DIVINE MERCY
22 GLIMPSES

Christmas - for starters - every year,
or every day if one is awake….
The Wise seeing a star ….
The shepherds hearing a song ….
A baby is born in a stable -
surrounded by Joseph and Mary -
animals, shepherds and kings -
while out front - inside the Inn
there are people who just missed out
on the biggest thing that ever happened
in that town - better: in our world.


Standing in the Jordan River,
there’s John the Baptist baptizing.
Oh that’s where he got his name.
He’s urging, he’s challenging -
he’s calling people to change -
to stop overtaxing each other -
to end brutality to one another -
to put the axe to the roots of one’s personality -
so that good fruit can be found on one’s table
and in one’s heart and soul and hands.


The scene is a beach. It’s early morning.
Fishermen are chatting - cleaning - mending nets -
connecting to each other as family and friends.
Their nets are empty after a night of nothing -
that is, till Jesus walks into their lives
at daybreak - calling them to leave all
and begin filling their nets with people -
who will be as surprised to meet Jesus -
as they were. Jesus who often just shows up
after a night of nothing but empty nets.


To see differently, to be transfigured,
to come out of the desert and to come
down from the mountain, now seeing
the hurt and the hungry on the road,
snakes and scorpions losing their
power, crushed, as well as seeing
the poor at one’s door step.


Children running across a field -
receiving a big embrace from
Jesus who says, “Let the little children
come running into your life -
because when you do, you’re inviting
the possibility of discovering the
Kingdom of God in your life as well.”


Meeting Jesus in the marketplace,
being challenged to start measuring
out one’s life in new generous ways
till we find it’s overflowing from our
hands, our garments, our deepest soul.
Then we too are able to say with the Best
of us: This is my body. This is my blood.
I’m giving myself to you. Take and eat!
Take and drink. Then do the same
to each other in memory of me.


Climb high mountains, trek into dry deserts,
spend time in temples and inner rooms and
you’ll see Jesus there transfigured, struggling,
and you’ll hear him say, “I am with you every day.”
And you’ll  also say, “It is good for us to be here.”


Jesus announcing that celebrating life is
all about being lost and becoming found -
just like a woman who lost a coin,
found it again and because she had
told so many friends how lost she felt
without it and how found she found when
she found it - and she sewed it back onto
her wedding crown and then invited
everyone into her home for one big celebration.


Or déjà vu - according to Jesus - life
is being like a lost sheep - whom
a shepherd realized was lost after counting
his flock 5 times and kept on getting 99
each time. So he left those 99 secure
in a pen and went searching everywhere
till he found that lost sheep stuck in the
brambles - run out of “Baaah’s!” and
he brought him home on his shoulders
and everyone could see that
Shepherd’s smile for at least a mile?


Or déjà vu - doubled and then some
more again, did you hear the story
about the lost son - the younger of
two brothers - a story Jesus
never got tired of telling? Well, this
younger son left inflated and came home
deflated, stinking of pig stuff - expecting
only food and reprimand and “I told you so!”
but no, he finds himself in his Father’s Arms,
a father who is hugging him - and he is
clinging to his Father’s arms - eyes closed -
tears flowing - while the family servants
went looking for a ring, sandals, an older brother,
and a kid goat for a giant cook out - and Jesus
never told them - that the story was really
about the lost older brother - and sometimes
some older brothers - the safe and secure - get it.


Scattered rocks - dropped to the ground
instead of crushing my skin because
of my sin. Finally I met a man
who truly loved me. This last Man became
the first man who ever treated me like this.


5000 folks feasting on bread,
laughing and talking to each other
because Jesus didn’t want them
to feel the growls of an empty tummy.
Then the Practical Jesus saying,
“Gather up the fragments. There are
also others who are hungry!”


A rich young man keeps wondering
if he should try to fit through the eye
of a needle - sitting a stone’s throw away
from a man who wonders if he could
really be reborn at his age. Jesus,
certainly could get people thinking
and some of them changed!
Divine Mercy is very intriguing
as well as very inviting.


A disciple who steps back,
to let another disciple come first;
while another disciples gives
the shirt off his back to a man
without a shirt; while another
disciple turns his other cheek.
Looks like the Kingdom is coming.


A short man - a taxing character,
climbs a tree to avoid the crowd
who can’t stand him - but Jesus
sees him and invites him down from
the tree and invites himself into
that man’s house for dinner tonight.


A blind man sees, a deaf man hears,
a person with rejected skin discovers
Jesus gives him brand new baby skin.


Jesus said at the table, “Take and eat,
take and drink. This is my body and
this is my blood - and don’t forget,
I’ll never hesitate to wash your feet.


A voice from a cross that says,
“Father forgive them for they don’t
know what they are doing.”


A voice from a cross says to a thief,
“Today you’ll be with me in paradise.”


People come to a tomb only to discover
it’s empty - on a Sunday morning


Walls start shaking - walls open,
Christ comes bursting into a room
filled with fear and simply says,
“Peace! Whose sins you forgive,
those sins are forgiven - those sins
you hold onto - they’ll hold onto you.”


Once more after a night of empty nets
Jesus appears on the edge of our lives
and tells us where to lower our nets
and then invites us to share our
results with him - with love, with recognition,
with the call to go and do likewise
with each other. It’s called, “I love you!”
“I love you!” “I love you!”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2011

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Picture on top: Sea of Tiberias from
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40147