“A walk to the Kingdom…”
At times when we look at the issues in our lives and world, it might be tempting to throw up our hands and say, “What’s the use? What difference can I make?” Where is hope? Where is God?
Those similar feelings of discouragement and questions must have been in the minds and hearts of the Israelites we hear about in our reading from Isaiah. Coming home from exile in Babylonia they dreamed of seeing the former glorious Jerusalem, but now it is in ruins and their cherished Temple, now a pile of stones and rubble, like homes bombed out in Iraq; Palestine mortared and shelled into devastation, and many parts of the world. Or the devastation from natural disasters where people question whether they will have the energy and hope to start all over again.
The hope comes in lived and experienced faith and the faith of those who help! Isaiah provided that hope as a clearer vision for the returned exiles. Restoration for Israel will come from God. Sure, the people will have plenty of work to do, but they can be assured that God has seen their need and is doing something to bring their hopes to fulfillment. The new Israel would be called by a new name—a sign of a new relationship with God; entrusted to God in such a strong bond it can only be described in beautiful, intimate and sacred imagery of marriage; “God will be wedded to the people”
Few passages in the Bible equal this one as a statement of the degree and kind of love that expresses God’s intimate care for us. God’s love overflows and never ends, just like we hear in the Gospel reading this week on the miracle at Cana.
An interesting approach to the reading I once read simply focused on the emptiness of the jars in the beginning of the story. That is, St. John makes a point to emphasize that the jars were empty and needed to first be filled with water before they could be useful to Jesus—and ultimately turned to rich wine.
We need to be emptied of what fills us before God can pour himself into us and change us—let go of those things that can block the movement and power of God to flow through our lives.
Some may be filled with indifference toward Christian works of mercy, self-righteousness, jealousy, greed, harshly judgmental of others, infidelity in marriage, bigotry, anger toward your spouse or family/neighbor, untreated addictive behaviors, indifference toward the inviolability of all life from conception to natural death —those places that deny room for God. We need to be emptied through prayer, confession, counseling, reconciliation, and love. We want to be made into something new and beautiful and we need the power and love of God to help achieve this.
God’s overflowing love at the Eucharist empowers us we wouldn’t think possible, “Here at this moment of my life I celebrate God. Help me empty myself that you may fill me with your love that I become your love for others.” His answer when we do cooperate: “I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly”
Our image of God needs the ability to feel loved abundantly by God. Every year we are called to a deeper conversion -a deeper love by trying to recognize what we need to be emptied of in order to be completely filled with the love of Jesus, which leads to our using our gifts from God to spread his love to others which deepens our personal relationship with Him. As we do we serve to help replenish others who thirst to know that they are abundantly loved by God through us. This is sacrificial love, expressed countless times in the daily routine of the Catholic family.
It is also the gift of great marriage; the husband and wife are continually challenged with ways to love sacrificially. Occasions present themselves daily whether it is doing the shopping or laundry, changing the baby, getting the child to soccer or dance, taking care of elderly parents or in-laws, taking on more responsibility with their grandchildren, or simply, getting off the couch to play with the kids. All are expressions of sacrificial love which are the routine of living the sacrament of marriage.
In truth, all Christians are called to sacrificial love whether this love is expressed within a marriage or within the life of the committed single person. Whether widowed or divorced, all of us are called to work on allowing the grace of God flow through us to help His love flow out to others.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one such leader, whom we celebrate on Monday that lived his love of the Lord by raising consciousness of issues that blighted our nation for nearly 175 years. His peaceful marches fomented greatly needed reforms to our nation’s policies and laws on segregation. .
This coming Wednesday, the Church calls us to observe a week of daily prayers for unity with all Christians—to eliminate the words and deeds of bigotry that exists between Christian traditions.
Next Friday January 22 is the ominous Anniversary of Roe versus Wade right to abortion. A peaceful walk for the end to legalized abortion with the Right to Life takes place on Saturday, Jan. 23 in SF. There is a bus departing from St. A’s and St. John the Baptist going to San Francisco next Saturday to march and use our voices our words to work toward the end abortion.
The coming together of vocation weekend, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Holiday, a week of prayer for Christian Unity, and Roe vs. Wade should give us pause to ask ourselves what we are doing with our words our lives to witness peace, hope, love and the dignity of life. How do we respond to Jesus who calls us to follow in his steps and the steps of the disciples; to walk to the kingdom with Him?
Blessings, Fr. Gordon