There is a story that comes out of India which tells of a beggar
whose great hope was that he would meet the king. Then, he dreamed,
alms would be given him unasked and wealth scattered all around him in
the dust. One day, the king’s golden chariot came into the village and
actually stopped where the beggar stood. The king saw the poor man,
got out of the chariot, and walked with a smile toward him.
The beggar was ecstatic. He felt that good fortune had come his
way at last. But instead of giving him anything, the king held out his
hand and said, “What do you have to give to me?” The beggar was
confused and undecided. Then slowly, he took from his loaded
knapsack a single grain of wheat and gave it to the king. The king made
no move to give him anything in return. Disillusioned and dejected, the
beggar walked to his bare room. At day’s end, he emptied his bag on the
floor and was surprised to find a single grain of gold among all the other
grains of wheat. He wept bitterly and thought: “If only I had the heart to
give the king my all.
The beggar found only a single grain of gold in his bag because he
had given away only a single grain of wheat. If he had given more, he
would have received more.
A few weeks before Christmas – in the midst of money being tight,
and the normal Christmas rush and pressure – we have many things to
give – Let us not be afraid to give them. How about these:
1. Remember an old friend
2. Call or write to someone who has lost someone through death
3. Give peace
4. Forgive an enemy
5. Set differences aside in our families
6. Give of yourself – a small bit of quality time
7. Perform an act of kindness
8. Offer a few sincere thoughtful words of encouragement and
affirmation.
9. Give love
and guess what, Christmas will be forever! Wouldn’t that be great!
Archive for the ‘4th Sunday’ Category
A Thought Before Christmas 12-22-2024
Saturday, December 21st, 2024Listening for the Lost Child 4-21-2024
Saturday, April 20th, 2024For any parent, there is nothing more terrifying than to suddenly
discover that your child is missing. You are at the mall or the beach or
the park—one moment the child is grasping at your pant leg; a second
later the child is nowhere to be found.
In your fear and panic, you shut out every noise, every distraction
demanding your attention – you focus totally and exclusively on finding
your child. You begin frantically looking, running down aisles and
alleys, questioning everyone, checking every possible hiding place.
Nobody gets in your way; nothing slows you down. You become so
caught up in your search for your child that you manage to shut out
everything else in sight for that glimpse of his baseball cap or her yellow
sweater; you are so focused in your search that you tune out every sound
and noise so as to hear the words your heart aches for: “Mommy!
Daddy! I got lost.”
In today’s Gospel, Christ assures us that his voice can be heard
above the noise and din of our lives, offering us peace, wisdom and
guidance if we listen purposefully and attentively. When our spirits
ache over love that has been lost, when we lose our moral and ethical
way, when we feel our footing slip beneath us as we try to navigate life’s
twists and turns, Christ’s voice can always be heard if we listen with
hope, with conviction, with faith. Like a lost child’s voice to frantic
parents, the voice of Christ calls out to us above our desperation and
fear, to guide us, to support us, to prod us on our journey to the dwelling
place of his Father.
We are all Nicodemus 3-10-2024
Friday, February 23rd, 2024Nicodemus is one of us. This Jesus has struck a nerve in this
teacher and “ruler” of the Jewish establishment. He has questions – but,
given his position, he has to stay under the radar, so he comes to meet
Jesus privately, late at night.
Jesus talks about God in ways that Nicodemus has never thought
of: a God of compassion rather than a God of order and law; a God of
forgiveness rather than a God of condemnation; a God of light who
illuminates the darkness; a God who constantly calls us back to him; a
God who is Father of all.
Nicodemus’ reaction to all of this is not recorded – but something
clicks. When the Jewish council plots to condemn Jesus, Nicodemus
will protest and defend Jesus; on Good Friday, when the body of Jesus is
taken down from the cross, Nicodemus will be there, with myrrh and
aloes (not an inexpensive contribution) to bury Jesus.
Slowly, Nicodemus moves from the edge of faith to the center
where the Spirit of God dwells. For Nicodemus, Jesus’ image of God is
no longer just an ideal but a powerful sign of compassion and mercy
dwelling in our midst.
Nicodemus struggles with Jesus – as we all do. But he possesses
the grace of an open heart and mind and so comes to find God. He seeks
God – and finds God. And so can we.
We are all Nicodemus: We struggle to make sense of Jesus; we
wrestle with trying to reconcile his Gospel with the demands of our
world. In his questioning and confusion, in his fears and doubts,
Nicodemus is welcomed by Jesus with understanding and compassion.
Like Nicodemus, we are all seekers and Christ has assured us of his
company on our journey; like Nicodemus, we find ourselves coming to
Jesus in the middle of our darkest nights, seeking hope and consolation,
direction and comfort – and Jesus neither rejects us nor admonishes us,
but welcomes us. We discover the God that Nicodemus discovers: a
God of light who transforms our despair into hope; a God of wisdom
who enables us to re-create our Good Friday deaths into Easter
resurrections; a God of compassion who heals our broken spirits into
hearts made whole. We are all Nicodemus. — Amen
