awake.
God’s gift aroused him, so that for joy he rose like a giant in his strength: God foresaw him as he had foreseen the man whom he formed of clay when the first angel, who denied God, fell.
The man who saw his choice, alas, alas, he fell!
He had oxen and rams at his bidding, yet he looked away from them, turned his back and abandoned them.
Thus he plunged in the pit of coal and, kissing his own desires, in his ardor he raised them high, like an Olympus.
Then Mathias, divinely chosen, rose like a giant, because God set him in the place that Judas, the lost, rejected:
O wondrous miracle that shone through him thus!
For God foresaw him in his miracles, though he had not yet the merit of accomplishment, but the mystery of God had joy in him, joy that in its original plan it did not have.
Joy of joys that God works in this way, when he lavishes his grace on one who does not know, so that the child does not know where the grown man will fly, whose wings God has given to the child!
For God savors the one who does not know himself, because his voice is crying out to God, as Mathias cried, saying: God, my God, who created me, all my works are yours!
So now let all Ecclesia take joy in Mathias, he whom God thus chose in the cleft where the dove nestles. Amen.
A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. Acts 18:24-27
In this passage, we meet early Christians who loved and supported one another as they spread the faith. Priscilla and Aquila were a power couple for the early Church. Eloquent Apollos arrives on the scene not perfectly synched with the evolving Gospel. Priscilla and Aquila tenderly redirect him, welcoming him to teach the community.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We get a great picture of the importance of having good buddies for the mission. As we look at our own lives in service, how precious are our faith companions as we deepen our life in Christ! How grateful we can be for the gentle corrections, encouragement and support we have received in community! Let us pray for our whole Church that we will understand what it means to truly “buddy” one another in Christ.
Poetry: Alone – Maya Angelou
Lying, thinking Last night How to find my soul a home Where water is not thirsty And bread loaf is not stone I came up with one thing And I don’t believe I’m wrong That nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires With money they can't use Their wives run round like banshees Their children sing the blues They've got expensive doctors To cure their hearts of stone. But nobody No, nobody Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely I'll tell you what I know Storm clouds are gathering The wind is gonna blow The race of man is suffering And I can hear the moan, 'Cause nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone.
Music: Companions on the Journey – Carey Landry
We are companions on the journey, Breaking bread and sharing life; And in the love we bear is the hope we share for we believe in the love of our God, We believe in the love of our God.
No longer strangers to each other, No longer strangers in God’s House; We are fed and we are nourished by the strength of those who care, By the strength of those who care.
We have been gifted each other, And we are called by the Word of the Lord: To act with justice, to love tenderly And to walk humbly with our God, To walk humbly with our God.
We will seek and we shall find; We will knock and the door will be opened; We will ask and it shall be given For we believe in the love of our God, We believe in the love of our God.
We are made for the glory of our God, For service in the name of Jesus, To walk side by side with hope in our Hearts, For we believe in the love of our God, We believe in the love of our God.
We spent some time in Philippi. On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us. Acts 16: 12-15
From the patriarchal revisionism of early Church history, the names of so few women trickle down to us! How I would love to have known Lydia, acknowledged Philippian leader who helped form the initial Church in this foundational Christian community.
When Lydia met Paul, she was already a “worshiper of God”. Her spiritually-ready heart received the revelation of Jesus and responded completely. Was it to her, likely Church leader, that the beautiful letter to the Philippians was later delivered? Was it she who further preached the Word and fostered this faith community? Was it she who led the Eucharistic gatherings and whose essential role, like those of many early women, is lost in the shadows of history?
How tremendously influential she must have been for her name to have made it even to this singular mention!
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We may want to pray with Lydia to better understand her vibrant faith and participation in the miraculous spread of our early faith. We may want to ask her guidance for our contemporary Church as we seek relevance and truth for our own time.
Poetry: Lydia – Graham Kings
Who is this woman, Slender in purple, Approaching the river, Head demure, Hands across Heart secure?
Who are these women, Accompanying her, Tumbling, cascading, Following her gaze, Slightly perplexed, Subtly amazed?
Who is this man, Bearded, intriguing, Joining the women, Gorgeous in vesture, Gently announcing Greeting in gesture?
By the river of Philippi, They sat down and met And sang the songs of Zion, Outside the gate of the Greek city, Roman colony.
Lydia, with friends and household, Dealer in purple, in business astute, From Thyatira in Asia Minor, Gentile worshipping God of the Jews.
Paul, with friends, Silas and Luke, Following a vision of Asia Minor, Meets a woman of Macedonia, The Good News comes to Europa.
With hearts open to the cross of Christ, They pass through the river of baptism, To enter the joy of the Kingdom. Like trees planted by the waterside, They bring forth their fruit in due season.
Music: Water’s Edge – Michael Jones
Listen to this lovely music and join Paul and Lydia at the water’s edge in Philippi.
Holy Week and Eastertide are times of sacred journey for Christians. We walk with Christ into the true and deepest dimensions of our lives.
All life is about journey and passage. At some time in each of our lives, we are passing:
from emptiness to abundance
from loneliness to love
from exhaustion to renewal
from anxiety to peace
from burden to freedom
from confusion to understanding
from bitterness to forgiveness
from pain to healing
from mourning to remembrance
The great Feasts of Holy Week and Easter, and the reflective weeks that follow, assure us that God accompanies us in all our journeys from darkness to light. The sacredness of these days invites us to quietly name whatever darkness surrounds us and our global family, and to reach through it to the hand of God. Like a parent leading a child in from the storm, the God of Easter longs to bring our hearts home to fullness and joy.
During these coming weeks, I will continue offering reflections centered on a single word, since many of you have expressed to me an appreciation for this approach. In the archives listed on the right of the blog, you can access more extensive reflections for each day of the liturgical cycle, accumulated over the past six years.
As we begin these sacred days, let’s pray for one another. And let us pray particularly for those whose current lives are closely patterned on the sufferings of Christ that, with Him, they may be strengthened with Easter hope and courage.
(Today, the Church repeats the King O Antiphon. But I love the concept of Christ as Radiant Dawn. It also fits so clearly with the sacred purifications alluded to in today’s readings.)
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we have finally reached the “delivery” stage of Advent. Just like those Amazon packages that keep showing up on doorsteps in the days preceding Christmas, other important arrivals are popping up in our readings.
Malachi announces that a prophet is coming who will purify the people, particularly concerning their worship practices which have corrupted:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
It seems that Malachi and his friends, perhaps like some of us, haven’t had the discipline and devotion to safeguard the Temple rituals. Maybe like Mal and the gang, we start to take things for granted, to become cavalier about liturgical intention, to cut corners, to program our own agendas into the sacred rituals of common prayer. — to forget that God is the center of worship, not us.
Becoming that “forgetful” hardens the heart to grace. The One Who longs to encounter us in prayer and worship is stymied by our distracted negligence.
Our Gospel, too, is reminiscent of a sanctuary scene, for it was there that Zechariah learned that a prophet was actually going to be his son! Zechariah encountered God’s Word purifying his life and directing it in a totally unexpected manner. Surely, in the ensuing nine months of silence, the essence of Zechariah’s worship was transformed.
In today’s reading, the incredulous neighbors at John’s bris question Elizabeth’s assignment of such an unfamiliar name. But Zechariah confirms Elizabeth’s declaration. Zechariah’s purification and graceful evolution are complete. His tongue is loosened to proclaim the Word God has spoken in his silent heart.
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
Luke 1: 61-64
(I often wonder why the neighbors “made signs” to Zechariah. Why didn’t they just speak to him? He wasn’t struck deaf, just mute.:)
Poetry: Zechariah by Andy Sabaka, Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Louisville, KY
Day one of his nine months of silence Began as Zechariah entered God’s presence. When he walked past the curtain to behold Gabriel standing by the incense altar of gold, Zechariah did what all who are not regularly In the presence of such shining authority Do: he fell to his knees, filled full with dread, Assuming in moments he would be struck dead. Yet Gabriel’s words were frightfully comforting, Ringing off the walls like heavenly trumpeting. “Zechariah, my friend, do not be afraid, For the prayers you and Elizabeth have prayed, Have been heard by our God, the All-powerful One, And I tell you, soon your bride will bear a son. His name will be John, a man set apart, Filled with God’s Spirit, calling the hearts Of all who will listen to make room and repent Because the coming Messiah is soon to be sent.”
The announcement of who the promised child would be, Never reached Zechariah’s ears, for all he could see Was Elizabeth’s barrenness and how old they both were. He was stung that the promise had come so long after They had given up hope of any offspring. The guarantee of a child brought back an old sting. His fear of the angel faded, now replaced by disbelief, Combined with renewed disappointment and grief. He said to the angel, “How shall I know this is true? Can’t you see we are old; our youth long ago flew? So I hear your authoritative proclamation But from the little I know about procreation…” “Silence,” the angel said, and Zechariah obeyed the command. “Gabriel is my name; before God in heaven I stand. I was sent from there to give you this good news. But since you have rejected these wonderful truths, You will be silent until you see their fulfillment.” And at the exit of Gabriel, Zechariah’s voice also went.
The crowd outside had been worried at Zechariah’s delay, So when he finally emerged, they demanded right away An explanation for all that had happened inside, But Zechariah’s mouth could give none, no matter how he tried. It was obvious to all that a vision had been sent And those who heard of his muteness responded with wonderment. Yet the response to Zechariah’s silence was nothing compared To the way that everyone would stop and then stare At Elizabeth’s pregnant stomach. How could it be That a woman her age could possibly conceive?
So it was that dumbfounded silence was the reply To Gabriel’s message that could no longer be denied.
Elizabeth named her child John the day he was born, But everyone received the name with great scorn, Insisting the name Zechariah was the right one, But his father wrote clearly: “His name shall be John.”
It was in that moment of faith, when Zechariah obeyed, When he showed he believed all the angel had said, God reached down and touched the lips of the man, Releasing his tongue to speak once again. And when his voice first spoke after being dead for so long, It rang out clearly in the words of this song:
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has come to save And redeem his people – a horn of salvation he will raise And he will come from the house of David, his servant, The one who the prophets said would be sent, Bringing salvation from our enemies and great mercy To our fathers before and to all who now see The promise of Abraham fulfilled in our days. We are free now to serve with no fear in the way To walk in righteousness before the rising sun, And in holiness from this blessed day on.
And you, John, my son, will be a prophet of the Most High, Preparing the way for him – in the desert you will cry, Giving the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins That the tender mercy of God has come here to win. He will rise like the sun from heaven and shine bright On those living in darkness, giving them sight, Calling them out of the shadow of death to release Their feet to walk in the path paved with peace.”
Our first advent candle tells us to recall The miracle of Christmas and the wonder of all It took for our God to prepare and then send His Son to bring sin and death to an end. Let us silently wait in this season pregnant with meaning Until God loosens our lips to break forth with loud singing About the rising sun from heaven who has risen again And brings forgiveness and life to each of us when We repent and believe that God can do Any miraculous thing that he wants to, Including save doubting sinners like you and like me, Shutting our mouths, making us able to see.
Lavish Mercy 