Do You Not Know?

THE MAP

As the disciples gathered and Thomas and Philip questioned Jesus as he told them where he was going. Still not quite understanding Thomas asks, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Much can be said about this especially during this time? How can we know the way when there is so much confusion? How can we know the way when we don't know where the next meal is coming from? How can we know the way when we don't know what it will be like going back to work? How can we know the way when we don't know what our financial status will be in the next few months? There is so much uncertainty that one begins to spin and spin in dizzying trance. 

THE GATE

Last week we heard Jesus talking of the gate and the shepherd. This week he is more explicit in stating that he is the way, the truth and the life. What does that mean for one is overwhelmed with being restricted, whose life has been upended? Perhaps, first of all it is asking us to find Jesus. Thinking of life before the pandemic, I had time to pray and meditate in the morning, however once I arrived at work it was pretty much non-stop as well as my drive. There were moments that I had time to reflect on God's grace, but they were momentary. Now I have find time between work sessions at home to go outside take in the air, the quiet, the birds chirping, the hummingbird whirring around the yard, and the butterflies flapping around the flowers. "Slow down,"  I hear the voice say.

THE QUESTION

Do I not know that Jesus is the way? Of course I do, but my humanity beckons and I forget so soon. Despite the tragedies that are besetting our nation and the world daily, there is a sense that Jesus is the way. Even with fear in the newly established Christian community, the followers of Christ knew this. They had a compass that pointed towards Christ, though sometimes the path was filled with persecution and incredible uncertainty. 

Our times mirror that as well. Believing that Jesus is the way means submitting to his guidance, trying to find his will. Looking out to others instead of our own problems. Much like the passage in Acts today, we are asked to look to see how to serve those less fortunate. They may be closer than we know. Putting our faith in Christ and asking what is it that we should know today to serve the kingdom might be in order. 

Reopening the Gate

DRIED UP

When writing a blog is is said that consistency is key. Write daily or weekly in order to maintain success and rhythm. The same can be said for spirituality. Establishing a routine, prayer upon waking meditation, nightly reflection, attend mass, go to confession, even join a group that builds your spirituality. All of these are key to a life that usually is not upended by crisis as it built upon a foundation.

For over a 15 months I have not written a single post. Life events such as a parent passing after a prolonged illness and lately the Coronavirus pandemic has distracted me. For the longest time I had absolutely no desire to even write anymore. Work was consuming me as well as my inner distractions that took me away from spiritual writing. Periodically I would write in a notebook, but even that was consistent. The many voices of the thief were calling me here, calling me there. Even though the shepherd was calling the voice was not strong, until today when the voice was clear, "You need to start writing in your blog again."

THE CALL

Perhaps the crowd that listened to Peter had some influence as he proclaimed: Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Their response was "What are we to do?" (ACTS 2:14A, 36-41) Exactly, what am I to do? Seek the good shepherd. Quiet those voices that call you out and distract you.  So much as Samuel proclaimed. "Here I am Lord," I do the same. Here I am Lord, what do you want me to do? How will you inspire me to write? For I am in the flock sometimes and other times I wander and feel distressed.  I have stumbled on the rocky path, I have wandered into the dark valleys where the wolf prowls and the food does not fill me. Yet I come back as I hear the shepherd  say, "Come through this gate. Bring your tired souls brokenness, for I will give you rest."

THOUGHT

So as I ponder these times, the constant and tragic news of death, job loss, especially among the most vulnerable, I ponder for a moment, "What gate is the Good Shepherd opening for us now?" I leave with this part of the Serenity Prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Living one day at a time,Enjoying one moment at a time,Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,Taking, as Jesus did,This sinful world as it is,Not as I would have it,Trusting that You will make all things right,If I surrender to Your will,So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Cast Out Into the Deep

UNCLEAN

"Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips," states the writer of Isaiah in today's first reading.  We soon find that even though the writer does not feel worthy of being in God's presence, God is ready to send him out after his has been forgiven.  Oh how I identify with him and with Peter in today's Gospel. I feel so unworthy of being in God's presence or even accepting God's love at times.

PETER AND I

I can't help but to identify with Peter in his wanting Jesus to depart from him after questioning his ability to judge where the fish might be. I found that this passage provoked a spiritual examination of myself as I read it.  How I want to question the direction God is taking me. How I want to depart from what I know is right and go my own way. How I don't want to cast the net of faith in depths of my hardened heart to find what treasure God has in store for me because it might just interfere with my plans for myself or others.

So many times throughout my life I have asked to cast the net and so many times it is a surprise catch, bountiful beyond my imagination.  Yet I still balk. Do I want to be a fisher of men? Do I want to leave everything behind knowing that there will be suffering involved? Most of the time the answer is no. It is here where I find comfort in Peter's humanity. I consider myself strong-willed and also a questioning type.  Jesus said "Do not be afraid."

It is here where I need to cast out my doubts and plunge into the deep. This is a leap of faith for anyone who goes to depths of their heart to find themselves and to ultimately find God. It can be dark as one uncovers their sinfulness, but when they surface they will be in the eternal light.

Look Around

Look Around

You pass me by on the street 

my soiled clothes and bare feet

You step over me on your walk

not taking the time to even talk.

You see me on tube with my beckoning eyes

yet you are not moved even with the silent cries

You ask John, "What should we do?"

My answer is, "Look around you."

Open your eyes we are the destitute, the homeless,

the sick, the poor.

We search for the true living Christ nothing more.

We don't ask to go into your homes and disturb your night.

We just ask that to be treated without spite.

A hello, are you alright?

Makes my day so light.

The voice cries out in the wilderness, "make way."

Will you be like Christ today?

© Christian Miraglia 2018

Waiting

WAITING

Waiting is what Advent is all about and waiting is what we spend doing during our daily journey through life. So let's take a waiting journey.

THE DAILY WAIT

As soon as one arises in the morning, there may be a wait to enter the bathroom to ready ourselves during the day. Or as many do the the first action upon waking is to look at their phone, tablet, or computer. Surprise you may have to wait until the wifi signal is at full strength before checking out the latest in news, e-mail, etc.

One turns on the shower water and finds that they must wait 30 seconds to a minute before it is heated up enough to step in.
Next venture to the kitchen. The water for your coffee or tea needs to be put in the microwave for a minute or two. Then once ready, you must wait a minute before you can actually drink it. Now we haven't even left the house yet if you are working. For those who are parents usually you have to awaken your children and wait for them to get ready for school. More waiting. When you do arrive at school, there is of course the long line of parents' vehicles that are waiting to drop off their children.

THE COMMUTE

Back to those who are off to work. You get in your vehicle and realize that you must fill up the tank so you head to Costco and find a line of cars six deep also on the same mission. Once you have filled up your vehicle you head off on your commute.Wait a minute. You didn't get your coffee at Starbucks. Off to the drive-thru for a five minute wait.  For those of you that don't have a long drive to work, God has blessed you. For those of you like myself who live in a urban area, you know that you will spend a good amount of time at traffic signals and once on the freeway waiting for traffic to move beyond 25 mph. It isn't even 7:00 am yet and it seems like you have done a lot ot waiting.

IT ISN"T EVEN NOON YET

So far your first hours are full of waiting. The rest of the day will be somewhat of same. Waiting in line at the grocery store or local eatery. One cannot forget the doctor's office where you were scheduled for a 3:00 pm appointment and it is already 3:45. Then there is the classic wait, the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Waiting for a loved one to get ready to go out. Waiting for work to end. Waiting for the game to end so we can celebrate a victory. Waiting in line to cross the border.

Yes we do a lot of waiting during our life. We wait for our sports teams to win which if you are a Cub's or Red Sox fan you know what I am talking about. We wait for good news and bad news. We wait for news about a child who applied to a college. We wait for medical news or news about loved ones who are sick. We wait and wait.

THE PERENNIAL WAITER

Yet while we are waiting all this time do we think about the One who is patiently waiting for us?  Perhaps as we wait impatiently in line at the store or at Costco to put gas in our car we can spend a moment to acknowledge the One who created us. Or for someone like myself who spends what seems like too much time in Southern California traffic, I can thank God for the vehicle that I am able to drive to work as well as for the drivers who are plodding along with me to their destination. In this I am surrendering to the One who created me. As the day ends I can spend time in quiet solitude looking over what Jesus is waiting for me to do. As always there is unfinished business, an amends that needs to be made, some part of my life that I refuse to give up control over, and the list goes on. Yet he patiently waits.

Happy Advent.

Who is my King?

WHO IS MY KING?

After listening to the daily meditation Pray as You Go this morning which prompted me to take a look at the question. "Do I take Jesus for granted?" I found that not only do I take Jesus for granted on occasions, but I also take those around me for granted as well. Who exactly is my king? Is it work, is it those parts of me that I don't reveal to others, is it my pride?

THE KINGS OF THIS WORLD

We heard the word king used in a variety of contexts. For those familiar with the commercial from Paul's TV in which the owner states at the end "I am the king," we may reflect on that very product. Is TV our king. Do we bow to its every appeal? Are we caught in the endless spiral of binge watching programs for hours on in? Do we spend more time watching the endless stream of programs instead of reading spiritual books going to Mass, and spending silent time with our Savior.

Then we have the basketball player LeBron James who is commonly referred as the King.  LeBron is an idol to many young children and adults as well. The question then becomes do we make a person a king obsessing about their every move, buying their products, becoming a slave to the world of materialism?

On the note of materialism I can't help but lament the craziness of Black Friday. It truly is a dark spot on the spiritual calendar as people obsessed with getting the best deal. In contrast the Gospel reading on Friday has Jesus clearing out the temple of those that were hawking their items. Jesus makes it clear that the temple is a sacred space. Not only is he talking about the physical building, but for us as well. Do I have a time for sacred space during this holiday season?


Of course we cannot forget Burger King which brings the uncomfortable conversation of food right

after many of us of indulged in more than we have liked to on this Thanksgiving weekend. I have issues with food. It becomes a source of comfort when I am angry, feeling down, or bored. I can easily allow the thought of food and comfort become a focus instead of fasting. I personally do not like fasting because I feel that I am giving up something that I need in order to survive throughout the day.

ALL OR NOTHING

Bishop Robert Barron in his homily podcast for today Christ the King reminds us if we are truly giving ourselves to Christ, we give our all to Him not just those things that are easily surrendered. Giving up the desire to control our family members, our co-workers, and those close to us is challenging. The phrase, "I am the king of my own domain" very much conflicts with the Gospel message. Taking the time to acknowledge that Christ is my king in every aspect of my life is start. However holding on to those areas which I want to control is not easy, such as my health, my work, and the world beyond me.  Thus, I must trust that through faith Jesus Christ will do for me what I cannot do for myself.

Am I Ready?

TOUGH QUESTION

I was recently asked by my adult son if I am ready to meet Jesus. I thought about this for a moment and replied, "No, I still need to work on myself more." Can anyone be ready to meet Jesus? I have had friends who were sick and completely at peace when they passed. They seemed quite ready, at peace with themselves, and with their families and friends. And there are the people who are suddenly taken from us in tragic circumstances. One never knows when our time is.

When the author of Daniel speaks of the time of unsurpassed distress (DN 12:1), I cannot help but think of the state of our nation and world. Over the past two weeks in California where I live there have been wildfires that have been epic in proportions of deaths, there was another tragic shooting,  contentious political elections, and a myriad of personal tragedies.

Then one cannot help but look at the world scene. Peoples moving in large numbers trying to escape violent environments in Asia,Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America. Many of the people face even more violence as they arrive in the areas which they sought refuge or are met with hostility from the various hate groups that have increased in response to keep their borders secure.

FORMING AN IMAGE OF GOD

This brings me to the old religious comic books which I read as child which left an indelible mark on my understanding of God. I don't remember the titles other than "The Cross and Switchblade" featuring Pastor David Wilkerson and one book of Revelation and the end times. In very comic book style detail it laid out how the world would end with wars, famine, suffering and disease. I remember on one page it spoke of fires and oceans being polluted. On another page it spoke of the wars with nation versus nation. I trembled in my interior as these images became permanently embedded in my psyche.  Never mind the end pages which spoke of people being gathered up due to their faith. On one page it featured countless people robed in white approaching a figure in white as part of the final judgement. My image of God was formed. He was a God that inflicted pain and suffering on people. He moved people around as chess pieces and wasn't concerned about their well-being.

THE HERE AND NOW

I still find what goes on today and question why God allows such suffering and evil. There isn't much to say other than with faith I understand that God has a plan and I who want to control the outcome of those things within my environs am not privy to it.

I am part of a men's group at my parish and we have been viewing Bishop Robert Barron's Catholicism collection of DVDs. This past week we watched the The Ineffable Spirit of God. In it one of the titles is "The Problem of Evil." Fr. Barron is walking through the Auschwitz concentration camp as he talks about the topic.  The scenes are quite uncomfortable, but the conclude with teaching that from all the evil that took place there is a bigger plan from the Author of Life.  After watching the men in the group discussed the content. We came to the conclusion that evil does exist, but that is different from suffering.  Moreover it was agreed that despite the evil that exists we don't really know the big plan. 

Since I am a controlling person I took this to heart. I like to think that I have control over my family, those that I work with, over my students, even over my own future. None of this could be farther from the truth and this takes me back to question "am I ready?" Jesus says "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." MK 13:24-32 . Not knowing when my time is up is quite scary, but there is not despair. If truly live out my life, putting my faith in God first, taking time for self-examination (that can take up a considerable amount of time), loving those around me and spending time in prayer, I guess I am ready.