Tag: Deanna Bartalini

The Letter of James is short and to the point on how we are to behave. There are points made about anger, the word of God and action. However, as I read it, I came to see that it is about listening. And listening well. We are exhorted to be hearers and then act on what we have heard. If we do not, we risk deluding ourselves into thinking we are someone we are not. We also risk leading others astray if they know we call ourselves Catholic without behaving as such.

James reminds us repeatedly to look to the word, learn it and live it. When we immerse ourselves in Scripture, we put on the mind of Christ. Only then can we respond as He does to a world in chaos. Of course, we do this as well as possible given that we are not Jesus but His follower. As people of faith, we can call on Him to help us be better in a world that is in desperate need of healing. Our behavior- how we treat people, speak to others, care for those in need – that is what people notice. It is the doer of the word who reaches out who is helping to heal the world.

As in the Gospel though, sometimes healing comes slowly. And we may lack patience, faith, or trust. The blind man’s friends wanted something good for their friend. Jesus wants our good. Do you wonder why the man’s friends are mentioned? I think it is to remind us that we are meant to have and be community. And it is in community that we need to follow what James tells us to do. 

As you go about your day, think about how you can take the words of the First Reading and put them into practice. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.”

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The last line of the Gospel, “all the people were hanging on his words’ (Luke 19:48b) strikes me as a very good way to live. Hanging on the words of Jesus. Jesus cleansing the temple area to make the point that he has the authority to do so. The temple is a place of prayer and worship of God. Once he leans out the temple, he proceeds to teach every day and the people paid attention. Not a little bit of attention, but full attention.

Now think about yourself for a minute. Do you pay that much attention to what Jesus says? Since you are reading a reflection on the daily Gospel, I will say you probably pay more attention than the average person. Let me say this, the people are paying attention to Jesus because he speaks with authority and authenticity unlike the other leaders of the day. I think we have a similar problem in our day. 

The next question is, do you do what Jesus says to do? Are you a Christian who can speak with both authority and authenticity? In my own life, I have taken “live not lukewarm” as my personal mission. I do not always succeed, but I try to be authentic in all that I do and say in my life and ministry. I look at Scripture as a starting point, each day I read the Gospel, listening for the word I can hang onto for the day, the words that help me with a problem or that I can tell another person to help them. Sometimes the words convict me of how I am not doing what Jesus teaches and I am called to repent. Each day, there is the Word, and each day it can help us live out our faith. It is not enough to know; we are called to live out what we know. When we do that, we help bring about the Kingdom right here and now.

So today, go back and read the Gospel again, answer this question, what word of Jesus can you hang onto today?

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Do you ever have those days when you wish Jesus would return – now? The world often seems like it is permanently opposite day where right is wrong, up is down and near is far. And in these verses of Luke, we hear another opposite posed to us, with a caveat. If the master returns and the servants are doing as they ought to be doing, they will be waited upon by the master.

Jesus is turning people’s world upside down. He is showing us in this passage that when he comes, life will be different. Indeed, he showed us this in his public ministry, yet many chose not to believe, not to follow him. Jesus turned the world upside down; his passion, death and resurrection allow us to know, love and serve God and one day enter heaven.

Do we allow Jesus to turn our world upside down? That’s a serious question. To me, it means, have I given all to him, have I surrendered? One day, while contemplating Scripture, I wrote, “to know Christ is above all things so that losing all things does not matter.” Okay, not the best grammatical sentence, but when I came across it again, I realized that is a spiritual goal for me. He is above all things, all people – Jesus is the Master. And yet, if we are doing the work we are created to do when Jesus comes, we will be waited on by him. 

When we contemplate what our own vigilant waiting looks like, it helps to remember that whatever we give up for Jesus we receive back more than we can imagine. It may not be here in this world, but it will be given to us when we need it the most. In God’s time. And so now we wait on God’s perfect time, for Jesus to return. We do not know when, but let us keep our eyes on the Lord and our minds, bodies and souls alert in vigilant waiting, out of our great love for God. 

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I’m not going to lie, which is good considering I’m writing a reflection on the word of God! I had to look up these verses in the Sacra Pagina commentary. These verses have long perplexed me. Why doesn’t Jesus want the woman to compliment his mother? Jesus loves his mother. As always, there is another layer to his response, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11:28) Some translations say “keep” rather than “observe” which I prefer as it is more direct and clearer.

It is about what we do. Liking Jesus, thinking he’s a good person, serving him when it is convenient – not enough. Our response, in our day to day living out of his word is what we are to be about in this life. As Christians, we follow Christ. Following though, is not as easy as it sounds, but you know this. The world we live in could be the world Joel prophesied to in the First Reading. “The heavens and the earth quake, but the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the children of Israel.” (Joel 4:16b) The world is shaking, down to its core and there will be judgment. But God is our refuge and Jesus leads us to the Father as the Word made flesh. 

We hear the word of God and when we live it out with humility and kindness, fear and trembling, we know the LORD is our refuge. The world calls us to take refuge in it, not God. When I pray about taking refuge, I am often convicted that I try to find meaning in social media or mindless entertainment. Are these pastimes sinful? Maybe. Each of us must answer that for ourselves with the help of the Word we read and desire to observe. 

In the end, and yes, I mean the end end, we will be judged. My desire is to be found blessed that I heard and observed the word of God. That is what Jesus calls us to, not compliments. 

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Last. Who wants to be last? When I was in elementary school, I was not very athletic; well, that hasn’t changed much to be honest. At any rate, when it was time for games in the schoolyard during recess (yes, I just aged myself), I was often picked last or very close to last. At home, it seemed I was also last because I was the oldest and could wait while my younger brothers and sister could not. Yet here I read the words of Jesus, the greatest, the first shall be last and the servant of all. And I think, servant, really? I have education, experience, knowledge about our faith and the Church… and, and, and…

“So what?” That’s what I hear the Holy Spirit say to me, as well as, “what is the point of what you know if you are not willing to do for others?” Our example is Christ himself. For many years I worked in parish ministry. One of my foundational beliefs about asking others to serve in ministry was to not ask people to do something I was unwilling to do myself. In other words, if the kitchen needed to be cleaned, I didn’t watch the kitchen crew work, I helped clean. For me, there was no saying, “That’s not my job.” Now, compared to what Christ did for us, dying on a cross, I realize cleaning the kitchen is not the same. What is the same though, is the humility we are called to in life and in our vocation. While the circumstances of our life may change, we are always called to humility, called to serve, called to put ourselves last. And we are to do it out of love. 

Now, you may think, “Why do I need to serve and be last? What about other people?” We are all called to serve in the way that we are uniquely called and gifted. The ideal is for each of us to live out our unique calling with others who are doing the same so that what happens is we care for each other. No one person is asked to bear more than is reasonable. Yes, it is an ideal. Can it happen? Possibly with a shift in attitude and behavior. If we were to take Jesus’ words to heart and start living them out, it can happen. And of course, the first person to start is me. That is humility and service, putting the Gospel into practice. That is the way to live not lukewarm.

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Today’s readings are full of instructions on how to live and love and be rewarded. St. Paul starts by giving us a list of virtues he invites us to “put on” and then cover them with love. Why? Because we are God’s chosen ones. We are chosen by God to be followers of His; to believe in His Son, Jesus and to live a life full of his goodness. But we often fail. In my own life there are days when I fail a little bit and days when I fail miserably. Do you ever feel like you don’t want to be around yourself? That’s what I mean by failing miserably to live as God asks and as Jesus tells us in the Gospel.

We are to love; not condemn, not judge, not hold the good we do for others over them. As Jesus points out, we are held to a higher standard because we believe in him. And so, if we say we love Jesus and are his follower, we must behave in the ways he instructs us. If we look at this passage from Luke, we see that it will not be easy to do what Jesus is asking. However, Jesus showed us how to do it. His passion and death point us to the ultimate sacrifice. And after the sacrifice comes the reward. Jesus’ death shows us mercy. He died for us while we were still sinners, which is mercy. Where would we be without mercy?

When I am failing at loving I try to recall the endless mercy I have received and then ask if I am sharing that mercy? Sometimes it is hard to be merciful and loving. The reasons vary, but I’m going to propose that it happens when our tank is empty. If there is an inability on your part to share God’s love and mercy, may I suggest 2 things: confession and praying with Scripture. Start with the today’s readings, read a few verses, and then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what is good and what is lacking. Go through the a few verses each day and write out what you hear, what stirs you, what convicts you. Remember, when we are convicted of wrong, it is so we can right it, not be shamed by it. This prayerful reading with Scripture will help you re-focus and be refilled and reminded of all Jesus has done for us. And then, we will be able to live out what Jesus asks us to do in the Gospel.

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Is Jesus asking us to renounce all our worldly goods? Maybe. Jesus suggests the ideal, give up house and family and land for his name. He certainly would like us to be less attached to them in return for the promise of eternal life. Jesus wants us to know the ideal and do our best to live it out. And we live it out in the world, with families and jobs and things we need and use. How do we use our worldly goods? Do we take care of them and keep them in their proper place? For example, when it’s time to consider purchasing a new car do you want the latest and greatest model with all the possible upgrades, never considering purchasing an older or used model? 

Or how about that smartphone? Is it traded in every time you can upgrade, or do you use it until it is necessary to purchase a new one?

Let’s face it, we live in a world where consumerism can be a way of life and this will not help us get to heaven. St. Ignatius taught frequently about detachment, not only from things but from desiring specific outcomes. In the Spiritual Exercises, he offers these thoughts, “I desire and choose poverty with Christ poor rather than wealth; contempt with Christ laden with it rather than honors. Even further, I desire to be regarded as a useless fool for Christ, who before me was regarded as such, rather than as a wise or prudent person in this world.” (Spiritual Exercises #167)

St. Ignatius was not the only saint to suggest we give up the trappings of the world; St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Maximillian Kolbe – the list is really endless, since all saints give up themselves for the greater good of the glory of God.

This is the question this Gospel raises in me; am I holding on so tightly to my things, my needs, my desires that I am missing what God wants to give me? Consider that as you go about your day and see what happens. And, if you’d like to chat about it, email me.

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