Reflections By The Bay

Friday, September 2, 2016

September 2, 2016

YOU’RE KIDDING!

If we’re against someone,

we’ll find plenty of faults

in that person to prove

why we’re against them.

If we don’t like someone,

we’ll spot various things

we don’t like about them and

think to ourselves, “I’m right.”

If we like someone, we’ll spot

things about them we like,

even if the person is worse than

those we’re against or don’t like.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

September 1, 2016

TODAY

Prayer: to sit quietly on the shore - at the

edge of the water, - at the edge of the world -

to pause and to pray each morning - a word

of “Thanks to You, O Lord, for one

more day of precious, knowable life.”

Prayer: to set sail - to cross the waters -

to discover Christ on the waters of life -

in traffic - as well as on the other shore -

at work - to care about those folks I interact

with each day in so many unique ways.

Prayer: to see Christ today in and working

with others - in the odd and in the sane -

in the lonely and in the life of the party -

all those who cross my path - and those

who are not sure of what path to follow.

Prayer: to head home after the work of the

day - to find out what my family did today -

to compare notes - to laugh and to love and

to thank God for one more precious knowable

day - knowing there is another one tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

August 31, 2016

STONE STATUES

Stone statues just standing there -

doing nothing - but posing in the rain,

in the snow, in the sun, no comparison

to the days you were here - moving

around in the midst of us - walking

in the rain, shivering in the snow -

sweating in the sun. Let’s face it:

most people don’t notice statues -

except when a bird sits on a head -

or when one is toppled by a crowd.

The shout is: so live that the crowd

is served by you - and not vice versa.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

August 30, 2016

POSSIBILITIES

I am a novel.

I am a poem.

I am a love letter.

I am a request for help.

I am an “I’m sorry!” letter.

I am directions.
I am a doodle.

I am a drawing.

I am a biography.

I am an autobiography.

Then pick up a pencil!

THE MIND OF GOD

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 22^nd Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “The Mind of God.”

Today’s first reading ends with these two comments: "For 'who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?' But we have the mind of Christ." [Cf. 1st Corinthians 2: 10-16.]

I would assume that is the dream - that is the hope of all of us - all of us looking for a deeper spiritual life - to have the mind of Christ - and then to go deeper - deeper into the hope that Christ will bring us into the mind of God.

Now that’s prayer - union and communion - holy communion - not the babbling of words - but getting out of the boat - heading for Christ - sinking deeper and deeper into the ocean of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Cf. Matthew 14: 22-33.]

TODAY’S GOSPEL

The first step then would be to follow Christ - to hear Christ in the Gospels - to picture the people who approached Christ and see who Christ is.

We wade into the gospel of Luke today - moving out of Matthew last Saturday. Yesterday we missed the going into the synagogue in Nazareth to hear Jesus’ inaugural address in Luke - because yesterday was the feast of John the Baptist.

Luke will teach us so much more each year - the mercy of God especially in this year of mercy. Open up the flood gates….

I loved today’s gospel for starters - that it’s the crazy guy - in the synagogue of Capernaum who first gets who Jesus is - that he shrieks in a loud voice “Leave us alone! What do you want of us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.”

Can we be crazy enough to say to Jesus: “I know who you are: the Holy One of God.”

FIRST CORINTHINIANS

In today’s reading from 1^st Corinthians, Paul goes another way. He is going to let the Spirit bring us to the Father - to let the Spirit bring us into God.

Come Holy Spirit!

We slipped into the 1^st Letter to the Corinthians last Thursday - and we’ll have this letter of Paul till Saturday September 17^th. This is one of the blessings of daily Mass - we get a chance to hear and get into lots of the holy writings.

So hopefully we want to get into God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit: the Trinity.

Augustine tells us he discovered from a little kid on the beach - that you can’t fit and fill the ocean into a little kid’s beach pail - any more than fitting the Trinity into our little minds. Yet we go to the beach to fill our pails and wade into the ocean. We come into church - we come into prayer - to fill our pale little self and wade into the edge of God.

Jesus often tells us, See me, see the father. Hear me, hear the father.

In his words for today, Paul is sort of going a different way - here in today’s first reading.

The commentators on today’s first reading tell us that we all have a spirit - pneuma in Greek. Paul then tells us that we also have a soul - psuche in Greek. Psuche is the life principle in every living thing. We have that gift of life. We see that life in dogs and cats, birds and fish. We know the difference between a dead fly and a live one - a dead another and a live another.

He tells us we have a choice to live by the pneuma or just the psuche.

To live by the spirit is to move into the Spirit of God who will bring us

CONCLUSION

This is long enough for a weekday Mass - so if you have time read today’s readings again.

Let me conclude with Paul’s words for today I hope I didn’t complicate his message up too much.

Brothers and sisters:

The Spirit scrutinizes everything,

even the depths of God.

Among men,

who knows what’s going on within us
except our spirit that is within?

Similarly,

no one knows what pertains to God

except the Spirit of God.

We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.

And we speak about them

not with words taught by human wisdom,
but with words taught by the Spirit,
describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.

Now the natural man

[that is the one who lives only with his psuche]

does not accept

what pertains to the Spirit of God,
for to him it is foolishness,

and he cannot understand it,
because it is judged spiritually.

The one who is spiritual, however,

can judge everything
but is not subject to judgment by anyone.

For "who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him"?"

But we have the mind of Christ.

Monday, August 29, 2016

COURAGE OR WEAKNESS

[Today we commemorate the passion or suffering or the Beheading of John the Baptist. Today’s gospel story from Mark 6: 17-29 - triggers thoughts about different characters - some courageous - some weak. Hence this reflection on courage vs. weakness.]

It takes courage to say, “You’re right. I’m wrong.”

It takes courage to say, “Help!”

It takes courage to say, “I had too much to drink.”

It takes courage to say, “I made a mistake.”

It takes courage to say, “I promised too much and I can’t deliver.”

It takes courage to say, “I sinned.”

It takes courage to say, “I’m trapped.”

It takes courage to say, “Oops. Dumb me.”

It takes courage to say, “Lust took over.”

It takes courage to say, “Please forgive me.”

It takes weakness to hold onto a grudge!

It takes weakness to remain silent, instead of screaming, “Stop.”

It takes weakness to say, “Get rid of him. Cut off his head.”

It takes weakness to say, “I’m going to get you for saying that.”

It takes weakness to say, “More wine.”

It takes weakness to say, “I’m only human – so I have to do this - otherwise I’m going to look like a fool.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Note: Painting on top - Benozzo Gozzoli (1461-1462)

August 29, 2016

JOHN THE BAPTIST

Patron saint of the so many

who have been silenced -

because they spoke up.

Thrown into a dungeon down

below while people partied

and danced up above.

He spent his time wondering

who Jesus was and would he

be silenced just like he was.

“Off with his head!” John was

silenced for good till his head came

in on a platter for one last scream.