Category: Community

Forgive

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Courage, Faith, Forgiveness, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 20, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062024.cfm

Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’

“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

In these verses, Jesus utters another dangerous prayer: forgive us, God, as we forgive others.

Uh oh! I don’t know about you, but I think we can be pretty bad at forgiveness. It’s so much easier to remember a wrong done to us, to excuse ourselves of any responsibility for it, to fester in its hurt, to calculate a concomitant revenge, to demonize and ostracize the offender.

Jesus says, “Hey, is that the way you want God to forgive you?”

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We examine Jesus’s words in the Our Father to find the secret to forgiveness.

  • We are all the children of One God, equally and completely loved.
  • God wills holiness and joy for every one of us.
  • God will always grant forgiveness to the ready heart.
  • We live for the hope of heaven, and the circumstances of this world pale in its Light.
  • Still, in our daily circumstances, we need to be fed by the Spirit in order to find the courage and desire to forgive as God does.

Poetry: Enemies – Wendell Berry

If you are not to become a monster,
you must care what they think.
If you care what they think,
how will you not hate them,
and so become a monster
of the opposite kind? From where then
is love to come—love for your enemy
that is the way of liberty?
From forgiveness. Forgiven, they go
free of you, and you of them;
they are to you as sunlight
on a green branch. You must not
think of them again, except
as monsters like yourself,
pitiable because unforgiving.

Music: Forgiveness – Matthew West

Reconciled

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Creation, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, justice, spirituality4 Comments

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
June 13, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061324.cfm

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 5: 23-24

Jesus teaches a profound lesson in today’s Gospel. We cannot be in balance with God if we are out of balance with our neighbor.

In the “court” of God’s justice, that balance resides not in judgment or vengeance. It resides in a love beyond “liking” — in reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, patience, hospitality, reverence, and service toward one another.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We realize that we can’t like everybody. We can’t feel good toward everybody. We can’t approve of everybody. But we can choose to be Christlike to everybody.

May we grow in that grace, inspired by the awareness that we are One in God with all Creation.

Poetry: One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII – Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

Music: Amor Dei – Stephen Peppos

Neighbor

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, spirituality2 Comments

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
June 6, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060624.cfm

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31

In this Gospel passage, Jesus really puts the spiritual life in a nutshell: Love God and love neighbor.

It’s pretty self-evident that to achieve holiness one must love God. But loving the neighbor is a far different story. Depending on our views in life, we might have a hard time with the annoying, Democrat/Republican, irresponsible, refugee, gay, unemployed, or subsidiary-dependent neighbor. Who is our neighbor, really? Or more to the point, who isn’t?

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Let’s work to understand and embrace all persons, indeed all Creation, as neighbor. Doing so, what is required of us in response?

Thought: from Fred Rogers

“All we’re ever asked to do in this life is to treat our neighbor
—especially our neighbor who is in need—
exactly as we would hope to be treated ourselves. 
That’s our ultimate responsibility.”

Prayer: from Walter Brueggemann

On our own, we conclude:
there is not enough to go around

we are going to run short
of money
of love
of grades
of publications
of sex
of beer
of members
of years
of life

we should seize the day
seize our goods
seize our neighbours goods
because there is not enough to go around

and in the midst of our perceived deficit
you come
you come giving bread in the wilderness
you come giving children at the 11th hour
you come giving homes to exiles
you come giving futures to the shut down
you come giving easter joy to the dead
you come – fleshed in Jesus.

and we watch while
the blind receive their sight
the lame walk
the lepers are cleansed
the deaf hear
the dead are raised
the poor dance and sing

we watch
and we take food we did not grow and
life we did not invent and
future that is gift and gift and gift and
families and neighbours who sustain us
when we did not deserve it.

It dawns on us – late rather than soon-
that you “give food in due season
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

By your giving, break our cycles of imagined scarcity
override our presumed deficits
quiet our anxieties of lack
transform our perceptual field to see
the abundance………mercy upon mercy
blessing upon blessing.

Sink your generosity deep into our lives
that your muchness may expose our false lack
that endlessly receiving we may endlessly give
so that the world may be made Easter new,
without greedy lack, but only wonder,
without coercive need but only love,
without destructive greed but only praise
without aggression and invasiveness….
all things Easter new…..
all around us, toward us and
by us

all things Easter new.

Finish your creation, in wonder, love and praise. Amen.”

Music: Good Neighbor – Evan Craft

We may not look the same
Ya might talk different too
Got a long long list of differences
Between me and you
Different colors different stories
Even different politics
But He’s calling us now
To lay it all down
Get back to the heart of it
And be a good, good, good
Good, good neighbor
Learn to love each other with
The love of the Savior
Make room at the table
And share the hope that we got
And be a good, good
Good neighbor
And show the world we got a good God
I’ve read the good book
Every word in black and red
But is my faith alive if I live my life
And I don’t do what it says
Love your God with all your heart and soul
Love your neighbor as yourself
And be Jesus to a broken world
That’s crying out for help
And be a good, good, good
Good, good neighbor
Learn to love each other with
The love of the Savior
Make room at the table
And share the hope that we got
And be a good, good
Good neighbor
And show the world we got a good God
Yeah, we got a good God, oh
There’s room for everybody
In the family of God
There’s room for everybody
In the family of God
Make room at the table share
The hope that we got
‘Cause there’s room for everybody in
The family of God
The family of God
And be a good, good, good
Good, good neighbor
Learn to love each other with
The love of the Savior
Make room at the table
And share the hope that we got
And be a good, good
Good neighbor
And show the world we got a good God
And show the world we got a good God
And show the world we got a good God
There’s room for everybody
In the family of God
There’s room for everybody
In the family of God

Devoted

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Faith, healing, Mary, Mercy, spirituality6 Comments

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
May 20, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052024.cfm

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven,
the Apostles returned to Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a sabbath day’s journey away…
… All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 1: 12;14

Even though there are only scriptural snippets to support it, we can clearly discern Mary’s faithful devotion to the Gospel mission and the nascent Church. We can imagine Mary, whose whole life was filled with and inspired by the Holy Spirit, mentoring the younger disciples with her faith and wisdom.

We call on Mary today to be with us as we too labor to be faithful to our call to spread the Gospel with energy and fidelity.

My local readers may recognize the above photo as that of the Marian statue which stood for a century over our beloved Misericordia Hospital. With the recent transfer of the hospital to the University of Pennsylvania, the beautiful statue needed a new home where her vigilant oversight could be honored and extended to the future.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Seeing the statue can remind us of Mary’s role as Mother of the Church – a Church that greatly needs her guidance and inspiration as we work to carry the Gospel through the 21st century.

On May 29, 2024, this statue will be rededicated in its new home on the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse grounds. All are welcome for this event, especially all of you who have been a treasured part of the mission of Misercordia Hospital. It will be a joy to gather with you all.

Dedication of the statue of
Our Mother of Mercy
from Misericordia Hospital
at
Sisters of Mercy
515 Montgomery Avenue
Merion Station, PA 19066
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
at 1:00 PM
(Refreshments to follow)

RSVP by Friday May 24, 2024
cmaher@sistersofmercy.org

Video:

Appointed

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Community, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
May 14, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051424.cfm

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.

Keep

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 12, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051224-Sunday.cfm

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the evil one.
John 17:11-15

In today’s Gospel, Jesus prays with great tenderness for his beloved disciples. He asks the Father to “keep” his friends, the way we keep precious things in our hearts, our prayers, and our memories.

I have prayed like this for the people I love, haven’t you? We ask God to protect them the way we would protect them. We don’t ask for miracles, but simply that they be delivered from the evils of “this world”.

We want them to have the courage to live good lives, and to be blessed by that goodness. We want them to find joy in the immense blessings God offers us, yes, in “this world” as God created it.

This is the prayer Jesus offers for his disciples … and for each one of us.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Rest in Jesus’s prayer for those who love him that we may be one with him in Trinitarian Love. Let it convince your heart of the joy, hope, love, and mercy God has for each of us.

Poetry: May They Be One – Bob Hartman

And Jesus said:

This is my prayer. 
My prayer for the disciples who follow me now. 
And my prayer for all the disciples to come.
One. May they be One.
As I am One with you, Father.
As you are One with me.
May they be One. One with us.
So the world will believe that you have sent me.
One. May they be One.
For you have given me your glory,
and that's why I have passed it on to them.
That they might be like you and me.
That they might be One.
One. May they be One.
Completely One.
I in them.
You in me.
One.
So the world will know you sent me,
and that you love them,
just like you love me…

Music: We Are One – Three O’Clock Session

Buddies

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Church, Community, Discipleship, Faith, spirituality6 Comments

Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
May 11, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051124.cfm

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.

One

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Eastertide, Faith, inclusivity, Jesus, Love, spirituality2 Comments

Second Sunday of Easter 
Sunday of Divine Mercy
April 7, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040724.cfm

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.

Acts 4: 32-33

In this passage from Acts, community is noted as an essential aspect of life in Christ. We were not created to be alone. We are created to find God in the love of our sisters and brothers. That merciful and generous love, imitative of Jesus, makes us one with Him in the Trinity, that primordial Community of Generative Love.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We pray to understand that our capacity for community deepens in relationship to our generous and merciful love for each person. As we widen our circle of mercy and caring mutuality, the face of God becomes clearer in our lives.

Poetry: When Someone Deeply Listens to You – John Fox

When someone deeply listens to you
it is like holding out a dented cup
you’ve had since childhood
and watching it fill up with
cold, fresh water.
When it balances on top of the brim,
you are understood.
When it overflows and touches your skin,
you are loved.
When someone deeply listens to you
the room where you stay
starts a new life
and the place where you wrote
your first poem
begins to glow in your mind’s eye.
It is as if gold has been discovered.
When someone deeply listens to you
your barefeet are on the earth
and a beloved land that seemed distant
is now at home within you.

Music: In Christ There Is No East or West – Choir and Congregation, St. Martin in the Fields, London

Companions

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Discipleship, Faith, friendship, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality1 Comment

Saturday in the Octave of Easter
April 6, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040624.cfm

Observing the boldness of Peter and John
and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,
the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,
and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.

Acts 4:11

When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Mark 16:9-11

Think of it! Jesus had companions – people he depended on and who depended on him. Like all companions, they had a common bond – their faith and mission.

It was this shared faith and mission that made them recognizable even when they were not standing side by side.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

How wonderful to be so invested in the faith and mission of the Gospel that we are recognizable as companions of Jesus!

Poetry: The Companion – John N. Morris

I shall begin
To appear too often.
You will not recall
When first you saw me.
I shall arrive
At the light beside you.
Catching a plane
You will observe me.
I will never speak.
I will never ignore you.
I shall open a door.
You will pass before me.
I will stand
In a line behind you. Whatever you do
I will be the same.
Nobody else
Will ever believe you.
Soon you will find
You are looking for me. 
The day will come, 
It is getting closer, 
When I shall stand
At every corner. 
Then you will know 
That you deserve me
And there will be
No more excuses.

Music: Companion – Tom Motterhead

Touch

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Cross, Eastertide, Faith, healing, Jesus, spirituality3 Comments

Thursday in the Octave of Easter
April 4, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040424.cfm

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

Luke 24: 36-42

Jesus allows his friends, whose faith is quavering with their current tumult, to touch him in a very human way. He offers his wounded body to their tentative hands. No longer needing human sustenance, he still asks to share their food to assure them he is real.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

The Risen Jesus is revealed to us when we reach to touch his wounds in the world.

As I pray this morning, I remember a morning over forty years ago when I stood outside a patient’s room ready to make my very first pastoral visit as a rookie chaplain. I was scared to death, feeling so inadequate and so unsure of what I would say and do once in the patient’s presence.

When I went in to meet Tony, the first thing he did was to extend his hand. That touch made him real. Awaiting some profound request from him, I stood quietly. Then Tony reached into his bedside drawer, pulled out a roll of candy, and said, “Would you like a Life-Saver?”.

Little did he realize that his very human actions were truly “life-savers” for me. They shifted my attention from myself and my inadequacies to Tony’s very honest openness for me to connect with him. Once that happened, the two of us could find our way to the presence of God.

Jesus extends that kind of humanness to his disciples in today’s reading. He makes it clear to them , without words, that this is where they will find him now — in the common and vulnerable humanity around them. Jesus is telling us the same thing.

Poem: Jesus of the Scars – Edward Shillito (1872 – 1948)

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,
We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars, we claim Thy grace.

If, when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know today what wounds are, have no fear,
Show us Thy Scars, we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

Music: Wounded Healer – Audrey Assad