![]() You could read this Sunday's Gospel from the point of view of overworked and stressed disciples. If you did it would be a mistake! Yes, they are back from the mission and the Teacher invites them to go away by themselves and rest. There is a revolving door of so many people with so many demands that the disciples cannot eat. They hop on a boat but the people continue to come to them - walking faster than their oars can push. When they step ashore, Jesus sees the crowds. His Compassion trumps the plan for eating and resting. Those who are suffering must come first. No rest for the disciples. The mission comes first. Notice how the passage is awash with spiritual symbols. When the disciples have told Jesus about their words and works, it isn't time for a bit of R and R. It is time for a deeper teaching about mission and how it is to be done. They are invited to a 'deserted place' to 'rest' and to 'eat'. Food is not normally found in deserted places. The food that is on offer is learning how to be nourished by God. They are being invited to fall into the heart of God and to be fed there. Also, 'rest' does not mean time to splash on the sun tan lotion and pick up a good novel. This is Sabbath Rest. It is the rest wherein I make myself One with all creation and with the Spirit of the Creator. Here, I learn how to receive, from the heart of God, all I will need for the mission that has been entrusted to me. This is not an easy thing to do. It requires a shift in awareness. So we must 'get in the boat' and 'cross over' to another way of thinking. This new way does not leave anyone behind. The problem is not the people or their needs. The problem is the way our activity takes us away from the wellspring. On the other shore, with renewed awareness, everything begins with Compassion. Everything is sustained by Compassion. In a world where nobody has any time for those who have nothing to give, Jesus is a magnet. Disciples must learn how to stay in touch with Compassion. In our own days Compassion is seen as exhausting. We hear of compassion fatigue! When people arrive with their needs, we must find a way to empathise with them. Compassion demands a real relationship. We cannot keep our distance. But living in the world of another’s need can be draining. This is why so many 'professionals' complain about compassion fatigue. Yet, for Jesus, Compassion is a form of rest. How can this be possible? When we think we are in a superior position to someone in need; when we imagine that we are called upon from our greatness or expertise to help another, we very quickly act as if they are a dead weight needing to be lifted up. This is heavy lifting and it is exhausting. For Jesus, Compassion arises from sameness. This cannot be manufactured. It must be genuinely perceived. We must refrain from thinking we have the edge , the possession, the gift, the skill, the knowledge or the luck which makes us better than anyone else. This can only happen in the 'deserted place' and with 'rest'. Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine monk lived in India for many years and worked to develop this new awareness. He created the 'deserted place' and the 'rest' by choosing the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus, Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner". This meditation brought him into community with all people. He wrote, "I unite myself with all human beings from the beginning of the world who have experienced separation from God, or from eternal truth. I realise that, as human beings, we are all separated from God, from the source of our being. We are wandering in a world of shadows, mistaking the outward appearance of people and things for reality. But at all times, something is pressing us to reach out beyond the shadows, to face the reality, the truth, the inner meaning of our lives, and so to find God, or whatever name we give to the mystery which enfolds us". When we realise we are the same as everyone else, our actions arise from communion. We are not steeling ourselves to exert influence in the foreign territory of another. Our mission arises from what ultimately unites us, a common humanity longing for a common compassion. Compassion cannot be achieved. It can only emerge when we recognise the deepest truth that we are all one. This new awareness is a place of rest from which mission flows easily. Whenever you find pushing, shoving, pressure or tension, you can guarantee that Compassion has been lost.
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![]() The Kingdom of God is coming, and the signs of its arrival are clear. There is a new teaching which is accompanied by new deeds. But Teaching comes first. We welcome the teaching of Jesus and make it our own if we want to move forward. So, when we read that the Twelve were 'given authority over unclean spirits', we are not in an episode of Supernatural or Grimm fairy tales. The Twelve urged communities and individuals to rethink the 'taboos' and restrictions around clean and unclean boundaries. The truth of which they speak is that all need a change of heart and mind. The Twelve, the new leaders of the Twelve tribes of Israel, are sent to create a new community based on a new teaching about true holiness. So instead of fearing what is 'unclean', and pushing people away, they have to have faith, and mirror the God who is Mercy and Compassion. The re-entry of those who have been written off, will only be possible if the whole community have nurtured a new awareness that supports this kind of Kingdom activity. Jesus teaches disciples and disciples teach others. If they are going to be successful, everything about them needs to be authentic. Disciples must themselves be 'at one' with this new teaching. How we work with others to create a more inclusive sense of community is as important as healing and exorcising. So Jesus gives His disciples a way of working. They must not go it alone but walk with each other. Walking stick and sandals mean that they must not settle down. A single tunic speaks of a confidence in what they bring. Without bread, bag or money, they unite themselves with those in need. Their lack of resources will elicit the compassion that is the foundation stone, indeed the cornerstone, of this new community. Welcoming disciples is the first step to welcoming the One who has sent them. Also, disciples are not to fight with those who do not accept their Kingdom activity. They are not to retaliate. They are to shake the dust on their feet as they go. In this way, those who refuse them will know that God has moved on. There are other people and other places to visit, and the Good News must be preached. When disciples become an invitation for others to undertake a spiritual adventure, great things happen. We come to see that Jesus is not asking for goals to be reached, but paths to be walked. Paths that will lead us to deeper awareness. Jack Kornfield tells the story of following the injunction to bow. As a young man, and the only westerner in a Bhuddist monastery in Thailand, he was instructed to bow to every monk that was older than he was. If he respected an older monk, there was no problem. But when he had to bow to some of the others, he struggled. Nevertheless, he bowed. He wrote, "I began to look for some worthy aspect of each person I bowed to. I bowed to the wrinkles in the retired farmers eyes, for all the difficulties he had suffered and triumphed over. I bowed to the vitality and playfulness of the young monks, the incredible possibilities each of their lives held yet ahead of them". (After the Ecstacy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path. ix-xi) From following the injunction to bow, he learned how to be open to whatever life brings and learn from it. This reminds me of a beautiful poem by Rumi, from The Guest House, in The Illuminated Room. This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honourably. They may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. Can you see it now? The disciples return with walking stick, sandals and one tunic and still without bread, bag or money. As they tell Jesus what they did and what they taught, He asks them, "Did you lack anything?" The say, "Nothing". "Ah!" He says. ![]() The Teacher has come home. He is met with astonishment in some and a desire to bring Him down a peg or two by others. If the astonished can follow their astonishment to its source, they will see that Jesus has His origins in God. Even if they 'know Him' at an ordinary level, this knowledge will not prevent them from seeing his nearness to God. They will welcome and walk with Him and they will see great deeds of power: healing, exorcisms and deeper truths. But for some, His words and His works cause His rejection. They know Him. They know His work. They know His family. They know He is overreaching Himself. They 'put Him in His place'. He is an ordinary bloke who should be doing ordinary things. He should be making tables, not speaking a new Wisdom, curing the sick and casting out demons. In their minds, his ordinariness undercuts and refutes the greatness they have heard about and now have seen for themselves. They cannot explain, or stomach Jesus Wisdom and Grace. His ministry might be big potatoes elsewhere, but in Nazareth it only causes offence. And so, His revelation, not received with faith, lacks the cooperation necessary for mighty deeds to be done. One of Mark Twain’s memorable lines was, "Familiarity breeds contempt and … children." Familiarity happens when we get to know people a little better. We tell ourselves that we know them. We know how they look, how they talk, about their health, how old they are, what they like or don't like etc, etc. We might include knowledge of their work and how they like to chill out. We like to know where they have travelled, what successes they have achieved and what failures they have endured. We gather features of their personalities. Are they shy or outgoing. What are they passionate about etc? What happens next is that we tell ourselves we have them 'nailed down', or 'boxed in'. Either way they cannot move. It isn't easy to hold what we think we know about other people lightly, especially when it is confirmed time and again by the things they say and do. That is why it is very good to be blessed by the experience of overhearing about the box other people have put us in. We will almost certainly be offended by what we hear and reject their categories. All they have done, we will tell ourselves, is lopped away everything about us that didn't fit into the box they made for us. We know that we are infinitely more than what they have nailed down! And now we are presented with a challenge. Can it be true that we are always more than other people think but other people are exactly as we describe them? In Nazareth they will not let Jesus out of the box they have put Him in. But you can bet anything you like they think that they themselves are beyond boxes. The way to face this challenge is to stay aware of how comfortably we fit, if we fit at all, into the boxes others have made for us. We must realise that while we are busy analysing and predicting the behaviour of others, not too far away someone is doing the same to us. This creates space for the Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". The key word is 'do'. We start a new ball rolling. We grant the others a universe in which to unfold. This is the right and just thing to do. We can only hope that they do the same for us. When this happens we are always given the gift of surprise. We have to accept the fact that any box we make will be too small, or we have to reject the one who had the courage to break free. I like to think that we all break the boxes other people put us in. They did not think we had it in us - but we did! But as a wise person once said, there are no enlightened people, only enlightened behaviours. They look at us as if we are strangers, while in reality we are just being ourselves. Familiarity has been overcome. Or to put it another way. When we love someone, we find that we have very little to say about them. It is the ones we do not love that we speak about mostly, and therein lies the key to our freedom. And to our silence! ![]() Jesus stays close to the sea. He teaches there. The crowds gather and He casts His net. He teaches with authority. His words and His deeds are movements of the same dance. So, the sudden appearance of Jairus, the leader of the Synagogue, allows Jesus to let a new story unfold. Jairus is unusual. He does not watch and disapprove of Jesus like many of his colleagues. They have Him as a lawbreaker because He works on the Sabbath, and as unclean because he embraces those who have crossed the impurity line. Now, his daughter has carried him to the feet if Jesus. He is desperate, afraid and impotent in the face of her sickness. Still he can see that God is working through Jesus and he wants some of that. Will one touch be enough? Enter the sick woman who has been let down by every GP and Consultant she has met. Worse still, they have emptied her bank account. The crowd is moving and pressing against Jesus. But when she touches Him, something is different. Jesus' desire to manifest compassion and love is matched by her readiness to receive it. Saving power has gone out of Him and into her. But to complete her healing He calls her to tell her story. Since God has touched her, she can now be touched by others. Her loneliness is gone. She has been restored in herself and restored to the community. Now back to Jairus. The news breaks that it is too late. His daughter is dead and there is now no need for the Teacher and His miracles. But Jesus instructs Jairus not to let the fear of death dominate his heart. He has just witnessed one restoration and will soon witness another. God’s love turns death into sleep, and those who are sleeping can be awakened. The crowd are dismissed because they believe that death rules life. Jairus and his wife must hold onto the love of God that makes all things possible. They must remain steadfast against the wailers and the mockers. Jesus does not pray to His Abba to bring the little girl back. He takes her tenderly by the hand and speaks to her. His voice, and the intimacy of his touch awakens her. The One who is stronger than death has arrived. However, the full unfolding of this love will be revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The little girl is given a share in the story of the Eucharist. If she eats and drinks at loves table she will know eternally what she knows in time. This is the whole truth. This is the story that must be told. We have five senses. Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste. Perhaps we do not reflect enough on what it means to me touched by God and how touch is a powerful way of experiencing the Spirit. Rachel Naomi Remen, a doctor who works on humanising the world of medicine speaks often about healing and touch. In her workshops with doctors she invites them to touch one another with healing intent. One doctor described his experience, 'At first, I thought I would just play it safe, but after Jane (his touching partner) told me about the pain she usually has in her back I decided to take a chance and tell her about my divorce. How hard it had become for me to trust women. She asked me where I felt this pain, and I couldn't actually say it, so I touched my heart. She nodded then put the palm of her hand on my chest. I was really astonished by how warm her hand was, and gently, and tenderly she touched me. A little at a time the warmth of her hand seemed to penetrate my chest and surround my heart. I had a strange sort of experience. For a while there, it seems as if she were holding my heart in her hand rather than just touching my chest. That's when I felt the strength in her hand, how rocksteady she was. In a funny way I could feel she was really there for my pain, committed to being there, and suddenly I was not alone. I was safe. That's when I started to cry.' (Kitchen Table Wisdom, [New York Riverhead Books, 1996] 240) I love this story because most of us keep our pain to ourselves and in so doing we isolate ourselves from the human companionship that is so necessary to get through it. Pain and loneliness are often to be seen walking hand in hand down the street. It seems that only touch can build a bridge, so that neither invading nor abandoning the person who is suffering we offer them a real experience of our Presence. The touching person can become a conduit for the flow of divine love and whether it heals the sickness or not, the offering of inclusion always heals. The isolated person is no longer alone and, here the mystery deepens, more safe. |
Father DannyArchives
November 2020
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CATHOLIC PARISH OF ST JOSEPH & ST MARGARET CLITHEROW
St Joseph’s Church. 39 Braccan Walk, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1HA (Directions)
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
South Berkshire Pastoral Area
The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871
St Joseph’s Church. 39 Braccan Walk, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1HA (Directions)
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
South Berkshire Pastoral Area
The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871