BUILDING A SOCIETY WHERE WE TRUST ONE ANOTHER

 

We live in a time when you must be on your guard that you may be scammed, have your bank account cleaned out or have your individual private information used to illegally  to obtain a bank loan. We have all heard of the grandparents-scam where trusting grandparents were hustled out of thousands of dollars. .”

 

Many people share that “if I do not recognize the phone number I will not answer the phone

 

We are living in a time of distrust. 

 

We need to step back for a few moments and reflect on what trust actually is and how essential it is to living and functioning in this society.

 

We learn to trust another human being right from the moment of our birth. Our mother and father care for us. We can count on them to feed us, wash us and protect us from all harm. We learn early that there are dangers in life and we must avoid the dangers and do the good. We are praised for sharing with our two year old sister, with picking up our shoes and know where it is safe to ride our bike and where it is unsafe.

 

Our parents put us on the school bus because they trusted that the bus driver would get us to and from school safely. They dropped us off at the grandparents because they knew that we were always safe with grandma and grandpa.

 

What happens when trust breaks down? How is society coming apart when citizens cannot trust what their government officials are saying or businesses  try to sell us deficient products?

What happens when people in authority take advantage of others and criminally hurt the children and the elderly?

 

The media just loves any occasion to broadcast the failures of our police service, the medical profession, our teachers, the church and prison system. Do we ever hear that anything good has been done by honest, conscientious and upright people?

 

It is in this atmosphere that I am so thankful that our Christian faith so strongly underlines how we are to treat one another. Be as honest and truthful with your neighbor as you would want your neighbor to be honest and trustful with you. 

 

Our prayer ( and our strong desire for action) is that we practice  honesty in all our dealings with others. Practice that your word can always be counted on. 

 

This is also a creative moment to reflect on your own life and your own upbringing. Who were the people that were honest and trustworthy in your life? Who do you count on to always do the right thing?

 

A smile will come to your face when you remember the people who were ‘painfully honest.”

 

Thank the Holy Spirit for every moment that you are challenged to be honest and trustworthy. What a gift to your fellow human beings!

DOUBT IS PART OF THE JOURNEY OF FAITH

         

There are too many people in our churches who feel guilty when they are walking in doubt. They are convinced that to struggle and doubt makes them a bad believer. They live by unrealistic expectations that they should not doubt, be angry with God or just feel indifferent towards prayer at various times in their lives. 

 

The authentic life of faith is just like raising your children (all nineteen years that is). There are good days and then there are prolonged struggles with them. Most days you want to run out and hug them. There are some days when you would gladly trade them in on a more compatible and less stubborn kid!

 

The great teachers of our faith make it very clear that there will be times when we have serious struggles with our God.

 

Unfortunately, our Christian imagination has not given sufficient attention to the wrestling of Jacob and the stranger (i.e., God) who get in a wrestling match all night (Gen. 30, 10-22). Where in our church buildings do we find a painting of this episode? This deficit points to our hesitation to embrace the struggles and hesitations that life with God will entail.

 

We want to reclaim Jacob and the wrestling match as a model for our life of faith. Wrestling is always difficult with sweating, bone crushing and there is always a winner. One man will emerge triumphant over the other. It is never pleasant and it certainly does not smell nice!

 

As we live our lives with God we may reach the point in old age where we seriously question the good God. How can I be so lonely with all my family and friends gone already. I am in this nursing home and can barely feed myself. I need help to go to the bathroom. Where is the good God in all this suffering?

 

Or we may have an eighteen year old nephew who accidently over dosed at a party. This is my sister’s only child! How could she lose such a promising young man in so foolish an accident?

Where is the good God in all our tears? What could we ever have done to deserve this terrible blow to our lives and our future?

 

This is where we need to live the story of the apostle Thomas and his reluctance to believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead (Jn. 20, 24-29) In his doubt and hesitation he laid down conditions for him to accept the new reality that Jesus was risen from the dead: “Unless I touch.”

 

When we hear this story each Easter we are hearing our own story. Thomas is each one of us. We struggle to make the leap of faith. We struggle to accept Jesus on his very word. We might go through long seasons of hesitation and at times outright unbelief, but this is our journey of faith.

 

As a Church of walking and wrestling believers, we are with Thomas, pleading, praying, “Lord, help my unbelief!”

 

 

 

NO ONE WANTS YOUR STUFF

There is a sadness in older parents when they look at their treasured dining room set, or the big screen TV and realize that their adult children do not want these things.  You look at your 2024 SUV and recognize that your son will just sell it to help finance the purchase of a new vehicle on his part.

 

Parents are given the warning: Do not leave your children to clean out all your stuff. 

 

And there is hurt feelings on the part of parents: why would you not value and enjoy my laptop the way I do?  Are your really just going to hand this laptop to a eight year old?

 

A very common experience happened in my own family connection. The thirty-two year old niece was offered her grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s expensive china wear dinning set. She clearly stated: “And I do not want it!” 

 

What is a sign of wealth and success to one generation is just so much useless clutter to the upcoming generation.

 

This Sunday we are given a wake-up call to set the priorities of our lives in order. Our first reading is the reflection of an old man who looks back on his life. All that he worked so hard to accomplish will be forgotten; just like the morning mist disappears with the first beams of sunlight.

 

He looks over his life and moans: “Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.” (Ecc. 1,2)

What a downer!

 

If the meaning of our life is rooted in what we own or the great feats we have accomplished, it will all come crashing in the end. This is why we must go to the things that are important to us and name them for what they are: merely tools to help us live and live well.

 

Stand beside your truck and say: ‘You’re only a truck. You carry us around well but my grandson will sell you to upgrade his vehicle. You are only a truck!’

 

Vanity of vanities helps us put things in perspective. These are tools to help us live and thrive – but they are only tools. “And I am trying to come to grips with the truth that my children and my grandchildren do not want my stuff!” The things that support and make me feel good will just go out into a garage sale.

 

Enjoy your good furniture; be grateful for your reliable vehicle and the good food you eat every day. Be grateful for the medical care we receive in this country. 

 

Use every thing for what it is: a tool to help us live;  All my stuff is meant  to enjoy life and bring happiness to others.  

 

Your children and grandchildren do not want your stuff. But today, enjoy what you have and enjoy the blessings of God – right here, right now!

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT YOU MUST EXPECT FROM THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH.

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When you walk into a church, what should you expect?

 

If you expect religious services, you will only have to look with getting your children  to have their sacraments, burials for your aged parents and Sunday worship for the very devout.

If you expect to only hear a call to faith and conversion you will only show up to listen and accept the Gospel message, and then you can go home. Your personal expectations will shape what kind of response you will give to the ministry/leadership of the Church.

 

Do not assume that everyone (beginning with your own adult children) share the same understanding of the place of the Church community within our lives.

 

The Church is first and foremost a community of disciples of Jesus Christ. These are the people who have heard the call of Jesus to be one of his own, to share in the life and mission of the Son of God. Immediately, we can see that this faith community is living in relationship with the very Son of God. These are people who are moved and energized by the Holy Spirit.

 

These are not people who do religious things. These are people who live in friendship with Jesus. We are sent to live out of our friendship with Jesus Christ.

 

These are not perfect people and they certainly are not ready-made saints. They have many faults and sinful attitudes. They are a long way from being perfect.  And this is one of the most difficult things about belonging to the Church: they are not saints and often times they are a long way off the holiness mark.

 

We must always picture in our mind that these are people on pilgrimage. They are being moved toward that goal of living  in harmony with Jesus Christ;  but they are willing to undergo change and conversion, as they are moved by the Holy Spirit.

 

We cannot be a Christian person on our own. Rugged individualism (doing it my way) is just the opposite of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. If we do not live and participate in the life of the Christiam community, we often will not do very much else. Christianity is a community of disciples, moving toward the goal of life in its fullness with and in Jesus Christ. We need each other to survive as disciples. We need each other to nourish and support the faith we have been gifted with in this time and place.

 

When we pray each Sunday that we believe in the “holy, catholic church” we are saying that we believe the Holy Spirit is living, moving and working among this group of less than perfect people. The Holy Spirit is working to change these sinners into saints (i.e., people filled with the love and compassion of God).  We are being shaped into becoming the very heart and face of the Son of God.

 

But first, always be  rooted in the Holy Spirit and what the power of the Spirit is doing among us: sinful and imperfect tough we are.

 

This is a wonderful journey and it all is the work of the life and spirit of God among us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WE ARE TRUTH TELLERS

 

We live in very confusing times. We are bombarded every day by the leader of the most powerful country in the world who lies. And continuously! And no one appears to confront him about this destructive and very evil behavior.

 

How do you teach your children to value and tell the truth when your political leaders abuse the truth every ninety seconds?

 

As human beings we cannot live and function without a basic trust in each other.

 

When you bought your house you trusted that all the building codes were followed correctly and the basement walls are secure, the roof is shingled properly and the plumbing works and will function for many years. There are rules to be followed to provide security for everyone with regard to their dwelling space.

 

You experienced truth telling from the first moment you were born. You did not have cognitive power to recognize it , but you could count on your mother/father to feed you, keep you clean and warm. This was long before the analytic part of your brain functioned but you were living in a world where you trusted your parents. They did it and you could count on their delivery. 

 

As you grew older you were directed to speak the truth and not to lie. No one sat down and gave you a formal class on truth telling. You learnt by doing it. If you lied about hitting your little brother there were consequences. 

 

The next time you cross the street on the direction of the flashing lights you are living in a world of social trust. All vehicles come to a complete stop at the red light. You walk across the street only when the walk light flashes on. What a daily act of truth telling! What an act of trust on the part of pedestrians and drivers!

 

Be in touch with your own practice of truth telling. If someone in the store tells you something that proves to be untrue, you stop shopping at that store. If one of your relatives takes advantage of you, especially financially, you are very careful in how you deal with him/her in the future.

 

Now, this is the time when you need to take stock of your own up-brining. 

 

You might say: “My father was such a quiet man but when he spoke you always listened. There was no gray area in his reflections and commands. What he said was always true and you had better get in line with his truth. He was a truth teller. Nothing subtle about him!”

 

Examine your teachers, your school bus driver, your nurse and your uncle.  You grew up with truth tellers and they formed and challenged you to be equally a truth teller.

 

Never tolerate anyone telling a lie!

 

Claim your own power to be a truth teller!

 

 

 

WE ALL WIND UP POOR, SOMEWHERE.

If you define the poor as the people who are homeless, who sleep in their cars at night, you will see only a highly visible, but oh so small part of the population. But if you frame the whole question with the ‘the poor with their many faces,” you will experience poverty in a very challenging way.

 

Now, all of us will experience poverty a long the way. We all grow old. We lose our hearing and find family gatherings are so frustrating. Our eyesight becomes limited and we lose our driving licence. We lose loved ones, close friends and co-workers who die an early death due to cancer. We lose. We lose. We lose.

 

This is why we need to live with the direction that the poor are always very close. The very poor may be our aged mother, in all her dementia, in the nursing home. All we can do is just hold her hand in human friendship.

 

This past Sunday we were gifted with the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Lk. 1025-37) When confronted by the lawyer about “who is my neighbor?,” Jesus throws him a curve. This is not about installing limits about the identity of the poor but it challenges us to a new awareness of who is to identified as a neighbor.

 

It is the despised and unwanted Samaritan (nothing good could ever come of Samaritans!!), who reaches out to this beat-up stranger in the ditch.

 

Jesus challenges all codes of human correctness. Helping the beat-up man in the ditch is giving value and respect to every  human being, especially those who are cast aside. This upsets every social norm of who is “in” and who is “out.”

 

Look around to see who is poor.

 

It is your aged father in the nursing home. He is sharp as a whistle, but we cannot walk. He is lonely and hungers for the human contact of family and friends.

 

It is your co-worker who tears up when she shares the pain in her heart over her thirty-two year old son who is into the drugs. She fears that she will lose him in an over-dose. She triess not to burden you with her fears but some days the tears just flow like an unexpected rain shower.

 

And then there is your cousin whose family is split up. No one wants to talk to the other and there are no family gatherings for the past four years. He is so confused. Was there anything that he failed to so or did he say something that caused such searing pain?

 

Being poor has many faces. If we keep our eyes open, we will discover how close the poor actually are. We will find this Sunday that the victim in the ditch could be someone we know personally.

 

The poor with their many faces are always close to us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BE PREPARED TO BE FRUSTRATED!

 

This is the season of road construction. There was a sign at the entry of the turn-off at the beginning of the construction job: Be prepared for frustration!

 

Not one driver asked a single question about it meaning. There could be a few trying moments in this little detour.

 

From time to time everyone must deal with frustrations in our life. The company we worked for the past twenty-three years has gone broke. There is no severance package! We need a second blood test to confirm the presence of cancer. 

 

No one is protected from frustrations. 

 

From time to time people will mention that others have looked at their lives and commented: “But you had it so easy!”    Very seldom is this true. Everyone comes through a lot of battles and struggles. We may go to our great-grandmother and lament: “we are going through tough times.” She will pat the chair: “Sit down honey and I will tell you about tough times.”

 

Life will always be a mystery. Why do some people go through years of  tough times and emerge with a positive attitude towards life. They are not angry and destructive but embrace life with a spirit of joy and optimism. It brings them joy to know that your health and life are good. 

 

We do not deny, run away from or blot out the hard seasons of life. We ask for the strength, the wisdom and energy to work through these hard times. We also work with the help of family and friends. Many times, the strongest help these people can give is to just listen, understand and encourage. The fact that they stand by us in this stormy phase of life is strength enough to continue. 

 

This is where the power of our faith comes in. We do not walk through this life as a solitary figure. We live and walk with the risen Christ. This is especially evident when the storms of life battle our sense of security. We need to cry out in prayer to ask for help from the Spirit of God. This is not a stop-gap effort but a sincere turning to the help and courage that Jesus can give us. We need a strong hand to get through this suffering and confusion. We sincerely cry out for guidance and assistance.

 

Today there are parents and spouses pleading to God for an end to the addictive lifestyle of their nephew or their spouse. “This insanity must stop.” They need all the help they can get to see some light at the end of the dark tunnel. Their prayer is one of a painful, sincere ples for help.

 

The wise teachers of our faith have always directed us to bring our sufferings and struggles to the cross of Jesus. Tie your anger and frustration, your cry for help to the cross of Jesus. Boldly ask for the help that you need to get through this suffering season of life.

 

That simple road sign speaks truth to our life. There will be frustrations, betrayals and let- downs.  In prayer bring them to the very foot of the cross. Get us through these “frustrations.”