-Last Sunday's homily is available by email request
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at www.usccb.org/readings
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00 PM on Saturday and 9:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 6pm on Sunday
Resurrection Check up: symptoms of death and symptoms of life?
This is a series on the spiritual signs of freedom and life versus the worldly signs of slavery to death/sin. I began with fear of dying, then individualism, autonomy and today it is minimalistic and entitlement members.
I am wondering if we have really believed in our incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church? Too many of us are interested in the perks of membership (what's the minimum I must do to get the desired benefit?) Is my incorporation in faith putting me into a dynamic relationship with God and Church/others? That is the "perk" that resurrected life offers us.
So, are there any signs in your life of the blessing of incorporation/relationship to others? Or are there signs of the stingy approach to life which is seeking the least investment to obtain the desire benefit? That is a symptom of death. Minimalists concerned only about self-centered entitlements.
2 comments:
I think this series of the spiritual signs of freedom of life are highlighting many of the challenges in society today - and this one on minimalism is very much alive. I just watched a great movie, My Dog Skip, and the story begins with a father who doesn't want his son to have a dog because inevitably the dog will die and the boy's heart will be broken. The father (who has had his own share of losses in life) wants to shield his son from hurt. Obviously, the father sees himself as acting in the boys' best interest. But we all know that loss IS inevitable and while spending our lives dodging it may save us some amount of hurt - the richness we will lose from the "not loving" surrenders by far the greater value.
I think to find signs in my own life of times I've taken a minimalist approach, I can check myself on when I've avoided the cost of giving myself away. While at the time I may have believed it to be the "right" choice, in retrospect I can see that what I really lost was an opportunity to love, to allow a seed to bear greater fruit, and to give "others" a gift that perhaps could have made a difference in their lives. That's the greater loss.
This one is easy. My vote is for "All in"!The more we participate, the more we take away. Everyone has a story to share. We are not all perfect (if we were, what would be the point?). Always be open to others happiness, grief, joyfulness.The shepherd always is there. Leading and guiding. It's not who we are, but who we can be.
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