When God has finished with me

Guest post for the Holy Cross Vocations blog.

God strengthens us in prayer for mission – Matt 7:24-29

For my last time preaching at the Old College Holy Hour (exams start next week), we finished off the Sermon on the Mount.  Note: I'm not sure what will happen to this blog over the summer (I do have a few homilies from preaching class that I've been holding back to post periodically, but not enough for one per week).  On September 8th, I'll be ordained deacon and then the blog will flower back into life!

[Jesus continued], “Whoever listens to these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.

“The rain came down, the rivers went up and the winds blew and buffeted this house, but it did not fall, for it was founded on rock.

“Whoever hears my words but does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

“The rain came down, the rivers went up and the winds blew and dashed this house and it fell and its collapse was great.”

When Jesus had finished these words, the crowd was astonished at his teaching.  For he taught them as one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

We have a house to build.  We have papers to write and exams to study for; we have summer travel or ministry to dive into; we have friendships to nurture; we have the hungry to feed, sick and imprisoned to visit, unknowing to educate, dead to bury and mourners to comfort; we have issues to resolve in our own lives, faith the strengthen, wounds to heal, insecurities to overcome; we have a world awaiting our witness; and we have rooms to pack up, farewells to say, miles to drive.  We have a house to build.

God gives us our daily bread – Matt 6:25-34

Continuing my series on the Sermon on the Mount for Old College

Do not worry for your life, about what you are to eat, or for your body, about what you are to wear.

Is your life not more than food and your body more than clothing?

Look to the birds of the sky, who neither sow nor reap nor gather things in storehouses, and your heavenly Father feeds them.  Do you not matter more than them?

Can any of you add an hour to your life by worrying?

And why do you worry about clothing?

            Consider the flowers of the field, how they grow.  They neither toil nor spin.

I say to you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.

If God clothes the grass of the field which is here one day and the next is cast into the oven, will he not do even better for you, you people of little faith?

Do not worry, saying, “what are we to eat?” or “what are we to drink?’ or “what are we to wear?”

For the Gentiles chase after all these things, but your heavenly Father knows what you need from all these things.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things will be added to you.

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Sufficient for one day is its own trouble.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”  That’s what we pray; but often it’s not what we want.  More honest might be: “give us this day a month’s worth of bread, and while you’re at it, an independently verified plan for where the next month’s is coming from would be nice too.”

God grants us tastes of heaven on earth – Matt 6:5-13

After quite a hiatus, continuing my series on the Sermon on the Mount for Old College.

When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in synagogues or on street corners so that they might be seen by others.

Truly I say to you, they have already received their reward in full.

But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut the door and pray to your Father in secret.

And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

When you pray, do not babble like the Gentiles, for they think that they will be heard by their wordiness.

Do not be like them.

For your Father knows what you need before you ask for it.

You shall pray in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

May your name be honored,

May your kingdom come,

May what you will, come to pass,

As it does in heaven, so also on earth.

Give to us today our daily bread,

And forgive for us our debts,

As we also forgive those in our debt.

And do not lead us into trial,

But save us from the Evil one.

Our Father is in heaven, and we’re on earth. 

Jesus sees us and gives us joy – John 16:19b-25

Finishing off my Old College Lenten series on the Farewell Discourse, while we were hosting six young men and their parents for a discernment retreat.

They were scared.  The disciples had entrusted their lives to a man who was about to die.  In that upper room, Jesus had a shocking claim of good news for them: he would see them again, and they would rejoice.

God follows us, wherever we go – 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12.

Preaching on the 2nd reading from yesterday's mass at Sunday Vespers at Moreau Seminary.

We hear a lot about the growing phenomenon of helicopter parents, parents who micro-manage their children’s lives, sometimes well into adulthood.  The caricature of the offspring they raise are dependent fully grown kids, 20-somethings who can’t pick what pair of socks to wear in the morning without phoning home.  The mirror-image we can imagine, or perhaps know, are laissez-faire carefree parents who, it seems, could care less, not providing the resources their children need to form themselves, raising kids with no direction or moral compass, not even the borrowed un-owned one of helicopter’s progeny.

God is in the details – John 14:1-13

Beginning a Lenten series (that will be rather short due to Break and a few other special weekends) on the Farewell Discourse from John's gospel for OC.  The central example of this homily is drawn from the process of requesting permission to become a lifelong vowed religious (petitioning for final or perpetual vows).

[Jesus said,] “Do not let your hearts be troubled: have faith in God, have faith also in me.

“In my father’s house, there are many dwelling places.  If there were not, would I have said to you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.

“And you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No-one comes to the Father except through me.

“If you have known me, you will know the Father.  And from now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “I have been with you for this long, and you do not know me, Philip?  Whoever sees me is seeing the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the father?’

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own behalf, but the Father dwelling in me performs His works.

“Believe in me, since I am in the Father and the Father is in me.  Or if you can’t, believe through these works.

“Very truly I say to you: Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and will do greater than these, because I am going to the Father.

“And whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

~~

The hardest part of writing a petition is starting it.  Sitting down over Christmas break to write a petition for final vows, at first I was at a loss for how to begin.  How do I explain how perpetual profession makes sense for me, when such an extravagant gift of self is not in the least bit sensible?  Being at a loss gave way to frustration, when I read over the brief for the petition.  In five pages, we had to cover all five pillars, three vows and talk about our intercultural experience and willingness to serve overseas.  Where would there be space for this and the spiritual magnum opus I was at a loss for how to write?