Thursday, February 4, 2010

FIFTH WEEK IN ORDIANRY TIME



....they recognize Him, there is excitement...no one seems to be standing still. Everyone is running about , new hope has come. They who only a short time before walked around with their shoulders down and no light in their eyes are now too busy to worry..they must bring their sick.
A minute ago their eyes were on the ground wondering what to do with their loved one lying sick...the weight of the sickness was heavy on their shoulders..they came into contact with Him and they could look up once again.
The Master must have been happy. Tired, hungry, looking forward to an evening on the mountain with His Father. His shoulders were slouched from a long day, his eyes were blurred by fatigue, now with the crowds new life..
The give and take of hope...they who receive hope from someone in the act of receiving give to the one who has given them new life. Hope is not static but dynamic, hope is not only giving but receiving because if we do not receive we can never give.


Tues. Mrk.7:1-13...what are the traditions of men which set aside the commandments of God. He could see the burdens being placed on His people..he could see them being led astray. They were being told this is the “way to please God” but it wasn’t. They were being given a doctrine not from God but from man...the Master saw and said “No”....it is the law of God which shall guide my people.
These “human precepts” what are they? He thought that in years to come their will be those who will point a finger at the Church and its teaching and say : they are just human precepts. We do not have to obey them because they are not from God. Then they turn and obey the “human precepts” given to them by the newspapers, TV, they obey these words. Right and wrong are no longer taught by God but rather by every fancy and new fad which comes along.
. The washing of the hands is the outward conformity..there will come an age when conformity to those around will be more important than what My Father says. There will come a time, He thought as He looked at the scribes and Pharisees when there will be others doing the same to His people.
They will say this is right and this is wrong...and the light of the human heart will be put out. It will be a time of coldness under the guise of warmth, it will be a time of individualism covered with the mantle of community, it will be a time when all proclaim “life”, but death will be the culture. There will come a time, He thought, when once again the coverings will have to be scraped off and the law of God be allowed to shine its light on the hearts of people.

Wed. Mrk.7:14-23...His message is for all people....His message is the one which sets aside other laws only to replace them with the wide vision of the fields of God’s love.. He must constantly remind people that God’s love is not determined by what humans do.
It is the heart which is important. That which is external cannot prevent the heart from reaching to the absolute boundaries of its potential. That which is external must not be a wall to those who are searching for the Way. The heart must be allowed to breathe the clean, fresh air of God’s kingdom. The newness of what He is preaching cannot and must not be clouded by the words “ this is the way it has always been”. It is the heart which must be touched...it is the habits of the heart which must be molded, it is the heart which is judged and at the same time the judge.

Thurs. Mrk.7:24-30...a woman helps Him understand His mission...it is for the children that I have come..they shall get the food first. That is normal. But this woman , she is not one of the children, she is from outside. He can not give her the food....but she reminds Him of the dogs
under the table..yelping for the scraps ....but if He give to her the reason He came into the world will be made wider than He first thought. The boundaries will be done away with, if He gives her the food her argument will fade because she will no longer be a “dog” but one of the “children”...did His Father put this woman here to teach me who He is? To teach Him who His message is for?
This woman who is suffering so much because of her daughter has broadened His vision, she has taught Him she has, yes, made Him change His mind. She has made Him grow.
Will those who come after me, He thought, follow my example and be open to be taught by those around them? Will they let the vision of their vocation be widened to the fullness of its potential or will they be satisfied by the narrow, by the comfortable? How happy I am that completeness of who I am has been opened up to me.

Fri. Mrk.7:31-37...He continues among the Gentiles...He has to emphasize that His mission is much wider than even He originally had thought it to be. The woman had opened his eyes. He went to this land of the Gentiles. What would He find? It did not hold Him back. The word had to be preached. Would they stone Him? Would they turn their backs on Him? He was a Jew, how would they welcome Him? These are questions which the disciples asked, the Master did not. What word should we put to the way He went about the task of preaching ..courage, commitment, determination, with one heart, obedience, all of these, perhaps, but covered with the mantle of love for all. All, with the center being the desire to call all people to His Father.
He must have been surprised...how did the word about Him get here. They brought the sick...yes the same hope dwells in the hearts of all people. The desire for wholeness, to be cured lives deeply within all hearts. It goes far beyond all the boundaries, limitations which humans may think of. No mention is made of belief, just the unconditional giving of the Lord. His love is one way, but it always invites the response.
His hands, they touched they cured. They brought about what He meant the people to see. As soon as His power touched them the remains of sin disappeared. He did not ask: how much do you believe? The man’s pleading and pitiful sight was enough.
An alcoholic who does not believe is desperate. He wants so much to be freed from the sickness which has enslaved him for so many years. He is willing to try anything. A friend tells him about a group of people who pray for sick people. Some marvelous things have happened in the group. At first he is reluctant. He does not believe but is willing to try anything. He goes to the meeting, the people pray for him. It has been almost nine years now and he has not had a drink. The same hands that touched the deaf-mute came and touched him.

Sat. Mrk.8:1-10...Pity, a word so full of meaning. It may be used in an improper way , a condescending way, a way which looks at others in an almost less than human way...to see the horrible condition into which someone’s life may have fallen and to feel with them. Is that the sole meaning of pity? Is there a deeper meaning to the word? Does pity spring from a part of the human heart which is so difficult to define, to articulate that even the one who is feeling “pity” can not say it.
Isn’t pity that emotion which speaks to the fact that we all share a common humanity? From that intuitive awareness we become bound together. Pity comes from the fact that we are together and it is usually manifested towards those who are less fortunate. It does not mean that at other times there is no pity or binding it is just that we feel it comes to the surface at these times.
He looked at the crowd and this feeling came. To show how much He is with them He fed them with bread and fishes. But these were only a sign of the greater sign of togetherness He was to give them. There is no other way, He thought, to show this being bound together, of showing how close we really are than by giving myself. The bread and fish will show that I care, but giving myself in real communion will call all to mutual pity.

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