A Regular Joe

Friday, December 6, 2019

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

For years, while working at Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County, the organization, had the dream of moving into a large enough space to consolidate our family support services, construction program & retail operation onto one large campus. As the Board strategized the ideal location there was a common mantra for the success: Location, Location, Location. Where do we put our operations that would be accessible for the families we served; What location would be logistically sound for our construction management throughout Brevard; and where would we locate the retail operation to ensure the greatest community exposure for the store and ministry?

In my faith life, I have come to believe that “success” (growing deeper in my relationship with God) also has a mantra: Practice, Practice, Practice. Doctors practice medicine; lawyers practice law. These professions, among others, require continuing education to keep up with the latest professional developments. Athletes and musicians are always practicing so they can be the best athlete or musician possible.[1] How do you get to the NFL, NBA, or Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice.

In conversations with those I often meet in the community, occasionally they will say something to suggest they are Catholic, so I ask, are you a Catholic? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the response, “Yes, but I’m not a practicing Catholic.” What does being a “practicing Catholic” mean? How do you practice your faith?

Yesterday’s Gospel taught the importance of hearing and doing what Jesus taught. Yet today we hear of two blind men doing exactly the opposite of what Jesus had instructed. This may be confusing, at face value, until we remember that Matthew’s source, portrays the mystery of Jesus’ identity as key and linked essentially to faith. The blind men caught up with Jesus “when he got to the house,” a symbol for the Church, the community of faith. Come to understand that faith is the entrance into the mystery of Christ.[2]

So, to “practice” our faith can mean being active, involved, committed, and enthusiastic. It can also mean following, observing, and living out our profession, our passion, our faith. In Isaiah, we are comforted in hearing that our healing will come when we walk in the way of the Lord. Such walking requires “practice.” The concern is that we become complacent in our “practice”, thinking I come to daily Mass, safe within the walls of the church, with people of a shared faith tradition. Practice is a means to stretch ourselves to becoming a better Catholic. The real challenges of practicing our faith is in the world, outside of the security of these walls and nurturing community.

As we prepare to participate in this Eucharistic mystery, let’s ask ourselves, “how can we better practice our faith and follow the Lord’s way,” so that we might become the light that draws others to begin or reengage in the "practice" of their faith.

[1] Weekday HomilyHelps, December 6, 2019. Homily Suggestion by Vickie Griner, OSC.

[2] Ibid. Exegesis by Dr. Mary Ann Getty.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

TABLE OF PLENTY

“Come to the feast of heaven and earth! Come to the table of plenty! God will provide for all that we need, here at the table of plenty. O come and sit at my table, where saints and sinners are friends. I wait to welcome the lost and lonely to share the cup of my love. Come to the feast of heaven and earth! Come to the table of plenty! God will provide for all that we need, here at the table of plenty.” These song lyrics, composed by Dan Schutte, perfectly illustrate today’s readings where no one has been left hungry.

Although Isaiah pronounces many oracles warning of judgment, the prophet returns again and again to celebrate in praise and prayer God’s victory over all the forces of evil and the threats to God’s people. He shares a vision where the banquet table seats everyone. Where tears and even death are eliminated. Oppression and other “reproaches” are removed because God has spoken. The celebration encompasses ALL people who will see for themselves the one, true, living God.

Similarly, we hear in the Gospel, large crowds are bringing people suffering from every manner of illness and disability, Jew and Gentile alike, and Jesus cures them.[1] All people are fed, all have their fill, not only a full tummy but also a heart filled with joy, a body that is healed, and a sense that “I belong at the table of plenty.”

Note the disciples, again, play a crucial role in distributing the bread and gathering the fragments. Jesus tells his disciples, “I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” Jesus’ words are truly not about the food, but much more about the mindset that someone cares for us. Someone is shepherding the needs of our being. Love makes our faith whole—the love of Jesus.

In the Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.”

We find our comfort and our joy everyday with Jesus in the Eucharist. St. John Damascene, the saint we celebrate today, once wrote, “The Eucharist is the fire which inflames us.”[2] Jesus beckons, will you be My disciple to share our lives of abundance, to bring the hope of this season to the broken and lost, and inviting them to the Table of Plenty

[1] Weekday HomilyHelps for December 4, 2019. Exegesis by Dr. Mary Ann Getty.

[2] Ibid. Homily Suggestion by Luisa Bayate, OSC.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

READY FOR INSPECTION!

[1]Reading for Inspection, Sir! As a platoon commander, I’ve called this instruction out numerous times to my company commander. Unfortunately, I often knew some of my platoon members were not ready at all. I learned over time there are three basic types of platoon members. Those who were not ready for inspection, any inspection, as their interests were more on liberty or some other distraction. There were the ones ready for inspection, but the platoon ended up waiting for them as they had to run back to the barracks to change out of their inspection uniform, into their work uniform. Then there were the members who properly cared for all their uniforms, who would not just be ready for inspection every morning, they were ready to immediately go to work, without fuss.

Each year we enter a new liturgical year, Advent, and I would venture a guess, for most of us here, this is not our first Advent season. We have the routine down, right? But I would suggest there are three basic groups of people when it comes to this short season of the Church year.

The Not Ready. These folks tend to get swept away by the distractions of Christmas preparations, unaware of the gift of the Advent season. They’ve got to shop for the perfect gifts, they’ve got to decorate, they’ve got to shop, mail the Christmas cards, shop, prepare to entertain, they’ve got to shop. Oh, then there’s the events at school, work, church, their spouse’s company party. Sometimes even the good things of the world can draw us away from God as we’re tantalized by their very goodness, but when loved out of order, leads to desire the creations instead of the Creator.

The Seemingly Ready. These folks seem to have the spirit of the season all together. They’re full of joy as you greet them. They can even bring joy to the chaos of Black Friday shopping. Yet, when they’re home and alone, they’re joyful mask is removed as they grieve a broken family relationship, separation from a loved one serving overseas, or experiencing their first holiday season alone because of the death of a spouse or family member. They want to be transformed by the season, alas the best they can muster is putting on their best seasonal mask to disguise their sorrow and pain.

The Always Ready, “Puts on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 13:14) Like putting on a new set of clothes they allow Christ to embrace them totally and transform the very essence of their being. They tend to embrace Advent as a time to seek a deeper relationship with the Christ who is to come. They manage a balanced life of seasonal and spiritual preparation.

How can we be found always ready? Isaiah tells us to do just what we are doing now; go “to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways,” (Is 2:3) this is a place we can be wrapped in His forgiveness, instructed by His Word, and feed by Eucharist. Paul says to “awake from sleep, then throw off the works of darkness”; drunkenness, sexual impropriety, and community discord. All of these are works of the flesh, whereas Christians are to live according to the Spirit. Jesus tells us to be watchful and alert. Don’t be like people of Noah’s time, caught unaware by the flood and swept away.

Today’s scriptures share a vision of the world as a place where God is active. It’s a dangerous world, but one in which safety can be found by those who open themselves to God’s grace. Christ came among us to satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. One of those longings is for peace—peace among nations, peace in our families and neighborhoods, peace within our very selves.

Peace and justice begin in our own hearts, our own lives. Hatred, violence, and fear dominate the headlines, but we don’t have to be overwhelmed by them. We can refuse to hate. We can refuse to support violence. We can refuse to give up hope. These days, that’s a big order. But in our efforts to widen the circle of goodness, God has made a big investment. He sent his only-begotten Son to be with us and to save us.[2]

Consider our Baptism, where we were washed clean by water, given a candle, a light to be kept burning brightly, and a white garment to bring unstained to greet our Lord when he returns. Let our Advent wreath be a reminder to put on the armor of Light and let this be a season where we look to our future, while living in the present, always walking in the light of the Lord, prepared to approach Him: Ready for inspection.