Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 8/20

 

You can see from the image above that I'm taking on a very difficult question here - one that has no quick or easy answers.  And those answers that have been offered, have left many people unsatisfied. I'm not offering an answer in the prayer that follows - more of an exploration of a tough question whose probing, if nothing else, will lead us to ponder and pray over the inscrutable mysteries of God... 

 

I hate it, Lord,
   when bad things happen to good people...

And, let’s face it, Lord:

   bad things happen to good people

      a lot, even often - all the time…

 

And I don’t understand, Lord – WHY –

   some really bad things happen

      to some really good people

   and why sometimes

      the worst things happen

         to the best of people…

 

And I don’t understand, Lord,
   why you  – you who are so good -

why you ALLOW

   bad things to happen to good people,

things that burden and complicate

   and mess up the lives

      of people who’ve done no wrong…

I don’t understand, Lord:

   why hard times fall

      on hard workers;

   or why the rich get richer

      and the poor get poorer;

   or why innocent people

      are unjustly accused;

   or why the kindest of people

      get sick and die;

   or why so many starve

      while food is wasted;

    or while some have 2 homes

      while others are homeless;

   or why hard-working people

      lose all that they have;

   or why innocent children

      are born into poverty;

   or why the weak are bullied

      by strong-armed thugs; 

   why good folks suffer

      for no good reason

   in ways that are painful,

      undeserved and harsh…

 

So, that’s why I wonder, Lord,

   why do you let bad things happen

      to good people

   - why do you let bad things happen

      to ANY people!

 

Why do you, a loving, merciful God

   allow your people, your own, your beloved,

      to know, to experience, to live through

         their losses, suffering and pain?

 

Lord, it’s not that I think

   you’re mean or cruel:

I believe that you’re loving,

   merciful and kind…

 

And it’s not that I think

   you don’t care about me:

I believe that you hold me close

   in your arms, your hands and your heart…

And it’s not that I think

   you forget or abandon me:

 I believe you keep a watchful eye on me

   always, all day and all night…

 

But I also know, Lord,

   that I live in a broken world

a world with sharp and jagged edges

   that cut and scrape and wound and scar

      the bodies and the souls

         of the good and the bad alike

I know, Lord,

   that you’re not the source

      of my suffering and pain…

   that it’s I who fail you,

      not you who fail me…

   that you love me, Lord - all of the time -

         when I’m good – and when I’m not…

 

And I know that hard times come my way

   when I fail to love you

      and my brothers and sisters

         and when I fail to love myself;

that bad things often happen to me

   when I’m foolish, not wise

   when I’m selfish, not generous

   when I’m judgmental, not understanding

   when I’m rude, not respectful

   when I’m greedy, not generous

   when I’m angry, not peaceful

   when I’m arrogant, not humble

   when I’m spiteful, not kind

   when I’m prejudiced, not impartial

   when I’m hostile, not friendly

   when I’m demanding, not accepting,

   when I’m crude, not respectable,

   when I’m aggressive, not approachable

   when I’m rough, not gentle

   when I’m uncaring, not thoughtful

   when I’m lustful, not clean

   when I’m hardhearted, not forgiving

   when I’m reckless, not prudent

   when I’m hasty, not careful

   when I’m hateful, not loving…

 

And sometimes, Lord,

   - when others are judgmental and spiteful -

         that’s when bad things happen to me…

But at other times, Lord,

   - when it’s me who’s spiteful and judgmental

         that’s when bad things happen to others

            - and I’m the one who’s at fault…

 

But you already know all about all of this, Lord,

   because you are good, you are always good

– and yet –

   such bad things happened to you

      and for that we are all to blame…

 

You are good, Lord, loving and faithful,

   merciful, selfless, kind and just

but on account of my faults and my many sins,

   you were unjustly judged and condemned,

and you suffered and died on the Cross for me

   that I might be pardoned, forgiven by you

and have that life and find that peace

   that’s only yours to give…

Walk with me, Lord and be by my side

   when hard things come my way,

      and bad things happen to me

when I don’t understand

   my suffering and my pain

      and I turn to you for healing…

 

When bad things happen to good folks, Lord,

   when bad things happen to me:

deepen my faith in you and your word

   and give me the strength I need

to love my neighbor as myself

   and you, my God, above all…

 

Amen. 

  

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Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 8/19

 

 

Today, Lord, I choose to believe in you 
   - not to try to go it alone -
            but to believe in your loving care for me...

Today, Lord, I choose to trust in you
   - not to stress out in fear and panic -
           but to trust that you're always right by my side...

Today, Lord, I choose to live by your Word
   - not by my whims and fancies -
           but by the wisdom and truth of your Word...

Today, Lord, I choose to do what is right
   - not to shortcut my way on the easy path -
           but to do what I know to be just and fair...

Today, Lord, I choose to smile and to laugh
    - not to pout in self-pity or weep in despair -
         but to seek out what joy this new day will bring...  

Today, Lord, I choose to tell the truth
   - not to lie and cheat my way out -
           but to speak the truth in in word and deed...

Today, Lord, I choose to reach out to others
   - putting others' needs ahead of my own -
           learning to love as I want to be loved...

Today, Lord, I choose to look for the good
   - in spite of my bent to see all that's wrong - 
           and to find in what's good the touch of your hand...

Today, Lord, I choose to walk your path

     - following your map and not my own -

            'til I find you before me, behind me, beside me.. 

Today, Lord, I choose to live as I'm called

    - not for my own gain but only for you -

        and all for your glory, honor and praise...

Today, Lord, I choose what will help me to grow
   in your truth, in your grace, 
       in your peace and your joy...

Today, Lord
- I choose you!

Amen. 

Today I Choose You by Tony Elenburg

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Yesterday is gone forever,
And tomorrow's still a day away;
I can't change the things I've done,
And You alone know beyond today
What comes my way;
But in the stillness of your presence, Lord,
I'm reminded of Your grace;
The Spirit breathes assurance
That I have a choice today.

And today I choose to abide in you,
Today I choose to abide in you;
Today may be a storm like I've never seen before
But today I'll rest,
Today I'll rest,
Lord, today I'll rest in You.

 

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A late evening prayer...

My sister took this photo while we were sitting on her porch in the late afternoon looking past the hummingbird feeder and towards the mountains here in Georgetown, Colorado.  Although the feeder is a popular spot, just at this moment no one seemed to be thirsty.  I share the photo as an image of the peace and beauty that have been my surroundings since the beginning of July...

I've done little, Lord,

and surely less than I might have, 

to deserve the peace I've found here,

much less to be deemed worthy 

of this natural estate

where I've made my summer home

 

so I count it grace, pure gift, then,

a blessing and a boon,

to be welcomed to retreat here,

to this place and to this time,

to this respite from all else,  

to this moment two months long...

 

to this time, this precious time,

spent with family and with friends, 

passed in leisure and in prayer,

in the Colorado mountains, 

'neath the beauty of the clouds 

floating close by heaven's door,

where I find myself so much at peace

and closer, Lord, 

to you...

 

Amen. 

  

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If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead: whom would you invite?

    Leonard Bernstein 

waiting to have dinner with me... 

 

Have you ever been asked this question?  For decades now, I've named Leonard Bernstein as the person I'd love to have dinner with. Not just because he's a composer and I love music - but because one composition of his has held a place in my heart since the first time I heard it: MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers.

 

Bernstein's MASS  was premiered as the opening performance of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on September 5, 1971. Reviews by music, theater and church critics were very mixed. Although Catholic response was largely negative and harsh, some 30 years later Pope John Paul II requested that MASS be performed at the Vatican where it was well received.

 

MASS premiered two years before my ordination as a priest and I was immediately taken by its use of ancient liturgical texts and contemporary lyrics (Stephen Schwartz and Paul Simon contributed to Bernstein's libretto); its variety of musical genres; and the deep insights it offered into the heart of Christian worship - all from the creative genius of three Jewish musicians!

 

In the homily I preached at my first mass in 1973, I took a line from Bernstein's MASS as my central image: "How easily things get broken!" How easily God's creation has been broken... how easily humankind has been broken... how easily the human heart is broken...  how easily was the body of Christ broken, for us, that we might be healed and made whole... how humbling that in spite of and through my own brokenness I should be called to break the bread of eucharist for God's people...

 

And how I would love to have the opportunity to sit down with this maestro and seek some insight into the creative process that guided his mind, heart and soul to composing this masterpiece music, drama and faith!

 

All of this comes to mind because I recently found online a video of Bernstein's MASS which includes the score!  I've had a recording of MASS for decades but have never seen the score. I realize that most folks won't be as excited by this as I am - so I'm placing the video with the score at the end of this post.

 

But I do want to introduce you to this wonderful musical masterpiece. Recall from its title that it's a theatre piece for singers, players, and dancers. It's not a musical or a play - but it does have singers, players, dancers, a little costuming and a few props. Seeing it staged, then, is the intended experience and simply listening to the audio is, well, much less than that.  

 

Unfortunately, I've never seen MASS in a theater - and videos of the whole production are scarce.  I'm offering this one which features the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, directed by Marin Alsop and featuring Paulo Szot as the Celebrant. I have some reluctance here because this 2012 production includes some unhappy changes in the score, particularly in the Epistle section, around the 40:00 mark. (What was I saying about brokenness?)  If you choose to listen to the production here, you'll find some conversation about this in the comments on YouTube.  Other than this unfortunate issue, I warmly recommend this presentation and I believe you'll enjoy it - even be moved by it.

 

MASS: 

    A Theatre Piece for Singers, 

        Players, and Dancers.

 

If a video doesn't appear below, click here!

  

 

 

Leonard Bernstein's MASS

    With the score! 

 

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A performance by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Jubiliant Sykes singing the role of the Celebrant.  

 

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Monday Morning Offering: 8/17

Coffee in the Morning by George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Sometimes, Lord,
I feel little nudges, prompts and pokes
    - and I'm sure they come from you -
because they hit me when I need a push,
nudge me where I need to go
and prompt me on the things I need to do...

I offer thanks this morning, Lord
for all the ways you press upon my heart 

    and remind me of your presence 

and gently pull me free of fears 

    that keep me from your joy...

 

Grace - the word for all the ways

    you nudge me toward 

        your gifts of peace and love,

    your Spirit keeping, saving me

        from all the selfish folly

            of my doings and designs...

Does even one day pass
    that you don't stir within my soul,
dropping hints within my heart
    to move my mind to muse
        upon your presence all around?

Is any moment empty
    of the whisper of your wisdom
nudging me beyond myself
    to serve whom I've not served,
    to give as I've not given,
    to love as I've not thought my heart 

        could give itself away?

Poke, push, and prompt me, Lord 
    and wake me to your word;
call me to life more free
    than all I've known thus far...

Open wide my eyes and ears 

    to those whose paths cross mine,
who may not yet have felt the touch 

    of grace upon their hearts... 

Good God of Monday morning
    and of every starry night,
I pray I'll feel you nudging me
    all through the week ahead...

Amen.

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A different kind of prayer tonight... the power of flowers in jail

Many of my readers know that when I visit here in Georgetown, Colorado I join in a weekly prayer group led by my sister, Ruth, at the Clear Creek County Jail. My sister always brings along a small plastic container holding 3 or 4 blossoms (see above) which she sets in the middle of the table around which we gather.  Before we pray, Ruth always tells the men what the flowers are and invariably they pass the mini-arrangement around the table for a closer look.

Running a little late this past Thursday night we almost didn't bring any flowers - but at the last minute, my sister collected a few blooms from her front yard and then while we were waiting outside the facility for a deputy to let us in, I plucked a couple wildflowers growing at the jail's entrance and added them in.

 As the men walked into the room for prayer, we saw that there was a newcomer, a tall guy, solid build - and with long dreadlocks - I'll call him Jack. We welcomed Jack and as it happened, he took a seat near the flowers on the table. Just as we were ready to begin, Jack exclaimed - and he truly did exclaim: Are those real flowers? We said yes and he said, I haven't seen a flower in over a year - can I touch them? Then he took the small bottle in hand and carefully inspected each blossom, touching the petals oh-so-gently and sniffing the scent of something fresh, natural and beautiful.  Then Jack set the flowers down on the table - with the care one might use in handling something valuable, fragile and precious.

We can't take phones into the jail so I have no video - and my words here don't really do justice to the moment of awe and appreciation we all experienced through Jack on Thursday night.  But I wanted to post this, hoping to share with you - and invite you into - this holy moment...

Perhaps sometime today or tomorrow you might go outdoors and find something fresh, alive and beautiful and hold it gently in your hand.. and be grateful for what Jack taught us - and for what God has given us - in the simplest things of life...

In the photo at the top of the post is the small bottle my sister uses to bring flowers into the jail.  I want to share with you the partially hidden inscription: Learn from the way the wildflowers grow... Matthew 6:28

Simple Gifts

  composed by Elder Joseph Brackett 

`  performed by Yo Yo Ma and Alison Krauss  

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'Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free 

'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, 

And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. 

 

When true simplicity is gained, 

To bow and to bend we will not be ashamed, 

To turn, turn will be our delight, 

Till by turning, turning we come ’round right. 

 

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Does it matter whom you believe in? what you believe in? how you name God?

Above you'll find the audio for my homily this Sunday, based on these scriptures. (If the widget doesn't appear, click here!) And here's the text of my homily:

How often have you heard someone say,

“Well, it doesn't really matter what God you believe in… or how you name God… It doesn't really matter what you believe in - as long as you believe in something. See, I'm really spiritual, not religious.”

Ever heard people talk like that?

 

Well, all three scriptures today do highlight the universality of God. And of God's love and grace. 

 

• Isaiah reminded us that the Lord's house will be a house of prayer for all peoples. 

 

• St. Paul is clear that although his own people, the Jews have yet to accept the gospel - God's covenant with them, his chosen, is irrevocable. 

 

• And in the gospel, we find Jesus reaching beyond his own mission, his mission to the house of Israel, reaching out to a pagan woman whose plea is inspired, perhaps not so much by faith, as by personal desperation.

 

As ancient as these scriptures may be, they still speak to us today. In our own times, the universality of God's love and grace is accepted by many religions, faiths and denominations. In fact (and in addition) it's under the umbrella of the universality of God's love for us that many people gather - as they reject organized religion and its structures, its practices, its faith, beliefs, and demands.

 

How about us, about Catholics?

 

Some Catholics may be surprised to learn that while our Church claims to be the one true Church, we also firmly believe - and the catechism of the Catholic Church teaches this: 

 

• that God creates every person out of pure goodness, and he reaches out in all times and all places to those he loves.

 

• And that the human heart naturally desires God, because every human being is created by God and for God. 

 

• And that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was offered for the entirety of the human race. 

 

• And that since Christ died for all (and since all are, in fact, called to one and the same destiny, which is divine) we Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of becoming partakers - in a way known to God -partakers in the mystery of Jesus.

 

I didn't make up any of that! It's all from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's official teaching!

 

So, does it not matter, does it make no difference who or what we believe in - as long as we believe in someone or something - is that so?

 

Well, to answer that question, we need to approach it from two vantage points. First (and this isn't always easy either) we need to try to see things from God's point of view. How does God see things?

 

• God is the creator of every human being and knows every human person, every human soul, intimately - even those who don't know or acknowledge God. 

 

• God has known every human being since before all time, and God has loved every human being ever born, or to be born, regardless of what they believe or don't believe - God loves them. 

 

• And God's love for each of us and for every one of us is eternally greater than whatever we believe - or don't believe.

 

• God is love.

 

And God's love for each of us is pure gift. A gift given out of God's desire to engage us, to engage you and me, to engage each one of us in a relationship of love. God wants to be, for each of us: our BFF.

 

It's precisely this movement of love on God's part - at God's initiation at God's invitation - it's this movement that even those who don't believe in God - they sense and intuit, because, as the Catechism says, the human heart naturally desires God's love because the human heart was created, made, by God, and for God.

 

It's God's love inviting each of us that draws us either: to believe in God -or- to gather under that umbrella with those who name themselves “spiritual but not religious.”

 

And it's that same gift of God's love - showered on and sensed and intuited by all - that moves us all, prompts us all, nudges us all, impels us all - to love one another. To be kind, caring, just, honest, forgiving, and generous to our neighbor. That comes naturally to us - because we were made by and for God. It's the universal gift of God's love that draws and leads humankind (and again, even naturally so) to build and structure a society founded on the expectations, the responsibilities, and the demands that rise from love of neighbor.

 

In fact, we Christians, we Catholics, say that such love is the law by which we are called to live. And with that statement, I've crossed over to the other vantage point from which we need to try to understand the universality of God's love and grace: he vantage point of the believer's perspective.

 

There are thousands of religions, spiritualities, faiths, and beliefs in the world. But I'm a Christian, and I'm speaking to other Christians.

 

So what do I believe?

 

• I believe in one God, the creator of all things and all people - all things visible and invisible, seen and unseen. 

 

• I believe that God created me, that God created you, that God created us out of love and for love. 

 

• That God made us to know, to share, to experience, and to find joy in his love for us. And to share that love with one another, as generously and as selflessly, as all that is divine has shared itself with all that is human. 

 

• And I believe that to pierce through and to heal all the ways our hearts are deaf, blind, and insensitive to God's love, God spoke a word, of love - his word of love - and he spoke it so powerfully that it became flesh, took our flesh and blood - in Jesus - precisely so that all might see and hear and touch that love that is seeking us always - the love of God. 

 

• So I believe, we believe, in Jesus, God's word of love made flesh… Jesus who preached the gospel of his father's merciful love… Jesus who suffered and died for us - on account of our failure to love each other… Jesus who rose from the dead so that we might have life, and love, and have it to the full, and have it forever.

 

The life of Jesus - the life message, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus - the life of Jesus is God's gift to the world. It's the gift of his love. And in that gift, and with that gift, come revelations, invitations, and expectations.

• Revelations of who God is, and of God's love for us.

• Invitations to share in that love, to bathe in the mercy God's love offers us.

• And expectations of how we, God's chosen and beloved, are to love God - by loving one another and the world in which we live.

 

In just a few moments, you'll be joining me in professing all this - these very same beliefs - when we pray, the Nicene Creed. And in the Creed, we're going to say, We believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. That's the Church born of the love, the gospel, the sacrifice, the heart, the desire, of Jesus.

 

While we believe that God's love is universal, that no human being lives outside or beyond God's loving and universal embrace - we also believe that in a unique, historical, physical, personal, and unrepeatable way, God revealed himself to the world in the mystery of Jesus - who calls us to live in a community of faith… in a communion of grace… in the people of the Church… loving each other as generously and selflessly as he loved us on the Cross.

 

We Catholic Christians believe all of this is God's gift to us in Jesus who lives even now among us in the presence and the power of his Spirit. And that gift, the gift of knowing, sharing in, experiencing, finding joy, and naming God's love in Jesus, is a gift beyond compare, an unparalleled gift from God, who desires to reveal himself to us, who desires to be one with us in love.

 

It's in the light of what we've been given, what we've heard, and what we've received - that we who follow Jesus in the community of the Church can never say, can never say: It doesn't matter who you believe in. It doesn't matter what you believe in. It doesn't matter how you name your god.

 

It does matter if you're religious as well as spiritual.

 

We who know Jesus cannot say that -  so much more than that is our belief. 

 

• I'm talking about the belief that you turn to for help when you're in trouble. In grief. You're suffering loss and despair.

 

• The belief in which you find mercy, forgiveness, joy, and peace. 

 

• The belief that moves your hearts on Christmas Eve and Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and even on some occasional Saturday afternoons. 

 

• The belief that gathered us here together today.

 

• The belief for which many of our brothers and sisters, to this day, are being persecuted and even martyred around the world. 

 

• The belief that leads us to hunger for, and to find at this table, the bread and cup of the last supper - the presence of Jesus among us in the Eucharist.

 

This is the mystery of faith. This is the mystery of our faith. And so for us, it does truly matter who we believe in, what we believe in - and how we name our God who loves us and who calls and invites us - and the whole of humanity - to partake in the love of Jesus: the word of God, spoken in love, made flesh - in whom we are saved and redeemed.

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