WHO’S YOUR MASTER?: TRUST OR WORRY

What a beautiful and touching image we have in the first reading today! Like a loving mother, God will never forget His children. That’s a great lead-in to our Gospel reading which focuses on two subjects: “serving two masters”(our relationship with God and things), and worry. I’m sure there’s a hot button in there somewhere for almost all of us!

Lots of things can rule us: the love of money or possessions, the power of position, the glamour of prestige, and the driving force of unruly passions and addictions. Ultimately the choice boils down to two: God and things. How many of us in the business world had to work for two bosses at one time? It happens, but is rarely ever successful. There is a constant tug of war over who gets priority. There can only be one master in our life. Our “master” is that which governs our thought processes, shapes our ideals, and controls the desires of the heart and the values we choose to live by. It’s easy then to answer the question of who takes priority. It is God.

Now let’s shift gears. Sure, we fear not having enough, not being able to provide for our family and this is understandable because our society tells us to live 24 hours a day worrying about those things. It begs us to accumulate more and more.That’s why we worry, but worry or anxiety robs us of faith and confidence in God’s help. It saps our energy. That’s why Jesus tells us God knows our needs even before we ask and he gives generously to those who trust in him. Here’s where the rub comes in. It would be foolish to say a person who is jobless, poor, had 5 children to feed and a sickly spouse should not worry about tomorrow. This is where we come in. Trusting God means we believe everything else will take care of itself and that means we have a responsibility to take care of our neighbour. That’s what we’ve been hearing in the Gospel for the last several weeks.

Keep Moving Forward

For the month of January our parish community was engaged in a message series under the title "Baggage". Whenever we are hurt, we feel as if someone owes us something. We can hold onto our hurts for a long time, we can hold onto our hurts for a lifetime. Our hurt can slow us down and it can mess us up. It can even damage other relationships moving forward. As we begin a New Year together, we will look at the importance of forgiving others and how it helps us even more than the person who hurt us. More than anything, it helps us grow like Christ.

As a supplement to this series, which focuses on the need to drop the baggage of life which often comes in the form of Hurdles, Hurts and Heresies we need to embrace authenticity in prayer, for the next few weeks our blog will feature some articles about prayer. I will cover four areas: What is prayer? Is there a right way to pray? What if my prayer is quiet as opposed to loud? How can I grow in prayer?  This entry is Part 4 of 4

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Many people can remember the first movie they ever saw in a theatre. I know I can — Star Wars (the original) on May 25, 1977. Now I make sure I see every release of the Star Wars story, including the latest film, Rogue One.

Without giving away the story, one line from the movie stood out for me. It came in a scene in which the Jedi warrior, in prison, replies to his cell mate: “There is more than one sort of prison to be trapped in, and I feel like you carry yours with you.”

Sometimes people come to me and say they feel “trapped” in prayer. The first time I heard that, I was distressed until they unpacked it a bit. It turned out they were faithful to prayer, ardent in prayer, generous in prayer, but felt they were not moving in prayer, that they were stuck in a rut or routine.

So what should one do if they feel that way? For a child of God, moving ahead is the only direction outlined for us in Scripture. While some may choose to maintain the status quo, to go around in circles, or to even turn back to the security of what was, moving ahead with confidence is the only life-giving alternative.

Several years ago I adopted a motto for myself. It comprised words that the legendary Dr. David Livingstone once entered into his diary. Livingstone was the 19th-century Scot who devoted the best years of his life crisscrossing the vast continent of Africa as a Christian missionary doctor, preacher and explorer. He made this entry: “I am prepared to go anywhere, as long as it is forward!”

Moving forward is not always easy. There will be distractions, the road will bend, obstacles may appear and other challenges may arise. Yet, nothing should keep our eyes from the ultimate goal, nothing should ever allow discouragement to paralyze us. Moving ahead is the only way to go.

A follower of Jesus truly can move ahead with confidence in any enterprise, head held high, no matter what and with full assurance of ultimate victory because of the promises and the character of God. This character of God is His unfailing goodness toward us. His promise is that God will go with us where He leads us. So how can we do that in prayer? Here are a couple of ways to keep moving forward:

First, consider journaling. This keeps everything fresh and on task. It also gives us an opportunity to review where we have been. One of my favourite features on my new GPS is that it not only tells me how far I have yet to go, but it tells me how much I have travelled. On a long journey this is such a grace because it keeps me encouraged, focused and even determined to reach my destination. Journaling is a lot like that.

Second, find a good companion. A fine spiritual director is a gift. Since my seminary days I have been blessed with one who has been a rock in my own spiritual life. But sometimes, well, our spiritual directors can be a bit more celestial — the saints. The lives of the saints — St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross and St. John Paul II, to name few — are wonderful directors for us. Their lives can be beacons of direction when we wonder if we are moving.

Third, consider taking a retreat. As a child, every once in a while my parents would rearrange my room. I thought it had something to do with wanting to check if I cleaned under my bed or even if I was hiding anything. But in reality my mother, a teacher, knew that a change (even subtle) can provide a new perspective. Sometimes getting “away” for a short bit freshens us for the steps forward.

As we continue to move forward in life, we should never look back, go in circles or even simply maintain the status quo. We should recheck our individual personal histories and be reminded of His faithfulness in years past, being also reassured of what He can do for us now, since Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Indeed, let us trust Him more completely for what He can and will do on behalf of His children as they encounter new challenges. His promises never fail and He remains faithful to the end, for His love for us is everlasting.

Our part is simply, in ardent prayer, to keep moving forward with confidence.

Making Your Way Thru Prayer and Life....together

For the month of January our parish community was engaged in a message series under the title "Baggage". Whenever we are hurt, we feel as if someone owes us something. We can hold onto our hurts for a long time, we can hold onto our hurts for a lifetime. Our hurt can slow us down and it can mess us up. It can even damage other relationships moving forward. As we begin a New Year together, we will look at the importance of forgiving others and how it helps us even more than the person who hurt us. More than anything, it helps us grow like Christ.

As a supplement to this series, which focuses on the need to drop the baggage of life which often comes in the form of Hurdles, Hurts and Heresies we need to embrace authenticity in prayer, for the next few weeks our blog will feature some articles about prayer. I will cover four areas: What is prayer? Is there a right way to pray? What if my prayer is quiet as opposed to loud? How can I grow in prayer?  This entry is Part 3 of 4

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An older gentleman in our community is a resident at a nearby palliative hospital. He has always been a strong independent man, but his Parkinson’s disease has entered an aggressive form and he is unable to do the simple functions of life as he once did independent of help.

One such task is daily shaving, for which he requires the help of the nurses. One day by accident one of the nurses nicked him a little and she was instantly forbidden from ever helping him again. Instead, my elderly friend does it himself and in the process nicks himself over and over again on his own.

In our lives the same pattern can exist when we allow things into our life which prevent or prohibit us in our life of prayer. We call that baggage. This baggage of life comes often in forms of hurdles, hurts and heresies. Let us take a look at all three briefly as we continue looking at what is prayer together.

First, the hurdles. I often recall hearing as a child my pastor remark “Heaven is Heaven and Earth is not.” Our eternal focus and destiny is not here, it is with the Lord. So this life will be filled with hurdles. How we handle those hurdles makes all the difference.

In this we know that people (even priests) are imperfect, that the events of life don’t always run smoothly, that mistakes and even “bad things” do happen, that families disagree and even drift — all of this can be heavy baggage. Yet if in our prayer we hold on to that baggage, with mandates that tell God what He must do with this baggage and then despair when the mandate is not fulfilled, then we are losing the opportunity to grab hold of mercy. Mercy lets us forgive often, try again regularly, get up when we fall, seek help, find balance and adopt peace. Are you praying with a mandate or with mercy?

Another piece of baggage in our life is hurts. These “nicks” of life can be done by ourselves in our choices, or by others in word, action or deed. Many of the times these are in error, and we can either keep “nicking” by reliving the hurt or we can seek instead the light of the Lord, which often means letting go and moving on.

Even in our prayer we can recount the story, telling God the hurt that was done and even asking repeatedly why? Holding on to this baggage just causes the hurt to be relived, but surrendering it in prayer to the Lord, expressing our emotion but sufficing in His Grace, makes all the difference. Is there anything you are holding on to and letting “nick” you more?

Thirdly, we often handle the baggage of “heresies.” These are the half-truths or the lies of life. They often are appealing, look good, seem easy and even manageable, but that small inner voice says they are wrong.

Last fall, after returning from a gruelling 16-hour flight, I was in a hurry to catch my ride at the airport and get home. After standing at the luggage area for a bit I spotted my luggage, grabbed it and began to make my way out of the airport only to be chased by an airline employee claiming I had someone else’s bag. Upon inspection, well, I did. They looked alike with one difference, the name tag.

So often the heresies of life look like truth, but they are not of the Lord. The best way to drop this baggage is in prayer, to constantly be praying for a discerning heart to seek the light of the Lord by seeing if it is for His name, His glory and as part of His will for our life. If it’s not of the Lord — drop it!

Ask yourself this week: in your life of prayer, is there any baggage you continue to carry? Are you holding on to it in prayer, or are you dropping it with prayer? Next week, the greatest prayer.