Two Cents Worth – Good News for November 9

Yesterday’s gospel reading is worthy of repeating…

Mark 12:38-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, ”Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, ”Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

The Daily Path: Have you read about the 97-year old homeless woman in Southern California who lives in a SUV with her two sons? Each night she sleeps in the front seat. I recently attempted to do the same and it was one of the most uncomfortable, sleepless nights I have ever experienced. I can’t imagine having to do it every night… or at her age. She and her sons live on government subsidies and whatever they can gather begging on the streets. They are trying to find Section 8 housing where they can all live together, however, guidelines for subsidized housing make that difficult.

Joseph found refuge for his pregnant wife Mary in a stable. Our Lord was born in the most unsavory of conditions, yet we have no record of any discontent. The family of three had a roof over their heads for the night and was together.

As I reflect on these two examples, and the gospel, I’m again reminded that there is only ONE plan. And the only road home leads through complete trust in God and unconditional surrender to Him. It’s not easy. I keep trying and trying, only to trip again and again. But it wasn’t easy for a widow who offered up the only money she had in the world, nor is it easy for an old woman that spends each night cramped in the front seat of the vehicle that she calls home.

Room to Chat: Lord, I am not worthy, but teach me to accept your plan and always see the abundance you provide in my life.

Master of Light – Good News for November 7

Luke 16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

The Daily Path: Here is a reflection that I’d like to share from Fr. Richard Rohr’s book Hope Against Darkness.

“There is a darkness that we are all led into by our own stupidity, by our own selfishness, blindness, or by just living out of the false self. And there is a darkness that I believe God leads us through for our own enlightenment. In both cases, we have to walk through these dark periods by brutal honesty, confessions, surrenders, letting go, forgiveness, and often by some necessary restitution, apology or healing ritual. I still hear of Vietnam vets who feel they must go back to Vietnam and help some Vietnamese children to be healed.

Different vocabularies would have called these acts of repentance, penance, mortification, dying to self, or ego stripping. By any account it is major surgery and surely feels like dying (although it also feels like immense liberation). We need help and comfort during these times. We must let ourselves be led by God and also by others. But how can we know the light if we’ve never walked through the darkness?”

My Horn of Plenty: Having a plateful of anxiety isn’t something that I would have thought to include on my list of bountiful gifts, but perhaps it should be. As Richard Rohr shares, how can I ever know the true light without experiencing the darkness. Perhaps seeing this side of my abundance is another step towards emerging on the other side of darkness, cleansed in the light.

Room to Chat: Merciful Father, lead me through the darkness to Your light.

What Shall I Do? – Good News for November 6

Luke 16:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’

The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’

He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’

Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”

The Daily Path: During these difficult days, many are asking themselves “What shall I do, now?” I know, because I’ve heard the question veiled behind the words used by my neighbors to describe their current situations and worries. I also know because I’m one of them.

Like the steward in Jesus’ parable, I’ve somehow lost the confidence and expertise I once possessed that enabled me “to dig”. Although this sudden handicap has terrified me no end, I also recognize that this is “the Masters” doing. God has shaken me up for reasons I can’t fully understand; yet I believe that there is a plan in all of this… God’s plan. Perhaps the skills I once used to dig aren’t the ones that God wants me to use now.

Earlier this week while I should have been savoring a wonderful experience with good friends, their company actually had me feeling very low as I reflected on the success I once enjoyed working with them (and now see that in some ways I had unwisely taken for granted). Yes, dear friends, I’m ashamed to say that in the midst of one the most spectacular places on earth, I was having a little pity party. Yet in those low moments I was also blessed with the sudden ability to vividly see and actually feel the magnificence of what God has created around us. These seemingly conflicting moments proved a reminder that all things are possible for God. If I am a child of God then I am also in His plan and an integral part of this abundant magnificence that surrounds us.

I may not be able to use the shovel in my hands to dig the way I once did, but that is only because I’m still looking at it the same way I always have. Like the steward, I must adjust my outlook on what is before me. And in doing so, see how God now intends for me to dig.

Room to Chat: Abba, all things are possible for you. Help me, and so many others like me, to see the way ahead. Guide our hands in re-learning how to use the tools you have given us.

Guess Who Didn’t Come to Dinner – Good News for November 3

Luke 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.

The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’

The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

My Horn of Plenty: See what love the Father has bestowed on us (John 3:1) - As we enter the “holiday season” and prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord, please join me in a daily reflection on the abundance God has provided in our lives.

Father, You never closed the door on me. Instead You reached out time and again until I accepted the invitation to sit at Your feast.

Rejection Proof – Good News for November 2

John 6:37-40

Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

The Daily Path: Have you ever seen a sign posted in an establishment that reads, “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone“? I’ve never seen the sign posted at the entrance to a church, although one could argue that it’s a policy for some. I’ve never seen these words hanging in anyone’s home, yet clearly that is the case.

Perhaps if we were to see Jesus on a street corner in Manhattan, San Francisco, or even Boyceville, Wisconsin, he’d be waving one of those signs designed to get our attention at an intersection. It would read: I will not reject anyone who comes to me

My Horn of Plenty: See what love the Father has bestowed on us (John 3:1) - As we enter the “holiday season” and prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord, please join me in a daily reflection on the abundance God has provided in our lives.

Lord, you have provided me with a companion on the journey who’s willing to share the burden with only love in her heart.

Horn of Plenty – Good News for November 1

John 3:1

See what love the Father has bestowed on us…

The Daily Path: As we enter the “holiday season” and prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord, please join in me in a daily reflection on the abundance God has provided in our lives.

My Horn of Plenty: Father, you’ve given me a baby who’s beautiful eyes hold only love and a smile that warms the coldest day.