Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Matthew 6:26-27
What is “worrying” really? For me, it’s about trying to control things that are completely out of my control. Worrying is a futile practice in which I continue to engage despite all logic! What about you?
With his words today, Jesus wants to spare us from worrying. One of the simple examples he uses are the birds. Birds don’t worry. That doesn’t mean they give everything up and loaf in the trees expecting God to wait on them!
Birds are industrious – building nests, feeding and training offspring, migrating long distances when its time. In other words, birds do what they can, The rest is in God’s hands. That’s the lesson today!
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We want to learn from nature what peace, acceptance and hope look like. Jesus tells us that there is a lot to learn there. If you can, try to pray outside today. No books, no earbuds, no buddies to converse with. Just be quiet and learn.
Scripture: Matthew 6:28-30
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
Music: Consider the Lilies of the Field – The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square
Jesus said to his disciples: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” Matthew 6:22-23
Jesus suggests that the movement from darkness to Light is continuous and dynamic. Picture yourself awakening without the intrusion of an alarm. We slowly open our eyes to the increasing light, remembering the world we left only a few hours earlier.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to open the eyes of our heart to the sacred Light Jesus describes. Jesus will go on to say in tomorrow’s Gospel that we find this Light by depending on and serving God.
Poetry: You Who Want Knowledge – Emily Dickinson
You who want knowledge, see the Oneness within.
There you will find the clear mirror already waiting.
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.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. Matthew 6:3-4;6;17-18
In these verses, Jesus tells us that our relationship with God – through almsgiving, prayer, and fasting – is private, personal, and intimate. When we commune with God through these actions, it is secret – a love shared between you and the Divine Beloved.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Let’s think about our acts of generosity, prayer, and spiritual discipline as gifts given to God, even though they are offered through our service to others. Living a grateful life, we are delighted by God’s gifts to us given from an Infinite Love. May we respond by our humble efforts to delight God in return.
Poetry: from St. Teresa of Avila
Christ has no body on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours!
Music: God Has No Body Now But Yours – David Ogden based on Teresa of Avila
Jesus said to them: “Offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to them as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand them your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with theme for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”
Although the word “reverence” is not specifically mentioned in our readings, it summarizes their core message.
Jezebel has no reverence for human life. She is a conspirator, thief, and murderer. Jezebel has no moral code and only one interest in life – herself.
Jesus calls his followers to be the antithesis of Jezebel. We are to so reverence life and truth that we become like Jesus. We are to be peaceful, non-violent, forgiving, and generous – even toward the “jezebels” of this world.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Wow! No easy challenge, but nonetheless essential for discipleship! We ask Jesus to give us insight into any selfishness in our hearts, and the courage to live according to his mandate.
Prose: from Dorothy Day
“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?
When we begin to take the lowest place, to wash the feet of others, to love our brothers and sisters with that burning love, that passion, which led to the Cross, then we can truly say, ‘Now I have begun.'”
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall they grow. They that are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:13-14
This verse from Psalm 92 ties together all our readings for today.
In the passage from Exodus, God takes a tiny twig, protects and nourishes it, and it flourishes. The analogy describes God’s relationship with Israel and with us. We are called to flourish in the Kingdom of God.
In Corinthians, Paul expresses the conviction that we will receive our recompense according to how we flourish in response to God’s grace.
And in our Gospel, Jesus teaches that our faith – God’s gift to us – is the small seed that flourishes into eternal life, the fullness of life in God.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We realize that each of these flourishings begins with a tiny hope – a twig, a courageous aspiration, a mustard seed.
Such is life. It is the small but consistent acts of faith, hope, and love that eventually yield abundant harvest. – embracing us with all Creation in God’s complete Love.
Poetry: Mustard Seed – Meister Eckhart
I.
In the Beginning High above understanding Is ever the Word. O rich treasure, There the Beginning always bore the Beginning. O Father’s Breast, From thy delight The Word ever flows! Yet the bosom Retains the Word, truly.
II.
From the two as one source, The fire of love. The bond of both, Known to both, Flows the All-Sweet Spirit Co-equal, Undivided The Three are One. Do you understand why? No. It best understands itself.
III.
The bond of three Causes deep fear. Of this circle There is no understanding. Here is a depth without ground. Check and mate To time, forms, place! The wondrous circle Is the Principle, Its point never moves.
IV.
The mountain of this point Ascend without activity. O intellect! The road leads you Into a marvelous desert, So broad, so wide, It stretches out immeasurably. The desert has, Neither time nor place, Its mode of being is singular.
V.
The good desert No foot disturbs it, Created being Never enters there: It is, and no one knows why.
It is here, it is there, It is far, it is near, It is deep, it is high, It is in such a way That it is neither this nor that.
VI.
It is light, it is clear, It is totally dark, It is unnamed, It is unknown, Free of beginning or end. It stands still, Pure, unclothed. Who knows its dwelling? Let him come forth And tells us what sort it is.
VII.
Become like a child, Become deaf, become blind. Your own something Must become nothing; Drive away all something, all nothing! Leave place, leave time, Avoid even image! Go without a way On the narrow path, Then you will find the desert’s track.
VIII.
O my soul, Go out, let God in! Sink all my something In God’s nothing. Sink in the bottomless flood! If I flee from You, You come to me. If I lose myself, Then I find You, O Goodness above being!
Music: The Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner
I love to listen to this masterpiece when I imagine God opening heaven to all Creation at the end of time.
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.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:14-16
Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others. Is this an invitation to show off or be prideful? Definitely not. It is a call to shine with “beatitudenal goodness” that gives glory to God.
We can take Jesus’s words as an invitation to spiritual transparency. We should, by our actions and choices, proclaim that we live in faith, hope, charity, and gratitude. The important part of the lampstand is the flame that it lifts up. So too with us – the important part of our faith is the witness it gives to the Gospel.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray for the simplicity and integrity of soul that allows God to shine through us.
Poetry: Let Your Light Shine – Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Music: We Are the Light of the World – Jean A. Greif
When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer. Hosea 11:1;3-4
Our readings today invite us to pray with the profoundly beautiful image of the Sacred Heart, the mystery of divinity and humanity united in the person of Jesus. The tenderness of Hosea flows into Paul’s description of the “inscrutable riches of Christ”. These passages culminate in John’s depiction of the unbroken body of Jesus on the Cross.
Together, these readings present us with the mystery of love fulfilled by sacrifice, a reality we may resist in our lives, but one that is nevertheless true. All love entails sacrifice. Jesus loves us completely and sacrificed his Sacred Heart completely for that Love.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to grow in our understanding of the Cross and of the mystery of Love as revealed to us in the Sacred Heart.
Poetry: To the Sacred Heart of Jesus – Thérèse of Lisieux, translated by Donald Kinney, OCD
At the holy sepulchre, Mary Magdalene, Searching for her Jesus, stooped down in tears. The angels wanted to console her sorrow, But nothing could calm her grief. Bright angels, it was not you Whom this fervent soul came searching for. She wanted to see the Lord of the Angels, To take him in her arms, to carry him far away.
Close by the tomb, the last one to stay, She had come well before dawn. Her God also came, veiling his light. Mary could not vanquish him in love! Showing her at first his Blessed Face, Soon just one word sprang from his Heart, Whispering the sweet name of: Mary, Jesus gave her back her peace, her happinesss.
O my God, one day, like Mary Magdalene, I wanted to see you and come close to you. I looked down over the immense plain Where I sought the Master and King, And I cried, seeing the pure wave, The starry azure, the flower, and the bird. “Bright nature, if I do not see God, You are nothing to me but a vast tomb.”
I need a heart burning with tenderness Who will be my support forever, Who loves everything in me, even my weakness… And who never leaves me day or night.” I could find no creature Who could always love me and never die. I must have a God who takes on my nature And becomes my brother and is able to suffer!
You heard me, only Friend whom I love. To ravish my heart, you became man. You shed your blood, what a supreme mystery!… And you still live for me on the Altar. If I cannot see the brilliance of your Face Or hear your sweet voice, O my God, I can live by your grace, I can rest on your Sacred Heart!
O Heart of Jesus, treasure of tenderness, You Yourself are my happiness, my only hope. You who knew how to charm my tender youth, Stay near me till the last night. Lord, to you alone I’ve given my life, And all my desires are well known to you. It’s in your ever-infinite goodness That I want to lose myself, O Heart of Jesus!
Ah! I know well all our righteousness Is worthless in your sight. To give value to my sacrifices, I want to cast them into your Divine Heart. You did not find your angels without blemish. In the midst of lightning you gave your law!… I hide myself in your Sacred Heart, Jesus. I do not fear, my virtue is You!…
To be able to gaze on your glory, I know we have to pass through fire. So I, for my purgatory, Choose your burning love, O heart of my God! On leaving this life, my exiled soul Would like to make an act of pure love, And then, flying away to Heaven, its Homeland, Enter straightaway into your Heart.
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.]
Lavish Mercy 