Enough

Although I'm not preaching this weekend, the Gospel story of the little boy offering up his five loaves and two fishes to feed the crowd of 5,000 has been very much on my mind lately. Let's take a moment to talk about that.

When I was a child at church camp, our pastor read this story and asked us, "What did this actually look like? Imagine this with me: did the bread and fish magically pop up out of nowhere? Where did it come from?" Then he admitted that he kept some of his favorite snack mix in his shirt pocket, where most folks wouldn't know that he had it, but it was something to tide him over if he ended up working late. He imagined that most folks in Jesus' day might not head out to the edge of town, a long walk, without also packing a little extra food along, "just in case." What if that miracle was sharing? Perhaps folks didn't want to admit they also had extra food along, since they were surrounded by a crowd that also might be hungry, and no one person could possibly have enough to go around. However, perhaps as they saw the example of this little boy, as that basket came around, perhaps many people there were inspired to share some of their extra food as well--and what little extra each person had, was really more than enough to meet the needs.

Do you ever look at the world, especially in these past few weeks, and feel overwhelmed at the needs? Topping the news has been the tens of thousands of children fleeing the violence and crushing poverty of Central America. Meanwhile, I've been learning so much about our local homeless and hungry population, and the numbers there are daunting as well: long waiting lists at each of our existing shelters, thirty families with children in just one of the elementary schools who are living in their cars, sixty or more people living under the bridge. Long lines at the food pantry, and too little food to go around.
It would be quite easy for us, either as individuals or as one congregation, to look at it all and say, "we just can't make a difference, we don't have enough in the face of all this need."

Yet I think it is so important to notice what Jesus *didn't* ask, either of the boy or of the disciples. Jesus did not ask anyone to bake all the bread and catch all the fish by themselves. Jesus did not ask anyone to go buy all of the food from the nearby village, which would have cost far too much and been too cumbersome to transport by any one person, or even all twelve disciples--who realized this as well. Jesus didn't even ask the little boy to give up all his meals forever, so that others may be fed. Instead, Jesus simply took that little bit of a snack, and blessed it. Even had there been nothing left over, the boy would have been slightly inconvenienced for a few hours at worst.

Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the sheer amount of need around us, let's just start by asking ourselves: what are our five loaves and two fish? What is something that may actually seem like a little something to us, that could be blessed by Jesus and become something so much more? What can we share in such a way that it does not diminish us, but instead inspires others around us to share as well? On our own, we can only do so much. But working together, each of us sharing our little somethings, and combining those gifts with the whole body of Christ, we may even find ourselves in the midst of miracles.

Peace,
Le Anne

Blessing of Backpacks and Briefcases

This past weekend, we tried our first-ever 'Blessing of the Backpacks and Briefcases' to celebrate Labor Day and Back-to-School. We invited everyone, even retirees, to bring a symbol of their vocation, work, or study, to help celebrate and prepare for the year ahead. And after the worship, we had an ice cream social, because that's how we roll around here.

The introduction and prayer we used is as follows:

Introduction

Friends, God has called all of us as God's own children, and each of us, whether child or adult, one who studies, or works, or is retired, has a purpose and place in this world to which God has called us.  God calls some of us to work in physical labor, and others of us to work in offices, and yet others of us to work in situations of danger.  God calls us to be teachers and students, paramedics and nurses, builders and landscapers, social workers and musicians, to every vocation we might possibly know, and even to ones we’ve never known before.

I invite you at this time to bring the symbols of your vocation forward if you desire, or, if you prefer, remain seated and simply place these symbols in front of you in your lap. If you didn't bring something but would still like to participate, you may wish to lift or your hands in front of you with your palms open.

Let us pray.

God, you have given us minds to think and to learn, and gifts and talents and skills to use in order to provide for ourselves a living in this world.  

God, for those of us who study, we thank you for the opportunity to go to school and for teachers and staff who care about us.  We ask for your presence with us, especially when we struggle with new lessons, or face difficult situations with our classmates.  We ask that you will give us courage to ask questions, to speak up for ourselves or others who may be faced with teasing or bullying, and that as we travel to and from school, play on the playground, or walk the hallways, that we may do so in safety.  God, help us to hear your calling in our lives, to particular fields in which we might be most useful and also find meaningful, and help us to know that you will continue to guide us as we seek to follow you.

God, for those of us who work, who are looking for work, or those of us retired from our labors, we ask that you are present with us also.  Remind us that in all places and with all people we are bearers of your love.  Help us to be patient, to be courageous, to accept new challenges, to apply new skills, to never stop learning in the vocation to which we are called.  Help us listen constantly for new directions in which we may be called, until the day you finally call us home.

Lord, lend your blessing to us, now on this Labor Day Weekend, and always.  Amen.

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I would also enjoy using the above setting while allowing a few moments for anyone who wished to speak to share a little about the symbols they have brought. This is especially meaningful to hear from retirees and those who have had to end their vocations earlier than they may have chosen due to a variety of circumstances. Another option may be to ask who might wish to share where they have heard God calling them into a vocation, either in the past, or now being called forward into the future.

What To Do….?

Psalm 81: 10-16; Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

The scriptures tell us today what to do in any number of situations:  How to behave at a banquet or party, and how to host a banquet or party as God would have us do.  How to behave towards our spouse, or towards total strangers.  How to remember people most folks might prefer to forget.  So, on the surface, it’s a little like a shopping list of what to do.  

But, especially around Labor Day Weekend, there is a bigger question looming under the surface of the texts, and that is:   what is God calling us to do in this life?  (Sort of like, ‘why are we here?’) And that leads us to the word, Vocation.

Vocation is more than a job; it is that specific purpose in this life to which God calls us.  And we might hear that calling as a still soft voice; or an endless fascination; or discovering a new skill and finding out how much it brings us joy; or discovering a need and having an idea how to fill it.  As Frederick Buechner once said, “vocation is the place where your deep passion and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

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Do you remember that book that was making the rounds a few years back, called the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People?  Great book.  I have no real complaints about the book.  However,

I’ll be honest, the Scriptures today in Hebrews and Luke read like the “7 Habits of Highly Un-Successful People.”  After all, if you really wanted to get ahead, wouldn't you take the most advantageous spot at the table, wouldn't you follow the money, wouldn't you do whatever it takes to get to the top?  

But we know, it is so lonely at the top, and the pressure to succeed at all costs, often leads to empty homes and broken relationships.

There is a beautiful cartoon circulating this week by Bill Watterson (and how much more Presbyterian can we get that Calvin and Hobbes)?   You can see it here:  http://imgur.com/gallery/V6KoHbF but I want to read what he writes.

Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement.  In a culture that celebrates avarice and excess as the good life, a person who is happy doing his own work is often considered an eccentric, even a subversive.  Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success.  Someone who takes on an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake.  A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential.  As if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth.  You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you are doing.  There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them.  To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.

Friends, God asks us to do things that may not get us to the top, but that lead us to even better places in our lives.  Let’s review those 7 Habits that God offers instead:

Do for those who cannot pay us back.

Sit at the lowest place, not the best.

Show hospitality to strangers.

Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison;

Remember those who are tortured, as though you were being tortured;

Keep lives free from love of money and be content with what you have; and

Do not neglect to do good and share what we have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

It is not a path to success as the world might call it.  But it is a path that will be extraordinary. We might be afraid to go down that path sometimes, and wonder if we’ve really done the right things.  However, in those moments, remember that we can know, as Paul writes, that God will never leave us or forsake us.  And we can say with confidence:  The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?  God is with us, calling us, and walking beside us.

Thanks be to God!

Prayers This Week:

For those who are wrestling with chemical dependency

People who are looking for work

People who are retired, discerning new directions for their lives

People who are working in unjust, unsafe, or underpaid conditions, that they may be freed from these chains and able to work in ways that produce a sense of purpose, as well as basic standard of living.

Those who are in prison, that they may be rehabilitated and restored to our world, able to contribute in positive ways.

Those who are child laborers, or enslaved, victims of human trafficking, that they may be free.

Of Mosquito Bites and Bridging Boundaries

The following is an expanded/narrative version of the children's message about healing, both from physical ailments, and from our own prejudices.

There's been lots more mosquitoes recently after all the rain, and I am covered in bites.  The trouble is, I'm kind of extra allergic to these bites, and the itch doesn't go away for a long time, no matter what I do.  (This seems like it gets worse every year, and I have a whole shelf full of remedies to try and make them less itchy, but nothing works really all that well. Seriously, they itch for days, sometimes weeks. I'd give just about anything for a really good mosquito bite treatment).

Still, there's so many worse things you could have than mosquito bites.  Leprosy, for example, is a horrible disease where your skin basically falls off and you have all these open sores on your body.  It's also really contagious.  We have antibiotics that treat it now, but back in Biblical times, they didn't have any good medicines for it, so people really suffered.  Learn more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy

This is the background of the story of Naaman.  Naaman was a wealthy and powerful man, but he suffered from leprosy.  No amount of money could cure him from his suffering.  His wife's servant girl, an Israelite, told her to send Naaman to the prophet Elisha in Israel in order to be healed.  So the king sent Naaman to be healed, along with lots of expensive gifts to buy his way to being healed. (In fact, the king of Israel was terrified that Naaman was coming, because he thought the king was playing a trick on him and setting a trap to attack him).  However, the prophet Elisha calmed his king's fears, and when Naaman came to the prophet's house, Elisha told him to simply wash in the Jordan and he would be healed.

Now, Naaman was angry, because he expected a more impressive treatment, something that would be worthy of his might and status.  However, his own servants finally convinced him to follow the simple instructions, and trust that they would work.  He washed in the Jordan and was indeed healed!

There were a couple kinds of healings that took place that day.  First, Naaman was healed of his leprosy.  Second, he learned that a simple man with a simple answer could be more powerful than all of Naaman's might and wealth.  Third, the king learned that a foreign ruler and his general could need his help, rather than only be ready to destroy him and his kingdom.  Not only physical ailments, but also prejudices, were healed that day.

Sometimes we are asked to help people we'd rather not, and we have all sorts of reasons for not wanting to. It's important to be safe, but also, it's important to examine our own prejudices and ask ourselves whether God is calling us to something greater than what we knew possible before.  It is just as much a miracle to heal human divisions as it is to heal any other kind of human suffering.  Thanks be to God!

Forward Motion

Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8

In this season of Lent we’ve been talking about companionship along life’s journeys:  about sibling relationships, and friends, and family and finding spiritual community as well.....

And speaking of families, I wonder, how many of you have either heard your parents say, or maybe you said it to your kids, “and this is why we can’t have nice things?”

You usually hear it when something of value gets wasted, broken, or misused in some way.  (I heard it endlessly in our home with my four brothers; I’ve invoked in my home at least once with my toddlers already)! Families, and college roommates, and governments, and even church congregations, can have arguments about how to use our resources best--with differing and sometimes competing values attached to each purpose.

So, going back to Bethany in the Gospel story today:  This is a group of friends at dinner having, at first glance, this kind of argument.  They all know each other well; they have goals of fulfilling a mission; Mary uses the expensive perfume to wash Jesus’ feet.  Judas says, we could’ve probably invested that in better ways, what a waste.  The story is emotionally loaded. Motives are assigned to each of the players in the story, and some harsh words are said, and also, perhaps you noticed, Jesus takes sides.

So let’s try to untangle what happened...

Extravagant Things

First of all, there’s the extravagance of using a perfume which cost a year’s wages.  At today’s rates, maybe $20,000 or more for a manual laborer?  That's a lot of money, I don’t even know if there’s a perfume that expensive in existence today.  And we don’t hear how Mary even got it--is this something you just keep around the house?  We may never know.

However, listen to where they are--in John’s telling of the story, they’re at the house of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  And while his sister Martha served Jesus and the disciples, Mary made this gesture of affection.  And it’s important to note that in John’s telling of the story, Mary is not some awful sinner, not a prostitute as we sometimes infer (it’s not actually in the Bible); but Mary, sister of Martha, sister of Lazarus, and friend of Jesus.

Now, if someone brought my family member back from the dead, I could see that kind of extravagance.  It’s not sustainable for your bank account, maybe it’s foolish in a hundred ways, but it’s pure gratitude.  If someone did that for me, for my family, I think I’d be saying, you know, take whatever you want, it’s yours--the car, the house, whatever, I don’t care! After all, my family member is worth more to me than anything I might own.

And Paul has similar things to say about his own life in today’s reading--that his love of Christ and his compulsion to spread the Gospel have really cost him everything he had--his status, his employment, his freedom (since he’s often in jail)--and he considers it all worth it, because he knows that what he has found in Christ is worth far more than any of that.  Especially the hope Paul has of resurrection from the dead.

It’s funny, because we often today hear about extravagance trying to avoid death, or even old age, which if we live that long we know is in itself inevitable.  We joke about guys who get fancy cars as part of a midlife crisis; we talk about women who “have a little work done.”  We hear of people wanting to be cryogenically frozen in hopes of being brought back to life at some point in the future.  Sometimes people who are desperately ill try this in hopes of later finding a cure.  (Although, I admit I’m not sure I’d want to be brought back a hundred years in the future, if all my friends and family were gone).  

Over and over in the Scriptures today we hear about God doing new and surprising things that sometimes seem foolish, or at least contrary to conventional wisdom.  God tells us that for those of us who weep, we will end up rejoicing, that our fortunes will be restored despite our suffering, that what has happened in the past is the past, because God is about to do something new--and we simply need to be ready for it.

So, I tried to think of where foolish extravagance might be fruitful.  Well, how many of us made complete fools of ourselves while pursuing our spouses?  How many of us don’t care what we look like when we’re lavishing affection on our children or grandchildren, when we’re rolling around on the ground playing with them?  I think we also know at moments like those, that this is what really matters.  Moments like these, maybe we begin to understand what Mary is doing.

And we know, (right?) that this kind of time is all too important with those we love:  we know for young parents not to stress too much about the state of the housekeeping when the kids are young, and  to just love them while they are there.  They will be gone before we know it.  The same is true of working long hours and neglecting our families whenever we don’t have to do so for survival--too quickly, our loved ones are gone.

And speaking of gone:  remember also that disciples, Mary, Martha--everyone in that room--saw Lazarus resurrected, but there is no promise at that moment, on that day, in that place, that Jesus is only going to be dead for three days.  Maybe for them at best, there’s a faction of Judaism that teaches resurrection on the last day, but not in three days.  If they had any inkling of what was coming, that Jesus would be condemned and executed, we can really understand such extravagance.

Footwashing: Would You Really?

I’m going to throw another idea out on the table now:  washing someone else’s feet with your hair.  Let’s be honest, this is kind of gross.  And maybe not many of us have hair that long. Yet footwashing was part of the hospitality rite, and with good reason: people wore sandals without socks, it was hot and dusty, so their feet were probably reeking.  Servants and slaves did this in good households, but they brought out water and towels.  But really, how many of us would do that for someone else, even a friend?  How many of us would do that for our spouses?  The closest many of us have gotten is cleaning a child who stepped in dog doo, am I right?  And how many of us would let someone else wash our feet?  Do we worry about what people would think of our feet?  Are they ugly? hairy?  smelly?  I really enjoy doing a foot-washing service on Maundy Thursday, but I know a lot of people are afraid to do it, because it’s pretty humbling and well, intimate, to touch somebody else’s feet, or have somebody else handle your own.

Remember the story of Lazarus though?  When Jesus entered that tomb, on the fourth day, the day that was considered proof beyond a doubt that they guy was dead and had even started to stink--that’s the day Jesus went into the tomb.  All those burial spices and perfumes used to anoint the dead--they weren’t about to help now.

Feet don’t seem maybe so bad in comparison.

And now Mary is here, and according to Jesus, is anointing him for the day of his own burial.  Jesus knows the time and is counting the cost.  He is perhaps frustrated with friends who don’t see the big picture.  And yet, he embraces the friend who is willing to be ridiculed by extravagance.

So why is Judas upset?  Maybe he was stealing--although, if you remember John’s gospel is being written down decades later, after lots of fighting between Christians and Jews, maybe there’s a little gossip happening there.  In the meantime, sometimes we stay with what we find comfortable and conventional because we simply fear the unknown.

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Paul writes about loss and gain, and pressing onward toward the goal--the goal of resurrection. Meanwhile, Jesus too, realizes he’s in forward motion: heading toward the cross.  If people around him realized even that; still only God could have known about the resurrection and promise of Easter, the surprise that lay in store.  God has, and God will continue, to turn sensible world order on its head.  God continues to do a new thing.  When we are beyond hope, like Lazarus, God lavishes extravagant love on us.  And that is our way forward, in all times, and in all places, with abundant hope. Amen.

There But For the Grace of God...

Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

This is an excellent resource on prayers celebrating the gifts of women in the church:  http://www.pcusa.org/media/uploads/pw/pdfs/2013_celebrate_the_gift.pdf

Today’s Scriptures offer some difficult stories, and show us that the questions people had for Jesus back in his time, are not so very different from the questions of faith which we hold deeply today.

Today we have stories of people suffering and being struck down, stories warning us to be mindful of our own morality, and how not to end up like those other folks.  And maybe these days, we might have a question in our minds of just how troubling these stories can be.

When Bad Things Happen To Good People*

In the Gospel story, people are asking Jesus the fundamental question, Why did these bad things happen to these people? After all, they suffered unspeakable acts when the local dictator killed people trying to practice their religion.  And we hear from the people an even deeper suspicion then than now that might those who suffered might have deserved it; morality, etc.  Yet Jesus reminds them that the people who suffered are no better or worse than anyone else.  Simply put, tragedy is not God’s punishment for sin.  That’s pretty radical talk, and often overlooked.  And Jesus goes on to say that trying to insulate ourselves from the bad which has happened to others, is more likely to lead us on our own short-sighted paths to destruction.

And in Paul we hear phrases that are so often misinterpreted by people trying to comfort others going through suffering.   But what does it really mean to be tested?  And that phrase that God never gives us more than we can handle--not actually what Paul says--says that everyone faces tests; rather; God gives a way out somehow, and that is what allows us to endure a situation, because there is some glimmer of hope.  And that way out may entail some extremely difficult choices.

It’s important to realize when reading this passage that Paul is trying to coerce the “know it alls” at Corinth, who think that they’re better than others and can get away with doing things that cause others to stumble, because they’re invincible.  Paul is warning them that they’re just as human and just as vulnerable as anyone else.  

When we see someone else who is suffering, we have this saying, “There but for the grace of God go I.”  It’s supposed to be a sympathetic phrase, that we could just as likely be the one suffering as the person we’re observing.  But it’s not really God’s grace that allowed us to live a more privileged or less harrowing life than someone else.  And it doesn’t mean that God didn’t extend grace to a person who is suffering.  Instead, I think the more appropriate questions are:  How much grace does God extend to us?  And, How much grace do we need to extend to each other?

Women, Self-Righteousness, and Grace

As you’ve already seen in the bulletin, this weekend of focus on the gifts of women in PCUSA, and it’s the ‘kickoff’ of sorts to our One Great Hour of Sharing.

And I’m wondering if you’ve heard the phrase, “hating on each other?”  It means to have a certain amount of self-righteousness about someone else, especially the kind that we get together in groups to express.  Well, I’m going to be honest with you, just as the Scripture stories all have people who are kind of doing this to others today, we’re pretty good at doing this as women.  If you want evidence of this today, you need look no further than the websites called “mommy blogs;” where you can hate on those who use disposable diapers, or daycare, or formula, or just parent their children somehow differently than you do.  A generation ago, before the Internet, the more familiar term was the “mommy wars”--with deeply drawn lines between women who stayed home to raise their children and those who worked outside the home.  It really is the same war, now just fought on different media.

However, as a world, we’re making a little more progress when it comes to ‘hating on,’ or blaming, women who experience domestic violence or sexual assault.  The rhetoric in this country is dying down about whether the woman in question did something to “deserve it,”  whether by wearing the wrong outfit or burning her partner’s supper--and more emphasis is being put on women’s rights not to be abused in the first place.  Yet, there is still work to be done in our society, and work to be done around the world on this very topic.  And we ourselves can probably be more helpful when talking about these things in other places by not saying it happens because the men in those countries are somehow morally or culturally inferior to the men in our own, as a result of their race or ethnicity or religion.  Perhaps when we say this, we do so in the vain hope that it will not happen to us.

And there are so many other circumstances in which women can find themselves, that we are more willing to judge or regard with disgust, rather than compassion--for example, teenage pregnancy, or prostitution.  We heap shame on women who do either of these things, while probably hoping that either situation doesn’t happen to anyone we know.  And yet, even in the Bible, God brings blessings through pregnant teens and prostitutes.  It’s not an easy life, to be sure, but we don’t need to make it harder.

Remember that phrase again, “God never gives you more than you can endure?”  Well, maybe God doesn’t, but others do?  What is harder to face, the suffering of our situation, or the stigma we receive from others?

And then, there’s the tension that exists closer to home, that might be in any of our homes, which is the tension between Mothers vs. Daughters; or especially mothers and daughters in law.  We consider ourselves lucky when a relationship is good; and almost inevitable when the relationship is not--perhaps because years of heartache are so deeply felt and remembered.  Whatever role we play, it’s easier to commiserate with our friends than to really work on the brokenness in the relationship itself.

[And let’s be honest, the world has changed and it exacerbates that tension: Everything that we thought we knew about raising children 20 or 40 years ago is considered wrong now:  should the baby always sleep on its back, or on its stomach?]

Of all the things I’ve described above, then and now, I think we do well to hear those words in Isaiah, when God says:  My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways.  The heavens are higher than the earth--well, we all know that taking the high road, and truly doing so, is hard!

And yet, we too, whether we have faced misfortune, or are tempted to judge others who have, we might know deeply the words of the Psalmist, that God’s “Steadfast love is better than life; my soul clings to you, you have been my help.”

The Outreach Factor: God Abundantly Pardons

This will be even more important for us as we seek to grow.  As Isaiah says, People we wouldn’t even consider associating with might turn to us, and when we reach out as a church to our community, we might be surprised whom we find waiting for us, if we are really practicing God’s welcome!

Why waste our efforts on anything less than what God seeks from us?  Whether cliquishness or fashion or denigrating others?

After all, God abundantly pardons.  What if the housekeeping isn’t perfect?  God pardons.  Did you make a costly mistake at work?  Have a family fight?  Did you sleep in and miss church?  God abundantly pardons.  Forgot to exercise last year?  Your Doctor might not be so understanding, but God abundantly pardons.  The point is not to give up and stop caring as if nothing matters--but at least to reduce our anxiety about failure, so that we can begin to practice love.  Begin seeing world as God sees it --and not wandering around in self-righteousness, because that is a problem.  I think we all have to be reminded of this from time to time, because it’s so easy to do, to think we’re doing it all right, we’re going to church every week, we’re watching our mouths, we’re doing a little volunteer work here and there--but it’s too easy to judge others.  We get too fixated on what others doing wrong, probably missing something looming large in our own lives.  Paul says, “If you think you’re standing, watch out that you don’t fall.  Everyone faces the same kinds of tests in this life.”

Finally, let’s go back to that fig tree in the garden.  When we’re ready to cut others down, God pleads for another chance.  When we’re the ones who feel like we’re a waste of space, God may simply have put our feet in manure a while until we are ready to thrive again!

When we have been shown such abundant grace, why wouldn’t we want to respond in kind?  Why wouldn’t we want to bear good fruit?

Tragedy is not a punishment for sin.  In judging others, we risk destroying our own lives as well as others.  God has shown us the ways of love, through extending grace to us, that we might lend our own acts of healing to a hurting world.  Go and do likewise. Amen.

*There is an excellent book by this title, authored by Rabbi Harold Kushner.  I highly recommend it.

Children’s sermon:  Why do bad things happen?

Sometimes we do things that aren’t wise, and bad things happen. If we tease someone, they might cry.  If we don’t study, we might get a bad grade.   If we let our cat out, it might get lost.  Other times, we have accidents, where we didn’t do anything wrong, but something bad happens anyway.  In Biblical days, people thought that if something bad happened to you, you must have done something wrong to deserve it. This is done to scare other people into being good, but didn’t work very well, and people were afraid.   Jesus says that this is not true, and that we should not judge people by the bad things that have happened to them, because they could happen to anyone.  Rather, we should focus on God’s love for us, trust in God, and show God’s love to other people.

Prayers:

For those recovering from stroke

For those struggling with mental health

For those struggling with addictions

For all who face abuse in their homes and families

For all who face hunger

For all women who struggle to gain access to education, work, and safety in their daily lives around the world

For the Catholic church, as they seek a new leader, that they may discern with wisdom