Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”
Matthew 19:3
The Pharisees miss the whole point of the Presence of Jesus. Think of it: here they have the Messiah they have longed for right in their midst. They can talk to him, touch him, listen to him. Instead, they are strangled in rationalizations which prevent them from believing.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for a clear and innocent faith, one not caught in the need for proofs and signs. May we hold nothing back from God in our practice of faith.
Poetry: Two Went Up Into the Temple to Pray– Richard Crashaw
Two went to pray? O rather say One went to brag, th’ other to pray:
One stands up close and treads on high, Where th’ other dares not send his eye.
One nearer to God’s altar trod, The other to the altar’s God.
Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Corinthians 15:20
We celebrate Mary because of who she is in Christ, the firstfruits of a new and redeemed Creation. Mary is the one who bore these sacred firstfruits. Mothering Christ, she mothers too the gift of our Redemption.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We honor Mary whose simple life was translucent with faith. From that light, God took flesh and so redeemed us.
Poetry: The Assumption – Joachim Smet O.Carm
No painter ever caught the magic other going-- This was a matter of an inward growing, Simple and imperceptible as thought. It was no pageant wrought Of sounding splendor, welter of gold bars Of molten day, mad stars, Flurry of quick angels' winging, Bursts of their laughter ringing In wild bliss. The simple fact is this: Love conquered at long last. Her eager soul fled fast With a great gladness like a song Unto to her Spouse above, And her pure flesh would not be parted long For sheer love.
Music: Assumpta Est Maria
Latin Text
Assumpta est Maria in caelum, gaudent angeli, laudantes benedicunt Dominum. Gaudete et exsultate omnes recti corde. Quia hodie Maria virgo cum Christo regnat in aeternum.
Quae est ista, quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata? Gaudete et exsultate omnes recti corde. Quia hodie Maria virgo cum Christo regnat in aeternum.
ENGLSIH TEXT Mary has been received into Heaven: the angels rejoice with praises and bless the Lord. Let all rejoice and be glad with righteous heart, for today the Virgin Mary reigns with Christ for evermore.
Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array ? Let all rejoice and be glad with righteous heart, for today the Virgin Mary reigns with Christ for evermore.
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.
The Lord God said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat. Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. Ezekiel 3:1-3
The scroll represents the Word of God which we are all called to embrace by the faithful living of our lives. We cannot fully do so with only our mind and its analysis. When we do only that, the Word seems difficult and vexing.
Rather, we must consume the Word making it part of ourselves. It must become the sustenance without which we cannot live. When we do that, the Word becomes sweet and longed for.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for a deep longing for God’s Word and the courage to fully embrace it by our faithful lives.
Poetry: Immersion – Denise Levertov
There is anger abroad in the world, a numb thunder, because of God’s silence. But how naïve, to keep wanting words we could speak ourselves, English, Urdu, Tagalog, the French of Tours, the French of Haiti… Yes, that was one way omnipotence chose to address us—Hebrew, Aramaic, or whatever the patriarchs chose in their turn to call what they heard. Moses demanded the word, spoken and written. But perfect freedom assured other ways of speech. God is surely patiently trying to immerse us in a different language, events of grace, horrifying scrolls of history and the unearned retrieval of blessings lost for ever, the poor grass returning after drought, timid, persistent. God’s abstention is only from human dialects. The holy voice utters its woe and glory in myriad musics, in signs and portents. Our own words are for us to speak, a way to ask and to answer.
When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.” Matthew 17:25-27
Can you see Peter shaking the little fish until the coin popped out in his hand? Can you see his astounded face at this magical miracle? As we picture the scene, we may realize that there are miracles hidden in all Creation, in all experience if we can trust and seek the truth.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: Jesus wants to teach us too, just as he taught Peter and encouraged his faith. We need to look around our lives and to seek the hidden miracles in our daily experience. Jesus may smile at our grateful astonishment, just as he smiled at Peter.
Poetry: The Temple Tax – William Merriman
I have the taste of money in my mouth. The metallic tang covers my tongue, As my throat unslackens and unlooses Prayers, praises, verses, songs With one hand raised to the altar, And the other in my pocket.
You who drew the fish from the water And withdrew the coins of copper From its consuming, biting teeth To pay the price of entry— Kill this mammon greed, And, instead, Lord, enter me.
Music: some lovely music as you think about spiritual “fishing”
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
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. John 12:24
The great paradox of existence is that, in order to live, we must die. It is a truth endemic to all Creation. It is a reality lived out in all relationships.
Jesus cites this universal truth to teach his disciples the key to eternal life. We must die to self to find our life in God.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We prayerfully reflect on the times when this truth has been evident in our lives. When have we found new life? When have we experienced the freedom to grow? What had to die in us before these graces could transform us?
Poetry: Unless a Grain of Wheat – Malcolm Guite
Oh let me fall as grain to the good earth And die away from all dry separation, Die to my sole self, and find new birth Within that very death, a dark fruition, Deep in this crowded underground, to learn The earthy otherness of every other, To know that nothing is achieved alone But only where these other fallen gather.
If I bear fruit and break through to bright air, Then fall upon me with your freeing flail To shuck this husk and leave me sheer and clear As heaven-handled Hopkins, that my fall May be more fruitful and my autumn still A golden evening where your barns are full.
Music: Unless a Grain of Wheat Shall Fall – Bernadette Farrell
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 16: 24-25
This passage from Matthew is one of the most astounding challenges Jesus gave his disciples: deny yourself, take up your cross, follow me.
What does it really mean to deny oneself? Does it mean to become a doormat or a Milquetoast? Does it suggest repressing one’s personality or ambitions? To act like a nobody?
Of course not! So many places in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures assure us that we are unique, precious, and beloved of God. God doesn’t want us not to be ourselves because that’s who we were created to be!
I think denying oneself means not getting caught in the mirror of selfishness. Instead we are called to focus on Jesus and his absolute care for all Creation, especially those who are poor, sick, outcast, and troubled. We can’t really do that if we are consumed with self-interest.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for the grace to be aware, brave, and faithful enough to put the good of others first for the sake of Christ.
Poetry: As the Ruin Falls – C.S. Lewis
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through: I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.
Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek, I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin: I talk of love --a scholar's parrot may talk Greek-- But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.
Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack.
I see the chasm. And everything you are was making My heart into a bridge by which I might get back From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking.
For this I bless you as the ruin falls. The pains You give me are more precious than all other gains.
Music: Deny Yourself – Paul Melley
Deny yourself. Take up your cross . Despite the pain Despite the cost. Leave all behind and follow me. Deny yourself, be free.
For what will it profit to gain the world and lose your life? Those who would save their life will lose it. What can you give in return for your life? For those would lose their life will find it. Deny yourself.
Come, take up your cross and daily follow me and you will have rich reward in heaven. Those who have left their home and family for his sake inherit one hundred fold, inherit eternal life. Deny yourself.
What can you give in return for your life? For those who would lose their life, lose their life will find it Deny yourself
Lord, you reveal the depth of your life and your love in your everlasting covenant. Strengthen the faith we share, fill our work with your love, and bring all of us to grace, to the grace you promise.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:33-34
In today’s first reading, Jeremiah’s love song with God continues. He tells the people that God will “marry” their hearts by writing the Divine Design within them, and that all shall be included in that covenant of Infinite Mercy.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: In Jesus Christ, we are living in the fullness of that promise. Even in an apparently contradictory world, our faith impels us to believe, and to live a life which trusts that fulfillment.
Poetry: Draw Near – Scott Cairns
προσέλθετε(Come)
For near is where you’ll meet what you have wandered far to find. And near is where you’ll very likely see how far the near obtains. In the dark katholikon the lighted candles lent their gold to give the eye a more than common sense of what lay flickering just beyond the ken, and lent the mind a likely swoon just shy of apprehension. It was then that time’s neat artifice fell in and made for us a figure for when time would slip free altogether. I have no sense of what this means to you, so little sense of what to make of it myself, save one lit glimpse of how we live and move, a more expansive sense in Whom.
Music: Love Overflows – Michael Hoppé
One glass half empty One glass half full, Some may be dry now Mine overflows. See what you want to. Each to their own. My eyes are wide open And love overflows
In the darkest hours when you’re alone, think of me, darling, And love overflows. In the darkest hours, when you’re alone, think of me, darling, and love overflows.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest, the LORD appears to him from afar: With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers. Jeremiah 31:2-4
What joy to realize that we are loved with an age-old love! Even Jeremiah, one of the gloomiest prophets, finds deep joy in that realization!
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We listen to God assuring us of the ageless Divine Love we have been given. How have we known God’s Mercy? How have we been rebuilt? How have our hearts been returned to innocence? How have our spirits danced and delighted in the love God has for us?
Poetry: The Avowal – Denise Levertov
As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn to attain freefall, and float into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace, knowing no effort earns that all-surrounding grace.
Lavish Mercy 