As we sat down for the wedding feast, a friend remarked that, whenever he was at a wedding, the host always seemed to seat him as close as he could to the lavatory. With great humour, he added that waterfront properties are always the most valuable. His wife asks everyone not to encourage him. But they do. Then, in a moment of
seriousness, he asks who really wants to be at the top table, where you are under constant surveillance and analysis. We all think we know who should be at the top and the bottom of every table. In our minds, we have it all worked out, and can list 1000 reasons why it should be so. It seems that there is an over serious Pharisee in all of us. If this is true, we might as well get it out into the open. Good spiritual teaching asserts that knowing we are in prison is the first step to getting out of prison. But it's hard to be grateful when our hidden egos are exposed. That is why it is so important to be able to laugh at ourselves regularly, and often. Or to put it in the words of Thomas Merton, to cast aside our awesome solemnity and join in the dance. When we can laugh at the laughable ideas of our own importance we put things in right balance. We can see the bars of the prisons we create for ourselves, and see, perhaps for the first time, that the door is only locked from the inside. Robert Wicks, in his thrilling, "Touching the Holy: Ordinariness, Self-Esteem and Friendship" suggests that, among our friends, we should have at least one prophet, one cheerleader, one harasser and one spiritual guide. (P.93) Check to see if you have this! In their company, when our negative or positive grandiosity comes into view, laughter is the way we are restored to the joy of humility and of our humanity. There is no other way
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Someone asks a question about salvation. This is religious talk for health and wellbeing. Jesus tells them that there is a door, in the age to come, where God is hosting a banquet. Everyone is trying to get in and the owner solves the log jam problem by rising from the dead and shutting the door!
The people outside beg to be allowed in. But the Lord answers that He does not know them. It seems that relying on vague contact with Jesus is not enough. Jesus does not join in the man’s quest for numbers but invites him to put all of himself behind the quest. So many are trying to be saved the wrong way. They think that 'who you know' rather than 'who you are' is what matters. But notice that the door does not open to the well connected. Jesus only recognises His own. He knows us if we are like Him. Jesus speaks from a heart set on God alone and works with the Spirit to transfigure His heart into one which loves all people. This is not easy. It is a lifetime’s work. There will always be people who want Salvation on their own terms. They want to stride into the feast adorned in titles and lists of who they know. And then there are those who struggle for community and for the mighty love. These will learn the great lesson of Grace - that all who strive to love must die, and surrender all to the One who has the power to save them. They are considered by the first group to be the last because they do not compete in the world of ego. But in the Kingdom they are first because they have found in their heart what Jesus knew in His Heart - the divine love that makes us one. When we know this, the narrow door widens to become the widest of doors. Someone once asked Fritz Perls if he was saved. He answered,' I'm trying to figure out how to be spent!" Pierre Teilhard de Chardin had a beautiful experience of God. With the skill of a poet, he tries to share something of what happened to him. " the world gradually caught fire for me, burst into flames; how this happened all during my life, and as a result of my whole life, until it formed a great luminous mass, lit from within, that surrounded me". (The Heart of the Matter, p.15) And in another place, "The day will come when we shall harness for God the energies of Love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, human beings will have discovered fire". (Toward the Future p.87) For us, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God, is very special indeed. She is an exceptional person. The first and best of disciples. From her, we have much to learn. And perhaps the best lesson she can teach us is how to listen for what we don't fully know yet, certain that we will recognise it when it happens, like Pierre did. Rachel Naomi Remen says it beautifully: I've spent many years learning how to fix life
only to discover at the end of the day that life is not broken. There is a hidden seed of greater wholeness in everyone and everything. We serve life best when we water it and befriend it. When we listen before we act. In befriending life, we do not make things happen according to our own design. We uncover something that is already happening in us and around us, and create conditions that enable it. Everything is moving toward its place of wholeness always struggling against odds. Everything has a deep dream of itself and its fulfilment. (My Grandfather's Blessing:Stories of Strength,Refuge and Belonging. p.230) What does Jesus mean when He says, "See that you are 'dressed for action' and have your lamps lit". (Lk:12.35). To help us understand this, we need to turn to the story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. You remember that their wisdom was celebrated because their lamps were lit! What does that mean and how does it work?
Quite simply it means that we speak and act in a way that inspires others. When they look at how we live, how we speak, and how we act, they are given a living pause for thought and the path is lit for the way they need to walk. It would be sad if, when they listened to the words we speak, or observed our life, they decided that we had nothing to offer or that we were hypocrites. Or, to put it a little more directly, Jesus had very severe words for those who extinguish the light of love in another person’s heart. Now here's the thing. The foolish ones are always rushing to the wise ones when it's too late to ask for some of their oil. It's too late because, the problem is, it can't be given. I can't turn to you on my deathbed and ask you to give me the value of the good that you have done. This is a serious warning from the Teacher. Today I have to decide that this is the right thing to do and do it. I love the image of God as Bridegroom but I'm a little more curious when I think of God as a burglar. You may remember that I had a visit from one of these shortly after I arrived in Bracknell. It's not a pleasant experience. But it was, in one sense, my own fault because I went out and left my window open. Jesus says that The Son of Man is coming, like a burglar, at an hour we do not expect. Wouldn't it be great if we were ready, welcoming Him with the words, I've been waiting for you, Light of the World. And more to the point, I have been doing what you asked of me. I shine bright and clear as a sign of Your Love for others. Now look what happens. "I tell you solemnly, He will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them." That's worth consideration. |
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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