Looking at my graphic for today, you may wonder how I’m going to connect that command to baseball’s Opening Day. Watch! 😊⚾️
There’s no better feeling than an “opening day” feeling. No matter how bad you were last year, you have a clean slate for the new season. You’ve had a chance to assess your weaknesses and rehab them. You’ve been able to add some strengths you needed but had neglected. You’ve got another carte blanche chance to be everything you were born to be! Now you’re standing in the batter’s box just listening for that thrilling phrase, “Play ball!”
Guess what! You’ve been doing all the same things throughout Lent. You’ve taken a look at your life and straightened a few things out. You’ve dusted off the plate, so to speak, and you’re ready to start fresh as Easter approaches.
Today’s readings are telling us to tune in, listen, for God’s coaching in our lives. The game of life plays out for us in ways we could never imagine. But God imagines- and will guide us through to home plate if we just “hear God’s voice and harden not our hearts”.
Today, in Mercy, our readings pour out the lavish mercy of God. Our prayer invites us bask in that warmth and understanding.
The prophet Micah asks,
“Who is there like You … the God who delights in clemency?”
Our Psalm reminds us that “the Lord is kind and merciful”:
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us.
(Two musical selections today.)
Then Jesus tells us the tender parable of the Prodigal Son, which is really more about the Merciful Father. He receives his contrite child in the same way that God receives us in our repentance.
Sometimes we become so content with ourselves that we fail to realize our need for contrition. Sometimes our failures are buried so deep and so long in us that we become blind to them. Repentance is the grace to break through that blindness.
We were created to be an image of the merciful God we meet in today’s scripture. Where we are short of that in our actions, words, choices and attitudes – that’s where we have need of repentance.
Rembrandt’s magnificent painting captures a sacred feeling that might help our prayer. Sometimes we are the gracious Father – loving, forgiving, hoping and working for life in others. Sometimes we are the son, returning from our own destructive selfishness to seek a new beginning. Sometimes we are a little bit of each.
Today, in Mercy, our readings are about types of citizenship.
In Deuteronomy , Abraham is given a land for himself and his descendants.
In Philippians, Paul tells us the “our citizenship is in heaven”.
In Luke, the transfigured Jesus shows us that heavenly reality.
These readings confirm that, in God, we are not a people bound by borders, ethnicities, religious cult, or any other human categorization.
Every human being belongs to God and is called to live in the fullness of that Creation.This is our Divine citizenship.
Think about that in contrast to talk of border walls, ethnic and religious bans, white supremacy, anti-semitism, islamophobia and all the other multiple ways we try to isolate people from this Divine citizenship which makes us brothers and sisters in God.
Friends, on this blessed St. Patrick’s Day, when so many of us rejoice in our Hibernian heritage, let us pray for a world where every human being is respected and celebrated for the particular gifts she/he brings to Creation.
Music: Two Irish hymns today. What can I say? We Irish are noted for our loquaciousness. 😀☘️💚🇨🇮 (Keep scrolling. 2nd hymn way down.)
Hymn to Our Lady of Knock sung by Frank Patterson, “Ireland’s Golden Tenor”
(Lyrics below)
There were people of all ages gathered ’round the gable wall
poor and humble men and women, little children that you called
we are gathered here before you, and our hearts are just the same
filled with joy at such a vision, as we praise Your Name
Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland, all my cares and troubles cease
as we kneel with love before you, Lady of Knock, my Queen of Peace
Though your message was unspoken, still the truth in silence lies
as we gaze upon your vision, and the truth I try to find
here I stand with John the teacher, and with Joseph at your side
and I see the Lamb of God, on the Altar glorified
Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland, all my cares and troubles cease
as we kneel with love before you, Lady of Knock, my Queen of Peace
And the Lamb will conquer and the woman clothed in the sun
will shine Her light on everyone
and the lamb will conquer and the woman clothed in the sun,
will shine Her light on everyone
Hymn: Be Thou My Vision – Gaelic version by Maire Brennan
(English below)
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true Child
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art
High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all
The mnemonic has been helpful to me as an adult too. It reminds me to communicate with God only many levels, not just to ask for something. I know how I feel about someone who never talks to me unless they need something. I don’t want to be that way with God.
In our first reading, Esther prays a prayer of supplication for the deliverance of her people from death. Her prayer is not a simple, passing, “Please”. The passage tells us:
She lay prostrate upon the ground,
together with her handmaids, from morning until evening, (praying)
In our Gospel, Jesus describes the prayer of supplication :
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
My prayers of supplication haven’t always seemed to get the results Esther got or that Jesus describes. Ever feel that way … that your prayer really hasn’t been answered?
Faith assures us that all our needs are met … even before we present them to God. God is acting in our lives whether or not we speak with God about it.
Our prayer, as it becomes deeper and truer, allows us to enter God’s action with faith, hope, love and courage. This is the perfect prayer of supplication – it allows us to float, content, in the water of God’s will always flowing around our lives.
David Foster Wallace created a parable you may have heard:
Two young fish are swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and says, “What is water?”
Foster explains, “The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.”
Our reality is that we exist in the “water” of God’s life and presence. May our “asking” of God lead us to understand that our life in God is already the answer.
Music: Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire – James Montgomery (1771–1854)
Montgomery wrote the lyrics at the request of Edward Bickersteth, who wanted them for his book Treatise on Prayer. Montgomery called this “the most attractive hymn I ever wrote.”
( I have included all the Lyrics below. Quite beautiful, I think.)
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Unuttered or expressed;
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains
That reach the Majesty on high.
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters Heav’n with prayer.
Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry, “Behold, he prays!”
The saints in prayer appear as one
In word, in deed, and mind,
While with the Father and the Son
Sweet fellowship they find.
Nor prayer is made on earth alone;
The Holy Spirit pleads,
And Jesus, on th’eternal throne,
For sinners intercedes.
O Thou by whom we come to God,
The life, the truth, the way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray.
Today, in Mercy,Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. His prayer is simple and direct, like talking to your Dad over a morning cup of coffee.
What about us? How do we pray?
Our first learned prayers are a lot like Jesus’s simple Our Father. We praise God, giving thanks, and asking for what we need.
Then we grow up and get sophisticated. We may begin to “say” or read prayers rather than use our own words. While such a practice can deepen our understanding of prayer, it places a layer between us and our conversation with God.
Sometimes others lead our prayer in the community of faith. This too can enrich us as we are inspired by a shared faith. But it is a little like trying to have a private conversation in an elevator.
Just as Jesus often went off in solitude to pray, this kind of prayer is our most intimate time with God – a time when God allows us to know God and ourselves in a deeper way. This sacred time alone with God may be spent in words, song, or the silence that speaks beyond words.
It is a time to be with the Beloved as we would our dearest, most faithful companion. We rest in the field of our experiences, letting them flow over God’s heart in tenderness. We listen with the ear of absolute trust to the secrets God tells us in the quiet.
The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.
How is the Word of God near us, with us?
Certainly, our sincere study and prayer with scripture is one way. Sitting quietly with scriptural passages, letting them speak to us, inviting them to inform our lives is a life-giving discipline.
Sometimes, we might choose just one word or phrase from a beloved reading, turning it over and over, gently in our prayer. How has this precious word informed our lives, inspired us, called us, comforted us? How is it speaking to us in this moment?
As we move more deeply into the “words” of scripture, we move closer to theWord – the Incarnate God. John writes:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Perhaps today in our prayer, we can commit ourselves to a deepening love of scripture, of the Word given to us there.
In his book, “ The Bible Makes Sense”, Walter Bruggemann says this:
The Bible is not an “object” for us to study but a partner with whom we may dialogue. It is usual in our modern world to regard any “thing” as an object that will yield its secrets to us if we are diligent and discerning. And certainly this is true of a book that is finished, printed, bound, and that we can buy, sell, shelve, and carry in a briefcase or place on a coffee table…[But] reading the Bible requires that we abandon the subject-object way of perceiving things… [If we do,] the text will continue to contain surprises for us, and conversely we discover that not only do we interpret the text but we in turn are interpreted by the text… We may analyze, but we must also listen and expect to be addressed.
Today, in Mercy, our first reading gives us Moses’ compelling speech to the newly covenanted Israelites:
Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom…
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live.
We might ask ourselves, “Who wouldn’t choose life over death, for Heaven’s sake?”
Really? Well then ask yourself these questions:
Do I ever ignore health warnings, cancel doctor’s appointments, eat unhealthy food, smoke, drink and drive, drive and text, skip daily medicine, fail to exercise and get enough sleep … Should I go on?🧐
But even deeper than these external choices are the choices we make for the life of our souls.
Do we pray daily, take quiet time to hear God in our lives?
Do we recognize any toxic relationships or habits in our lives and work to remove them?
Do we challenge our negative attitudes and try to grow beyond them?
Do we call ourselves to generosity, forgiveness, gratitude, hope and other life-giving attitudes?
God has given us the gift of life. But it is up to us to LIVE our lives in the fullness of their possibility.
Music: Choose Life ~ Big Tent Revival (Lyrics below)
A choice is set before you now
living or dying, blessing or cursing
You know, the time has come around
to turn from your fighting
and rest in his mercy
Choose life, that you might live
the life that He gives
He gives you forever
Choose life, the way that is true
from the one who chose you
your father in Heaven
Choose life
Trust the Lord with all your heart
all of your soul and all of your being
Hold on, listen and obey
surrender your life into His keeping
And the weight you’re under
will be lifted away
And the world will wonder
what happened here today
then you’ll stand right here and say
Today, in Mercy, our readings weave together the themes of
Wisdom, Law and Integrity.
Balanced in our soul, these offer the perfection of spiritual life.
Sirach instructs us that the journey to this perfection is challenging but worthwhile.
Wisdom walks with us as a stranger and at first she puts us to the test; Fear and dread she brings upon us and tries us with her discipline until she try us by her laws and trust our souls.
How beautiful this passage is! Picture Wisdom-Sophia walking with you, through your life to your present days. As young people, many of us were challenged in learning spiritual discipline – the Law of Love. Many of us are challenged still at times. But wisdom walks with us, gently testing our resolve for goodness- forgiving, instructing, redeeming, encouraging us.
Eventually, there is between us and Wisdom, as with cherished old friends, a comfort and understanding which allows us to know each other’s thoughts and completely trust each other’s good will. An integrity of goodness grows within us.
Our Psalm 119 summarizes this blessed relationship:
O Lord, great peace have they
who love your law.
In the short pericope from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus drives home to his disciples that the grace of the Holy Spirit – the power for goodness – is not confined by our restrictive definitions, expectations,, or role assignments. All hearts at one with the Law of Wisdom and Love give glory to God.
In my prayer today, I remembered with grateful love the many guides who have taught me Wisdom in my life. I rested in quiet gratitude with Wisdom, my old friend.
My prayer led me to include this quote from one of my all-time favorite books:
(P.S. What five books would you take with you if stranded on an island for the rest of your life? I’d include this one.)
Every truth is a reflection; behind the reflection and giving it value, is the Light. Every being is a witness; every fact is a divine secret; beyond them is the object of the revelation, the Wisdom witnessed to. Everything true stands out against the Infinite as against its background; is related to it; belongs to it. A particular truth may indeed occupy the stage, but there are boundless immensities beyond. One might say a particular truth is only a symbol, a symbol that is real, a sacrament of the Absolute. ~ Antonio Sertillanges, The Intellectual Life
Music: The Perfect Wisdom Of Our God – Keith & Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend
Today, in Mercy,we find so many singular, profound words in Sirach. Each word is like a deep pool that can be prayed into, like a diver becoming one with the water.
Sirach is instructing his “son” on relationship with God. As we pray with the reading, we can focus on these words. We can ask for the grace to enrich our friendship with God by deepening in these virtues:
In our Gospel, the disciples need a reminder about which virtues lead to true greatness. Like them, we all get off track sometimes about our own self-importance.
Jesus brings their focus back to truth by placing a little child in their midst. Let’s pray today for a graceful re-focusing of our hearts.
“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, Jesus placed her in their midst, and putting his arms around her, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Music: Be Still – Mary McDonald – Sunday 7pm Choir
Today, in Mercy, God blesses Noah and his children with blessings of fertility, power, and sanctity of life. All these are given to them because they are made in the image of God. God then renews the covenant with Creation, giving a rainbow as its sign.
Rainbows still bless us, allowing us to know that natural storms are over. Maya Angelou says that people can be rainbows for each other in stormy times.
Let’s pray today for all those who have offered us a rainbow in hard times. Let’s try to be that rainbow for someone in need of encouragement or support. It’s a childlike prayer, but they are sometimes the most profound.
Music: God Put a Rainbow in the Sky ~ sung here by the great “Queen of Gospel”, Miss Mahalia Jackson
(Lyrics below)
God put a rainbow in the sky A rainbow in the sky A rainbow in the sky God put a rainbow in the sky A rainbow in the sky A rainbow in the sky
It looked like the sun wasn’t gon’ shine no more Oh, God put a rainbow in the sky.
When God shut Noah in the grand ol’ ark God put a rainbow in the sky Oh, yes, the sun grew dim and the days was dark God put a rainbow in the sky.
Today, in Mercy, our readings are about types of citizenship.
Lavish Mercy 