How Do You Think of Mary?

 What are some of the things you know or remember about the Blessed Mother?

 These are some of the things that have been mentioned when I asked this question to different groups this week:

 Our Lady of Guadalupe

Jesus' mom

married to Joseph

visited by angels

impetus for Jesus' first miracle at wedding feast at Cana

intercessor for us with the Divine

a woman who understands other women's concerns

a woman who is confident

 To all this I would add that Mary can be seen as a strong, grounded, self aware woman. One who is, as one author states: "empty of arrogance and selfishness, and therefore open and oriented towards the Divine in her midst".

 When we look at all the many ways we have learned about the Blessed Mother in our past, it can be both confusing and overwhelming. It seems like each nation has a particular devotion to Mary under a different honorific title. Her appearances all over the globe are wonderful and opportunities to grow in faith and holiness for us. Her messages throughout the ages from Cana to today are constant: Listen to her son, look to her son, pray for peace. But to see her only in this light is often misunderstood by others outside our faith, they perceive us as worshipping Mary, as if she were another Divine being, perhaps the feminine face of God.

 There's so much more to how we understand Mary.

We believe Mary was utterly, fully and wonderfully human and it is in her humanity that she is blessed and we find our connection to her. 

 The story of the Visitation is a wonderful example of the friendship and love between two cousins, uniquely bonded by very unexpected circumstances. One young unmarried woman and one older well past child bearing years, both suddenly surprisingly blessed by God with pregnancies that will change the course of human history: John and Jesus. When we read between the lines in Luke, we see the story of the love and care these cousins have for one another. We know now that they depend on each other at this most critical moment of their lives for support, and understanding, for friendship and comfort. Who else could possibly know what each of them were going through but the other?

 Our own lives can get very complicated, can't they? We can see how crazy things can become just watching some of our TV shows: we might identify with "Hoarders" and then need someone like Marie Kondo to help us let go of stuff...she's made a fortune teaching people how to 'declutter' their lives!

 Mary can teach us how to declutter spiritually can't she?

If we keep Jesus in the center of our lives, and choose only those things and people that connect us to Jesus, then our lives are pretty focused, pretty simple, pretty peaceful. Then our hearts have a space in them to look for and recognize the divine around every corner.

 So much of our adult faith life can be reflected in our ability to recognize the divine. Having recently taken over the parish Instagram account, I find myself every morning actively looking for some photo that calls me to a deeper sense of prayer. Who would have imagined that Instagram would be a source of prayer? But that's what I mean...if, like Mary, we empty a space in our hearts-then there's room for the Divine to take root, be nurtured and grow within us. If we are open to looking for God, then we will eventually be able to see God everywhere. Mary can teach us to see:

 God in the set of empty swings in the park, that invite us to sit and relax a bit

God in the parent holding the hand of their little one, reminding us of the divine's care for us

God in the awesome beauty of nature all around us

God in the tears of a loved one

God in the laughter of a friend fighting cancer

God in the silly moments of a work day that make you smile

God is all around us, if we have the eyes to see

 Mary, our strong, capable, incredibly self aware Mother of God, Mary "untie-r of knots", release us from our anxieties,  Mary -one who brings God to us, Pray with us, pray for us, and help us be more like you, grant us the grace to see our God around every corner.

Living Your Faith-Simple? Tough? How Difficult is this for YOU?

 In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, which we'll hear this weekend, we are reminded that we are to live in such a way as to be true to our baptismal call in thought word and deed.

Let's remind ourselves that at our baptism we were called as "Priest, Prophet and King/Queen" to be loving and humble servants of God. We are called through those roles to share our faith, to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God, as the prophet Micah teaches us. We do this every time we bring justice, love and tenderness into our world by our actions. We know that this call to King/Queen-ship is a call to humble service to our neighbors. None of this is easy.

Often times I think that living our Christian faith is a rather difficult commitment to make. It means being conscious and thoughtful in all our actions, in all our words. All the time.

On the other hand, what I hear in this letter seems pretty simple. Imitate God. The reading spells it out pretty clearly: anything like bitterness, fury, malice and anger should not be a part of our lives. I will say that as an Italian who can be rather loud when excited, I might take issue with the "shouting" example...but for the most part we are to be compassionate, loving, forgiving and kind.

On second glance, maybe not so simple. Of course we want to be all those good and virtuous things, but sometimes, many times, it can be very hard to be that good all the time!  We might be tempted to give up before we even start!

 Who do you believe God to be? What is your picture of the Divine? Some of us were raised with a rather strict and forbidding image of a creator who was somehow always looking to grade us on our behavior. There was a divine checklist with our name on it, and we tried really hard not to have too many marks against us. Jesus' whole life he tried to show us a different image of his abba, his father...as one who loved us and wanted the best for us.

 So which image do you choose to hold onto? Because the image you choose will determine your behavior won't it? If we're called to imitate God's behavior, then it's important to know how we think God acts so we can decide on our behavior.

 Is your God angry, and mean and waiting to catch you when you make a mistake? Does your God take delight in punishing you?

 Or, as we see in the Christian Scriptures over and over again, is your idea of God that of a loving parent, one who is caring and compassionate, one who teaches and encourages, one who roots for you- rejoicing in your successes and gently comforting you in your times of loss or failure?

 "Be imitators of God", "Live in love" ... on my good days of course I want to behave like this! Even on my bad days, I want this to be my vision of how I want to live my life. We want to be, as John has reminded us these few weeks, Bread for others, so that all may be fed on and full of the best of God's love and care.

 Simply put, when Jesus said he was "living bread" he was offering us a true and real connection to our God. In accepting, in eating this bread from heaven, we become what we take into our very selves. We become imitators of God. We become people who live in love.

 Let's get it together, let’s start acting like we love one another! 

How Bread Makes Us One

 How many different kinds of bread can you name?

There's White bread, whole wheat, rye and pumpernickel. There's tortillas, rolls, bagels, croissants, na'an, pita and 'pandesal' (a favorite Filipino bread)

So this idea of bread is so important in every culture, we have lots of different types of and words for 'bread'. 

This story of the feeding of the multitude is so important in our history and tradition that versions of it appears 6 times in our 4 gospels. It's so important to John, the evangelist, that scholars say he uses this instead of the Last Supper story to give example of the Eucharistic meal: that Jesus feeds us both literally and figuratively.

What is different in Johns version of this story is that Jesus is the one taking the initiative: he wants to satisfy their hunger, he distributes the food, giving us a reminder of God's immense generosity. Thousands of years later, we can listen to this story and see how it is a glimpse of what is to come at the Last Supper: Jesus takes bread, blesses it and shares it with those around him...whether that's 5000 "men" or the 12 disciples gathered around that table.

 What does this mean for us today?

Whenever I reflect and pray about Eucharist I am always reminded of a question I heard so many years ago, that really haunts me: Am I a changed person, a different person, after I've received Eucharist? And if I'm not...why not?

 In John's account of this story, Jesus is seen at the service of his people. He recognizes their hunger, their need and looks to satisfy them.

Just like in the foot washing, we see a humble Jesus stooping to offer food to the crowd and kneeling to gather up the leftovers so nothing is wasted. And even though the story counts "5000 men" were fed, we know from the other accounts there were women and children there as well, even if they weren't counted, or in the eyes of some, "didn't count".

 Everyone mattered to Jesus that day on that mountainside.

He didn't discriminate between the folks who were there to hear him and the folks who were there looking for miracles:  they were all hungry and they all needed to be taken care of.

 What about us? How do we treat folks? I know we like to think we are welcoming and inclusive, both in our own lives and as a parish.

Some days we're really good at this aren't we?

Other days maybe we falter a little. Sometimes it seems to take a lot of effort to go out of my way to welcome someone at Church who I don't know.

Sometimes I can choose to be a real wallflower.  But oh! When I do get out of my own way and greet someone else, it's like the sunshine coming out after the rainstorm! The other person is so thrilled (most times!) to have someone recognize their presence and is happy to enter into the moment!

 Some days I just challenge myself to get over it...like at the lemonade stand when it's so much easier to catch up with the folks I already know, and miss for not having seen them in a while, but it's more important to say hello to the folks who are brand new and looking for a church home!

 Sometimes I ask myself what I'm afraid of...sometimes it is that someone looks mentally unstable and I should move to a different subway car, but sometimes it's just that someone dresses differently from me, or is playing music I may not really want to hear...but they're not doing anything wrong, so I need to check my attitude.

 I learned a lesson from a young man whose name I'll never remember, but whose story lives with me forever. I was volunteering in a small, poor parish (St Mary of the Angels in Egleston Square, one of the best parishes EVER!)  in the worst neighborhood in the worst neighborhood in Boston in 1987-8. Working with the youth group a young black teen explained to me that I would never understand what it was like to walk into a store and have security follow me around because it was assumed that I was there to steal something, not to shop. He's right, I'll never understand that. But I remember it every time I start to make an assumption about someone who looks different from me, and I pause to assess what I'm thinking and why I'm thinking that. Then I try to move on in a spirit of peace.

 And sometimes, because of what I've been taught along the way, I might just offer an affirmation to someone who crosses my path during the day: "love what your t-shirt says" or "what a beautiful color that is!" Most folks appreciate a compliment I'm learning.

 The story of the feeding of the 5000 can be seen as a foreshadowing of the Last Supper and the gift of Jesus' very self to us. Eucharist means we are all one in Christ. Do you believe that? If you do believe this - do your actions give witness to what you say you believe?

 May God help us be bread for one another today.

 

What Did He Say?

 Don’t you wonder why this crowd in the synagogue didn’t recognize Jesus' wisdom as he preached in front of them? The fact that they had known him his whole life should have been an asset, not a hindrance to their seeing and understanding his gifts and talents. I guess they could only see the poor carpenter in front of them, not the many he had become. From their privileged place in the synagogue, they could only look down on him. You and I certainly would have recognized Jesus' authority in our midst right? We never look down on those who are different from us!

Isn’t it also true that most times we just don’t see what we don’t want to see?

We are an anti racist church….at least that’s what our banner outside our church doors proclaims.

I’m very proud of the fact that we have this brand new banner, a gift from our Catholic Anti Racist Parish Collaboration partners hanging at our entrance. I posted a photo on Facebook. Within the first hour after posting on social media, someone from a former parish asked me, in private, why we needed to hang this declaration of our anti racist status. 

This is a really good question, and it opens the door for at least the beginnings of a difficult but much overdue conversation in our church. And I do mean OUR church of St Francis de Sales. Yes, we need to have this conversation everywhere, including with our family and friends. Sadly though we need to have this conversation in our church too.

In one of our earlier Pop Up Theology nights, I believe it was Dr Jeanine Hill Fletcher who spoke with us about racism in the church institution. Now I have been a church nerd my whole life and I want to believe that as often as possible my church has been on the right side of history. It is amazing to me as I think about this, that I have been compartmentalizing things my whole life to make this fit work. 

From the Crusades to the Troubles in Ireland and our current, constant warring in the Middle East, the HOLY LAND for Pete’s sake!! We have used religion as a weapon to hurt one another. 

Over the last few years and especially after the death of our brother George Floyd, and our sister Breona Taylor, we CHURCH were forced to face the reality of our corporate sin. We have been, for a very long time, a very racist church. The example that Jeannine shared with us absolutely shook me to the core. It was a story her mother told her, one that her family lived through while she was a youngster in Chicago. 

It happened that there was a house for sale in the vicinity of their parish church, somewhere in Chicago I’m going to guess this was in the late 50’s early 60’s….

The parish community was adamant that they didn’t want a Black family to move into the neighborhood, and so it was agreed that the parish would buy the house in order to prevent a family of color from doing so. Not only does this make me so incredibly sad, it makes me angry, ashamed and wonder why my parish in Wantagh bought that house on the corner just outside their property in the 70’s. Did we really need that extra building, or was something else at play?

Once that door is open, once I start to question what we’ve done in the past...well, then the ball is just rolling downhill...it’s not just about how we treat persons of color in our churches…

Someone was telling a story last week and mentioned that young persons seem to realize that the CHURCH has difficulty dealing with human sexuality in a healthy way…? Well THAT'S not a newsflash! Women in our church and in our civilizations are treated as second class citizens because NO ONE in our UNIVERSE has learned how to deal with human sexuality in a healthy way! Issues of gender and attraction and how we should dress and who we should love are more confounding to us now than ever. The church doesn’t get a pass on this...if we say religion has love, true love as its cornerstone, than we need to preach the truth that LOVE IS LOVE….and that’s it!

Scripture doesn’t say WHAT Jesus was preaching about that day in the synagogue. As I contemplate this, I’ve come to the conclusion that he was most likely saying something the assembly didn’t want to hear, something like GOD LOVES ALL OF US NO MATTER HOW DIFFERENT WE ARE FROM ONE ANOTHER ...and that was something they just weren’t ready to accept, and especially not from the carpenter's son.

A friend of mine posted something on FB that makes racism a bit more understandable: 

And I quote:

Imagine a guy who hates disabled people builds a hotel, so he banns all disabled people, and builds it in such a way as to specifically make access difficult for them. Years later he sells the hotel to a new owner who has no problem with disabled people. So you have a hotel where the owner has no problem with the disabled, and neither do any of the staff...however due to the actions of the previous owner, the hotel is still build in such a way that it doesn’t accommodate them (no disabled parking, no ramps, no extra considerations, etc) So although the people currently running it are not actively discriminating, they are operating a system designed to discriminate, and need to fix it even if they aren’t to blame for it.

It’s the same with racism. The discriminatory practices of the past still have ramifications today, and even if we aren’t  to blame for them we must recognize them.

As I understand it, this is what ANTI racism means. We acknowledge that this sin has been a part of our broken history...in our world and in our church, and we pledge that now that we know this, we will work to ‘fix our hotel’ if you will, change the way we act in the world: towards persons of color, towards women, towards the LGBTQ+ community….towards any one who we perceive as different from ourselves.

Is this easy, NO. But who ever said living out our Christian values was easy.

This gospel ends with Jesus being disappointed, stunned by the lack of faith of his community. So much so that he couldn’t work many miracles in their midst.

I am proud of our banner outside. My prayer for us is that this banner will lead us into the uncomfortable conversations that will allow our God to be proud of the people we are struggling to be, our best versions of ourselves, and that with our cooperation and faith, God will be able to create room for so many miracles for our world.

A Different Point of View

 Are you a beach person? I know I am! There's nothing like the beach to calm me down and help me sort out all that's going on in my life. The beach absolutely soothes my soul. Some writers have said that the sea is a 'liminal space', a place for growth and change. I know with every fiber of my being, that is true for me!

 I love when our gospel stories take place on a beach! Who doesn't like a boat ride after a long day of work? It's not by accident that Jesus invites his friends to "cross to the other side" of the water with him. This might remind them of their own ancestors crossing through the Red Sea in search of freedom from slavery. Might Jesus be inviting them to free themselves from the doubts and worries that bind them?

 We wonder, why did Jesus fall asleep in the boat...how tired was he? And why, as the trip got more treacherous, wasn't he up front helping his friends bail water out of the boat? How could he be so calm that he stayed asleep?

 It could be that falling asleep might be seen as the ultimate sign of trust in God-Jesus had no worries, he knew they would be OK. The fishermen disciples as yet, have no idea who Jesus really is, so how could they be expected to be calm? From their perspective, everyone was supposed to be working to save the ship....and this carpenter dude was not pulling his weight! They can be forgiven for their lack of faith, because they didn't yet understand.  It's OK if we're not always sure....it's OK if we're on the way...some days, most days, we don't fully understand. We are works in progress, just like those first disciples!

 Only God has control over the sea and the storm, so this is the dawning of the disciples understanding that Jesus is more than a good preacher...they see for a fleeting moment, the divine in him. Can you imagine how amazed they must have been? They must have been filled with awe.

Their amazement, though, needs to deepen into real faith. Like the mustard seed last week, time will help their faith grow.

 How many of us wonder what is going to happen for the Catholic Church in the days to come? For the last year and a half folks have gotten very comfortable sipping coffee on their couches on Sunday mornings and watching Mass on YouTube. Will we find a reason to go back to sharing Eucharist and worshiping together in a church building? Do we think we still need a parish community to help us live out our faith? Do we need the institutional structure that oversees the Catholic church? All really serious and important questions for us to ponder.

 God continues to be with us in our Church, despite our failings and sinfulness, even if we don't know what the future holds! Will the church of the future be better or worse than today? I hope with all my heart it will be better, stronger, more devoted to discipleship! We don't know, but in faith, we trust it WILL be here in some form and God will still be in charge!

 From where we stand on the other side of the beach, what is our perspective? Are we open to transformation, both personally and as a church community?  Are we filled with wonder and awe at what God can do, or are we afraid?

The story of Jesus falling asleep on the boat isn't about Jesus ignoring the danger around the boat, but rather, this story is about inviting us to 'the other side' so we can see both him and the world in a different way. From this new perspective, this new horizon, what do you see? Now that you've seen a glimpse of the divine, how will you live your life differently? 

Moments of Bliss

 I love the parables, I love imagining what “the kingdom of God” is like….but I must admit, I just thought that the kingdom of God referred to the idea of heaven….the idea of the ‘fullness of time’…but it seems I was wrong. Thanks to my friend Alice for encouraging me to look more carefully at the Scripture and what it might mean. According to scripture scholars the idea of the kingdom of God does NOT refer to a place like heaven, but rather a TIME when “God’s power for good is fully manifest in the world and evil is defeated”. In listening to the first parable our take away is that this kingdom of God grows most often when we don’t even know how, until, at some point we might see some of its growth or it’s fruit!

I try to imagine what that might be like, the best I can come up with is perhaps those fleeting moments of bliss when you have a sense that everything, for just this instance, is just right:

the warmth of the sun on your face after too many rainy cloudy days;

witnessing the laughter on your sisters face, the kind that makes her throw back her head and shakes her whole body, after so many years of sorrow;

the sense of peace and joy in your heart after a job well done or a day well spent;

 Part of the fragility of this idea is the knowledge that this peacefulness won’t last forever, at least not now, because this isn’t heaven (as my aunt used to say often). We learn to see and treasure these moments, recognize them as little bits of perfection, and hold them in our hearts. They strengthen us on the journey.

The second parable of the mustard seed speaks to us of the power of HOPE. We absolutely know that little things mean so much. We don’t often know, like ripples on the water when we skip a stone, we don’t know how even our smallest actions can effect others.

In trying to think of an example of this, I struggle. But that makes sense and proves my point: we DON’T know how our actions affect others….and that’s OK. Years later when someone said to me: “It meant so much to me when you came with me to chemo…” that’s a kingdom of God moment, isn’t it?

When I am the receiver of the kindness, well, that I can recognize…I know how lovely it was when a colleague brought me a glass of ice coffee, or a younger person offered me that last seat on the uptown local at the end of a long day. It makes me wonder if I ever did that for someone else?

As I struggle to find examples of Kingdom of God moments, I sadly recognize that it’s way easier to name the exact OPPOSITE of this: I can name easily moments of hurt and evil…whether I’ve been the one to commit the sin, or the one who was hurt by the sin of another.

When we speak badly about someone else’s character,

When we spread rumors or untruths,

When we engage in behavior that is hurtful to others

When we go out of our way to make someone else uncomfortable

When we don’t do an  honest days work

These are moments that reflect our broken humanity and our weakness, our sinfulness: the total opposite of what we long for in the kingdom of God.

Our challenge today is to live our lives in such a way that we celebrate many more moments of bliss, of love, and laughter, and fewer of those less than shining moments…

Luckily for us, God is all loving and merciful…God forgives us even when we hurt one another, if we are truly sorry. Do we even recognize the need for our own contrition and repentance?

The mustard seed is a parable of hope: we CAN grow and we CAN be better! Do we WANT to work towards that?

My prayer for us today is that we may create and celebrate many more Kingdom of God moments for ourselves and our world!

Go!!

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations!

Jesus is pretty clear in this gospel….there is not a lot of wiggle room...he orders his followers to GO OUT and share the good news with the world.

Thanks to the Spirit they received at Pentecost, they have the courage to do so.

 What does this mean for us in May 2021?

 I’m pretty sure none of us likes the idea of picturing ourselves as a street corner preacher in NYC ranting about “Jesus is coming, get ready!!” Type of thing…

 You’ve heard it said I’m sure many times, the best way to preach is by our actions, not by our words.

 We’ve reminded ourselves often, especially here at St Francis specifically, about the real way the Mass ends on Sunday: Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord...Go OUT!!

We’re not supposed to stay here in church all week, we’re supposed to live our faith, in our particular circumstances, we’re supposed to LIVE JESUS, on 96th St and beyond, by our example…

 What does that really look like in concrete terms:

 For the last year we’ve participated in Black Lives Matters protests in memory of George Floyd...faith in action looks like that!

 It looks like reusable straws that help protect our environment…

 It looks (and maybe smells…)like… composting….helping out in a community garden...

 It looks like moving over in your seat on Sunday to make room for someone else who’s just coming back to church again after a year of watching Mass at home, on line…or giving up your seat on the bus…

 It looks like a gentle conversation or a cup of coffee with someone who needs a break from caring for a loved one at home

 It can look like one friend listening to another when she’s just found out she’s lost her job...again…

 It surely means being involved and informed about elections and representation in community issues, even on “off year elections”...are you planning on voting on June 22? If not, why not?

What does it mean for YOU to LIVE your faith out loud? To LIVE JESUS in your part of the world?

Yes, living out our faith is hard, especially in a multi cultural environment-when everyone around us has the right and responsibility to live out their faith in their own particular way…

 A particular concern for us Catholics can sometimes be...do we know enough about OUR faith to be able to feel confident in a conversation with those of other faiths…? How many times with friends and family, do we feel like we are ill equipped to speak about what we believe, what Catholics do and why we do it? 

 If we feel like this...if we wish we knew more about the gift of our Catholic faith...what are we doing to better ‘equip ourselves’ for those conversations? When was the last time you read an article or attended a pop up theology gathering, or viewed one of the many many excellent videos on our media page? 

 So, I guess this gospel for Trinity Sunday lays down a challenge for us: if we are to Go out and share our faith with others...we need to know our faith better ourselves. We are so lucky that St Francis, our faith home, provides us with so many ways and opportunities to understand better what our Catholic faith is about and the many ways we can live and witness Jesus each day. With St Francis de Sales, Patron of journalists, as our patron and namesake, we continue to take advantage of each and every method of social media available to us, to learn more about and share our faith with one another and the world around us.

Today I invite you to take a look at something we’ve put up on our social media: an article on FB, a video on our website, challenge yourself to learn a little bit more today about what your faith means to you. Think about how you want to live your faith more authentically and...GO OUT and do it!