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Family Ties / Enlaces Familiares

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Today’s reading is one that lectors fear. How do you make such a long list sound interesting? And how do you pronounce all those names? Why don’t we just skip it (as some parishes inevitably will)? What does it have to do with Mary anyway?

All excellent questions with equally interesting answers. I can’t tell you how to make the list sound interesting, unfortunately, though I’m sure there are some incredible orators out there who will do their very best. 

The questions “Why don’t we just skip it?” and “What does it have to do with Mary?” require lengthier answers. Matthew is speaking to a Jewish audience who knows their history well. The very identity of the Jewish people at this time was rooted within their connection to ancestors like David, Jacob, and Abraham. But Matthew is doing more than simply highlighting key figures in Jesus’ lineage. He is showing how God has been walking alongside His people, preparing them for the coming Messiah. Significantly, God hasn’t just been walking alongside the righteous and upright. This list is full of the good and bad alike. There are criminals, thieves, kings and peasants. There are even some women who, at first glance, might not be the first people you’d think of when it comes to role models. 

Matthew’s goal in listing out Jesus’ ancestry is to show his audience how clearly and specifically God has been walking with His chosen people from the beginning of creation. Jesus isn’t a surprise. He has been part of God’s bigger plan for salvation and here are all the specific ways God has kept His promises to all manner of people. To us today, Jesus’ lineage offers a large number of Old Testament references that we can learn more about and can serve as a launching off point into the stories we may not be familiar with. 

What does this lineage have to do with Mary? Everything! Mary, a little no one, becomes the greatest instrument of God’s plans for the salvation of the world because she understood that her God, our God, is trustworthy. He keeps His promises to His people. God does not abandon His people, even when they do go astray as many of the people on this list did. 

The message of the lineage of Jesus remains the same for us today:

  • God’s plans are bigger than we can see in the moment
  • God is always planning for our benefit
  • God keeps His promises in His own good timing

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La lectura de hoy es una que los lectores temen. ¿Cómo haces que una lista tan larga suene interesante? ¿Y cómo se pronuncian todos esos nombres? ¿Por qué no lo omitimos (como inevitablemente lo harán algunas parroquias)? ¿Qué tiene que ver con María de todos modos?

Son todas preguntas excelentes con respuestas igualmente interesantes. Desafortunadamente, no puedo decirte cómo hacer que la lista suene interesante, aunque estoy seguro que hay algunos oradores increíbles que harán todo lo posible.

Las preguntas “¿Por qué no nos lo omitimos?” y “¿Qué tiene que ver con María?” requieren respuestas más largas. Mateo le está hablando a una audiencia judía que conoce bien su historia. La identidad misma del pueblo judío en este momento estaba enraizada en su conexión con antepasados ​​como David, Jacob y Abraham. Pero Mateo está haciendo más que simplemente resaltar figuras claves en el linaje de Jesús. Está mostrando cómo Dios ha estado caminando junto a su pueblo, preparándolos para la venida del Mesías. Significativamente, Dios no solo ha estado caminando junto a los justos y rectos. Esta lista está llena de buenos y malos por igual. Hay criminales, ladrones, reyes y campesinos. Incluso hay algunas mujeres que, a primera vista, no son los mejores modelos a seguir.

El objetivo de Mateo al enumerar la ascendencia de Jesús es mostrar a su audiencia cuán clara y específicamente Dios ha estado caminando con su pueblo elegido desde el comienzo de la creación. Jesús no es una sorpresa. Él ha sido parte del plan más grande de Dios para la salvación y aquí están todas las formas específicas en que Dios ha cumplido Sus promesas para todo tipo de personas. Para nosotros hoy, el linaje de Jesús ofrece una gran cantidad de referencias del Antiguo Testamento sobre las que podemos aprender más y que pueden servir como punto de partida para las historias con las que quizás no estemos familiarizados.

¿Qué tiene que ver este linaje con María? ¡Todo! María, una humilde mujer, se convierte en el mayor instrumento de los planes de Dios para la salvación del mundo porque comprendió que su Dios, nuestro Dios, es digno de confianza. Él cumple sus promesas a su pueblo. Dios no abandona a su pueblo, incluso cuando se desvían como lo hicieron muchas de las personas en esta lista.

El mensaje del linaje de Jesús sigue siendo el mismo para nosotros hoy:

  • Los planes de Dios son más grandes de lo que podemos ver en el momento
  • Dios siempre está planeando para nuestro beneficio
  • Dios cumple sus promesas en su propio momento oportuno

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA, www.pexels.com/photo/three-women-smiling-and-sitting-side-by-side-7358347/

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The Sword that Frees / La Espada Que Libera

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Our Gospel today can be read and dismissed as too challenging, too divisive, too radical. But it comes from Jesus Himself, so we must pause and take a closer look. I find G.K. Chesterton’s reflections from Orthodoxy on today’s passage to be illuminating:

“Love desires personality, therefore love desires division. It is the instinct of Christianity to be glad that God has broken the universe into little pieces, because they are living pieces…That a man may love God it is necessary that there should not only be a God to be loved, but a man to love him.”

Jesus is radically reorienting the world as He instructs His disciples. Your family is no longer the most important thing in your life. Your job isn’t the most important, even your very life can no longer be held as the highest good you have. We must affix our gaze on Jesus and only on Him. 

When we give Jesus our sole focus and do all things with Him in mind, we find that we can discover Him in all people and things. We find Jesus in our neighbor, in our friends, in a stranger. And when we discover Jesus waiting for us there, we receive the Father’s love in response to our actions. That is the relationship Jesus wishes for us. We reach out to Him in service, in kindness and in love for others. He reaches back in love, in mercy and in grace. 

The sword that divides becomes the tool which sets us free to more fully embrace Jesus. Jesus then, fills us with His love that overflows back to those very people we placed second so that we could place Jesus first. 

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Nuestro Evangelio de hoy puede leerse y descartarse como demasiado desafiante, demasiado divisivo, demasiado radical. Pero viene del mismo Jesús, así que debemos pausar y mirar más de cerca. Encuentro esclarecedoras las reflexiones de G. K.  Chesterton de su libro Orthodoxy (Ortodoxia) sobre el pasaje de hoy:

“El amor desea la personalidad, por lo tanto el amor desea la división. Es instinto del cristianismo alegrarse de que Dios haya partido el universo en pedacitos, porque son pedazos vivos… Para que un hombre ame a Dios es necesario que no sólo haya un Dios a quien amar, sino un hombre quien le ame.”

Jesús está reorientando radicalmente el mundo mientras instruye a sus discípulos. Tu familia ya no es lo más importante en tu vida. Tu trabajo no es lo más importante, incluso tu propia vida ya no puede considerarse como el mayor bien que tienes. Debemos fijar nuestra mirada en Jesús y sólo en Él.

Cuando le damos a Jesús nuestro único enfoque y hacemos todas las cosas con Él en mente, encontramos que podemos descubrirlo en todas las personas y cosas. Encontramos a Jesús en nuestro prójimo, en nuestros amigos, en un extraño. Y cuando descubrimos a Jesús esperándonos allí, recibimos el amor del Padre en respuesta a nuestras acciones. Esa es la relación que Jesús desea para nosotros. Nos acercamos a Él en el servicio, en la bondad y en el amor por los demás, y de vuelta, Él se acerca a nosotros con el amor, la misericordia y la gracia.

La espada que divide se convierte en la herramienta que nos libera para abrazar más plenamente a Jesús. Entonces, Jesús nos llena con su amor que se desborda hacia esas mismas personas que colocamos en segundo lugar para que pudiéramos colocar a Jesús en primer lugar.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: HisLoveNeverFails, pixabay.com/photos/sword-epic-fantasy-celtic-2993521/

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Ask / Pídele

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I think we are often afraid to ask God for things. We don’t want to seem greedy or selfish. We want to feel self-sufficient and capable. And what person hasn’t heard a comment like, “Well I asked God for patience and He gave me so many opportunities to practice I just couldn’t handle it!”

Yet the apostles in today’s Gospel seek Jesus out and ask Him to teach them to pray. Jesus gifts them the most foundational prayer in Christianity, The Our Father. Jesus then continues, as if this intimate prayer wasn’t already revolutionary enough, and explains further how we ought to approach God in prayer. 

Perhaps this is where the revolutionary aspect of the Our Father comes into play. Throughout the Old Testament, God was present with His people, but they could not see Him. The Holy of Holies in the Temple was only to be entered once a year on Yom Kippur. It was the most sacred place, the place where God met His people. 

Jesus draws us into intimate communion with God, His Father. We don’t have to wait for a single day of the year, we don’t need a priest to pray for us. Jesus ushers into being a new relationship between God and His creation. Through Jesus, we become God’s children. It is fitting then, that Jesus asks the disciples to consider how a father responds to the requests of his children. If earthly fathers and mothers know how to treat little ones, how much more will God generously give to His beloved children?

Here is the trick, however. God desires a relationship with us. This isn’t a forced situation. In order for God to give, we must turn to Him and ask. And ask and ask and believe and believe. God desires every good thing for us and works all things for our benefit. This does not mean we will not experience trials or sorrow. It does not mean we will magically receive whatever we ask for – it didn’t work with our parents when we wanted that pony when we were 7, it doesn’t work that way with God either.

Jesus shows us the way. Come before our Father as a child, with empty hands. Ask in earnest, with every expectation that what is best for us along our journey to heaven, will be given to us.

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Creo que muchas veces tenemos miedo de pedirle cosas a Dios. No queremos parecer codiciosos o egoístas. Queremos sentirnos autosuficientes y capaces. Y qué persona no ha escuchado un comentario como: “Bueno, le pedí paciencia a Dios y me dio tantas oportunidades para practicarla que ya no pude más!”

Sin embargo, los apóstoles en el Evangelio de hoy buscan a Jesús y le piden que les enseñe a orar. Jesús les regala la oración más fundamental del cristianismo, el Padre Nuestro. Jesús luego continúa, como si esta oración íntima no fuera ya suficientemente revolucionaria, y explica más cómo debemos acercarnos a Dios en la oración.

Quizás aquí es donde entra en juego el aspecto revolucionario del Padre Nuestro. A lo largo del Antiguo Testamento, Dios estuvo presente con Su pueblo, pero ellos no podían verlo. Solo se debía ingresar al Lugar Santísimo en el Templo una vez al año durante Yom Kippur. Era el lugar más sagrado, el lugar donde Dios se encontraba con Su pueblo.

Jesús nos lleva a una comunión íntima con Dios, su Padre. No tenemos que esperar un solo día del año, no necesitamos un sacerdote que ore por nosotros. Jesús marca el comienzo de una nueva relación entre Dios y su creación. A través de Jesús, nos convertimos en hijos de Dios. Es apropiado, entonces, que Jesús les pida a sus discípulos que consideren cómo responde un padre a las solicitudes de sus hijos. Si los padres y las madres terrenales saben cómo tratar a sus pequeños, ¿cuánto más generosamente dará Dios a sus hijos amados?

Aquí está el truco, sin embargo. Dios desea una relación con nosotros y no es una situación forzada. Para que Dios nos dé, tenemos que voltearnos hacia Él y pedirle. Y pedir y pedir y creer y creer. Dios desea todo lo bueno para nosotros y dispone todas las cosas para nuestro beneficio. Esto no significa que no experimentaremos pruebas o tristezas. No significa que recibiremos mágicamente todo lo que pidamos: no funcionó con nuestros padres cuando queríamos ese caballito cuando teníamos 7 años, tampoco funciona de esa forma con Dios.

Jesús nos muestra el camino. Ven ante nuestro Padre como un niño, con las manos vacías. Pida con fervor, con toda expectativa de que se nos dará lo que es mejor para nosotros a lo largo de nuestro camino hacia al cielo.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Godsgirl_madi, pixabay.com/photos/holding-hands-bible-praying-friends-752878/

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Naming Jesus

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Whole books have been written about the question Jesus posed to His disciples at the start of today’s Gospel, “Who do you say that I am?” It is a question every follower of Jesus has to grapple with at some point in their spiritual journey. Is Jesus just a nice guy who taught some nice things? Is He a prophet who wants you to change some parts of your life if you feel like it? Is He the Savior of the whole world yet your most intimate companion who desires you to commit yourself to him every moment of every day? Our answers to these questions radically affect how we live our lives. 

Something beautiful happens in today’s Gospel between Peter and Jesus. Peter, rightly, names Jesus for who He is – the Christ. The Holy Spirit revealed to Peter Jesus’ true identity. It’s not that Jesus had hidden it, but that it was so profound human hearts could not fully grapple with it. Even to today, we cannot adequately explain with our human understanding how Jesus is fully God and fully human. The Incarnation is a mystery only to be fully beheld in heaven. 

Nonetheless, Peter’s ability to name Jesus as the Christ reveals something critical for all Christians who follow after him. Peter knew who Jesus was – The Lord. Names are of special importance in the Bible and in Jewish culture. To know someone’s name meant to have some claim of ownership or control over it. God gave the animals to Adam to name, to have authority over and to be stewards of. 

When Peter names Jesus, he was entering into this sacred space with Jesus. However, God is not controlled by human beings and certainly does not submit to our authority. So what was happening here? Let’s listen to Dr. Richard Bulzacchelli of the St. Paul Center regarding God’s name. He is speaking about God’s revelation to Moses, but I see how this same lesson applies here because Peter’s confession comes from the Holy Spirit’s revelation. 

“Thus, when God reveals his name to Moses and, through Moses, to Israel, he is voluntarily assuming a posture of vulnerability before them, yet, there is no way they can actually control him or do him harm. He does not need them but only wants them.  His vulnerability is based entirely on his own intention to bless and to love a creature whom he made capable of a free response.  Thus, God is saying that he will answer all who call upon his name, not because he must, not because they have exercised any power over him by invoking his name, but because he now pledges to be their God and to cherish them as his own.  His name is, thus, also a promise.  It means, ‘I am present to you always and everywhere,’ an idea represented in the word ‘Emmanuel,’ or, ‘God-with-us.'”

Jesus, Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us, is the same friend Peter proclaimed as his Lord. Jesus is waiting for our heartfelt confession of His rightful place in our lives. Will we proclaim Him the Christ of our heart today?

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: catholicstudiesacademy.com/on-the-unpronounceability-of-the-divine-name/

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A Whole New Game

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Today we encounter one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus – to “love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.” These words, central to all of Christian teaching and thought, have troubled our broken human nature since they were uttered. Jesus then goes on to give examples of exactly how just God is with His creatures and how equal His love for all of them is. The sun shines on the good and bad, and rains fall on the just and the unjust. Being good earns you no special favors, and equally important, doing evil does not cut you out of God’s gracious consideration.

Our human sensibilities bristle at this type of world order. We expect just punishment for crimes committed. We expect those who have done evil to have evil befall them and are quick to associate unfortunate circumstances with poor decisions. And, because our egos are so massive, we would like to see God follow in our footsteps. How naïve and illogical we are! The created do not lead the Creator. It is the Creator who shapes the creature and gives it space to move in. 

Jesus is truly God and truly man. This means that while He is fully God, he also fully understands human nature. Understanding, however, doesn’t mean that Jesus made accommodations for it. Instead, as St. Anselm so captivatingly put it, “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.” Jesus takes our human nature and draws us up into the divine nature. We aren’t supposed to remain on our playing field. We are called to a wholly new game, one with divine rules. 

One of the most fundamental rules is what Jesus teaches us today. That all people, no matter who they are, or aren’t, to us, are worthy of our love and prayers.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-of-men-playing-basketball-69773/

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Promises

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I found myself pondering the promises Jesus makes to His disciples as I reflected on the readings for today. Jesus promised that after three days the Son of Man would rise again. And it happened. Jesus promised He would send His Spirit to come and dwell with the apostles. And it happened. Jesus promised if two or three gather in His name, there He is among them. And it happens still to this day. 

Jesus made many promises. Even though the Gospels are full of examples of Jesus keeping those promises, still we might be tempted to wonder whether He will keep them for us. I’m reminded of a line from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is trying to figure out what gift to give Belle to show her her cares for her. Cogsworth suggests, “There’s the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep.”

How many of us have been let down by other humans? (I’m assuming we are all raising our hands.) We are each broken, flawed, and often failures. We intend to keep our promises, most of the time. As is often said when a promise goes unmet, “life happens, oh well.” We toss up our hands, chalk it up to good intentions that didn’t pan out, and move on. 

We can be tempted to apply this same attitude to Jesus. Will He really keep His promise to always be with us, or is that just a metaphor? Does He really want an intimate friendship with us, or will He forget to show up like I do sometimes? Can I really give Jesus my every need and concern, is He actually interested in the same old sins and mess?

YES! Jesus proves over and over in the Gospels and beyond in the lives of the Saints that He does care, that He does provide, and He is always faithful. 

In our Gospel today, we encounter another of Jesus’ promises. Jesus promises that there will be troubles. While at face value it might not sound very encouraging, it’s so important for us to fully grasp. Jesus knows there will be troubles. He knows the troubles. He knows your troubles today, your trials tomorrow, your sufferings in 20 years. He knows. And He promises more. If you take the courage He offers, you will see how He has conquered the world. All of those struggles and trials are to be used for a grander plan that involves Jesus’ reign over all creation. This is today’s promise. Do you believe it?

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/berlin-cathedral-sculpture-3408348/

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World Peace

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The acquisition of peace, from a secular framework, is a tricky topic. So many roads appear to lead to peace based on the sayings:

“If you want peace, prepare for war.”

“If you want peace, work for peace.”

“If you want peace, end poverty/hunger/homelessness/racism/social inequality.”

“If you want peace, stop fighting.”

“If you want peace, work for justice.”

How can all of these be true at once? While I’m not about to contradict a pope (that last observation belongs to Pope Paul VI), our Gospel today offers a very different understanding of where peace comes from. And spoiler alert, it’s not something that’s the fruit of our labors as these previous sayings imply. 

As Jesus is preparing His disciples for His Ascension, He explains another gift He is leaving them. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” 

The world teaches us that peace must be earned before it can be received. “If you want peace, then you must do something.” This isn’t what Jesus expressed to His apostles. The peace that Jesus offers is something even greater than world peace. It is the state of a soul in right relationship with God the Father.

When we find ourselves out of relationship with God, it becomes very challenging to be in right relationship with our neighbors. There is a reason the first Great Commandment Jesus gave us is about our relationship with God. Then the second deals with everyone else. The world cannot give us this kind of peace. 

The world is concerned, and rightly so, with the peace between peoples. There are many avenues to peace, like the sayings I dictated earlier. There are many places where peace seems unavailable or impossible to achieve. Peace often is seen as a compromise where no one side wins and everyone is sacrificing something for a balance of peace. Peace of this kind takes work.

If only the world could see that the work would not be so arduous we first received the peace Jesus freely offers. Living in harmony with God naturally brings people into harmony with one another. We discover the unity in Christ that binds us together as part of the family of God. We are not all the same, but our differences are not meant to be divisive. 

I love this image from Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement. Chiara says,

“Let us imagine that God is like the sun. A ray from the sun falls on each one of us. Each ray is the divine will for me, for you, for everyone. Christians and all people of good will are called to move towards the sun, keeping to their own ray of light which is unique and distinct from all the others. By doing so, they will fulfill the wonderful and particular plan that God has for them. If you do the same, you will find yourself involved in a divine adventure you never even dreamed of. You will be, at the same time, both actor in and spectator of something great that God is accomplishing in you and through you in humanity” 

Doing the will of God, receiving the peace He has to give. These are the ways we will bring about world peace that is meaningful and lasting for all people.  

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Burak Kebaber, https://www.pexels.com/photo/scenic-view-of-the-sunrise-11715604/

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Launching Disciples

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There comes a time in every parent’s journey where they have to step aside and let their children come into their own as persons. My mother-in-law calls this process “launching.” In little ways throughout a child’s development, parents are preparing them for life on their own. We teach our children how to bathe on their own, how to cook a meal, how to fold laundry (or at least wash their clothes). As they grow, children learn how to drive, how to manage finances, how to make wise decisions. Some of these lessons they internalize and begin to use immediately, others take more time and sometimes are rejected before they are well learned. 

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus “launching” the disciples into the world. They have been formed, they have been tested, and now they are being empowered to go out “to all creation” proclaiming Jesus’ Resurrection. Then, Jesus steps aside, or in the case of most artwork of the Ascension, He steps up, rising to heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand. While remaining with the disciples and indeed, all baptized members of the Church up to this present moment and beyond, Jesus removes His bodily presence from this earth. 

Just as a parent cannot live the life of their child, it was vitally important for the Church that Jesus allow His disciples to come into full ownership of their faith. Peter couldn’t have become the leader of the Church if Jesus had remained. That role would have remained Jesus’. The apostles could not have had the authority or boldness to go out and preach as they did if they were constantly running back to Jesus to check in or verify their work. Jesus filled them with the Holy Spirit and sent them out in His place. 

How good, wise and selfless our Savior is. Even in this moment, after giving up everything on the Cross and returning with our salvation in hand, still He sacrifices for us. He leaves His beloved creation as was the Father’s Will and ascends to Heaven. In His abundant generosity, He gives to all of us the gift of the Spirit which has been handed down from generation to generation. And even more abundantly, He gives us a foreshadowing of Heaven within the Mass, a taste of complete union with God by the offering of His own Body and Blood for us in the Eucharist. Let our Easter Alleluia’s continue to ring out joyfully as we contemplate just how much Jesus has done for us.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Foulques, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/25863-ascension-du-christ

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This Changes Everything

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While the phrase, “This changes everything” could be seen as overused or an over exaggeration, in today’s Gospel no phrase could be more apt. However, in the strange and mysterious ways of God, there is an element that remains unchanged, even while the whole course of human history has been rerouted. 

Today, we hear the story of Mary Magdalen’s encounter with the risen Jesus just outside the tomb. In her distress, when she first hears Jesus she doesn’t look at Him. She assumes He is the gardener. Only when He calls her by name does she look up to see the resurrected Christ. 

By name He calls her. Just as during Jesus’ previous ministry, He intimately knows each one of His followers. He calls them, singles them out of the crowd, to come and follow Him. Even after going through His Passion, even after the mystery of His Resurrection, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, still does not lose sight of one member of His flock. Nothing has changed. 

And yet as we know, everything changed. Without speaking in a parable, Jesus identifies His disciples as His “brothers.” He claims them as siblings, explaining that they would now share one Father, one God. This statement makes it clear that this relationship is changing, it has been transformed. 

As baptized Christians, we are given a claim to this status of sibling. We are sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus. We share one Father and can pray the prayer Jesus taught us with renewed meaning. “Our Father” is not a theoretical statement, or some lofty metaphor. This is my Father, and your Father. We are made into a new family. No one we encounter can truly be a stranger, for everyone we meet is another brother, another sister, within God’s extensive family. 

We are just beginning the Easter celebrations. Just as Jesus instructed Mary to go and announce what she had seen and heard, so too are we called. We are called to share the Good News with our brothers and sisters and to live our lives in such a way that they can see something is different. We too have been transformed. The Resurrection changes everything.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Benjamin Taliaferro, 2022, used with permission

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Be a Ninevite

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The Jewish people had been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a Messiah. They memorized Scripture, kept all of the Mosaic Law, repeated the stories and traditions so that on the day of the Messiah’s arrival, they would be ready. More than ready, they would be the people God called them to be! Jesus comes, the Messiah is truly present among them, and what happens? Not everyone recognizes him. Worse, those thought to be the most religiously “in tune” are the ones who are the most critical. 

Jesus pushes his audience with today’s teaching, and he pushes us as well. He draws our attention to the Ninevites, an Old Testament people who lived lives of wickedness and debauchery. God sent a reluctant Jonah to preach to them so that they could repent. When Jonah finally got to them and began his work, they recognized the truth of his words and the whole city repented and changed their ways. Jesus points to the wisdom and insight of the Ninevites. They heard words of truth and acted upon them. Yet here was Jesus, Messiah and Chosen One, in and among people trained to hear his words of truth, being questioned and doubted. 

When I consider Jesus’ words, I find myself wondering how often I expect a sign from Jesus. Do I ask him to prove himself, his faithfulness, his love? Do I make bargains with him, “I’ll do X but only if you do Y.” Do I question his presence with me or in the Eucharist?

We are blessed, privileged to know the full story of salvation. We know the Paschal Mystery, the mystery of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. We have the words Jesus said, the things he did, the promises he made. What further signs could we want? 

Even with all that Jesus gave us, still we doubt. As you journey through this Lenten season, take some time to reflect on your trust in Jesus’ promises. Are you like the Ninevites, who recognized Truth when it was preached to them? Are you like the Pharisees, seeking signs when you already have everything you need? Somewhere in the middle? Take heart and trust in the Lord. He is with you, providing you with the Holy Spirit to face any challenge, walk any distance, until you meet the Father in heaven. 

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Pablo Santiago, https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-architecture-luxury-travel-9582355/

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Escape

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I think it is good for us to see Jesus in this moment. Jesus, fully God, is also fully human. We see Jesus experience the full range of human emotions in the Gospels. Jesus weeping for Lazarus, Jesus lashing out at the money changers in the temple, Jesus participating at the Wedding at Cana – the Gospel writers were not afraid to show Jesus’ depth of feeling. Today’s Gospel highlights a more private emotion, one that we don’t always acknowledge or speak about – the need to escape.

There isn’t a parent out there who hasn’t felt like Jesus at the start of today’s Gospel reading. Jesus, weary and in need of a break, enters a house and “wanted no one to know about it” (v 24). Every parent has had a moment where they have hidden in the bathroom, a bedroom, the garage, the car, even a closet, because they just needed a minute. A minute of quiet, of not talking, of not listening. Just a few minutes by themselves. That’s what Jesus was seeking.

In light of the changes the world has undergone the past two years, this feeling has come to the forefront of many people’s consciousness. Even those of us who aren’t parents have most likely felt this urge, especially during the spring of 2020 when so many were isolated from their usual daily routines and familiar interactions. Somewhere deep within all of us, even within the most social person, is a need for quiet.

Our need for quiet and stillness is a gift from the Lord, even if it seems hard to come by. Psalm 46:11 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Quiet is often elusive. Our minds are full of necessary and unnecessary information. We are flooded with stimuli between our phones, our TVs, even some billboards feature flashing and changing graphics. Those with children have spent many more hours with them than perhaps planned. The time together ought to be cherished, but it also has caused an immense amount of strain on families who struggled and continue to struggle with the changing conditions and schedules that are outside of their control. 

The desire to want a break while under these kinds of stress is normal. It is time we recognized more positively that people need quality breaks. They need moments of quiet, of stillness and of aloneness. Jesus sought it. We each need to seek it. God speaks to us in the quiet of our heart. We have to take the time to be still so we can listen.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Daria Shevtsova, https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-lace-cap-sleeved-top-and-green-skirt-hiding-behind-brown-wall-1030982/

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Who Knows

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The Wedding Feast at Cana is one of the more well known Scripture passages. This is Jesus’ first public miracle in the Gospel of John, albeit a reluctant one. As I reflected on this passage, I found myself drawn in by the sheer number of people at play in it. 

There are the obvious characters – Jesus and Mary. Then there’s the wedding couple, the disciples, the guests and the head waiter. There are also the servants. There’s a whole lot of activity in these few verses. Mary comes to Jesus, He protests. The servants have to fill very large pots with water (for a second time as these were already used once for the guests to purify themselves before the meal), the miracle itself and the drinking that followed. It is easy to get caught up in the anticipation of the moment, Scripture coming to life in our mind’s eye. 

In the midst of the swirl and joy of the new wine, I found the extra note in v.9 about the servants to be most fascinating. While yes, this was Jesus’ first public miracle, who exactly knew about it? Not the head waiter. Which means not the couple or the guests. We assume the disciples knew, but aren’t told by the Gospel writer. Who, precisely, knew about the miracle of water turned into wine? The servants and Mary. Only those who actively participated in the miracle knew what had happened. 

It should not come as a surprise that Jesus chose to reveal His power to the lowly, to the poor, rather than to the guests. He could have easily turned this miracle into a show of His great power, commanding the vessels be placed in the center of the party for all to see. Though Mary isn’t specifically mentioned after her request, how could she not know? She doesn’t announce her son’s greatness, boasting in His accomplishments. Rather she, I imagine, sits quietly in the background, marveling at His generosity as she cups her miracle wine. 

This being His first miracle, I see Jesus setting the tone for what is to come. His miracles are for all people, even those who serve, especially those who serve. The servants followed Jesus’ request, though I’m sure they did not understand it. Their obedience was rewarded with knowledge others only learned of later. 

What is Jesus asking of you today? What task is repetitive, simple, or unglamorous to your eyes? Could it be that Jesus is waiting for your vessel to be filled so that He can transform it into something miraculous? Let’s all spend today being faithful to the calling Jesus has given to us, offering it to Him with open hands. Let Jesus take your work today and transform it for His purpose and glory.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

Feature Image Credit: Karolina Grabowska, https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-long-sleeve-shirt-holding-clear-glass-pitcher-with-water-4965571/