Taste and See: Nourishment

Nourished by these redeeming gifts,
we pray, O Lord,
that through this help to eternal salvation
true faith may ever increase.
Through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion, 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The prayer above, prayed at Mass on Sunday, served to remind us of the expectation that we draw strength from our Sunday Eucharist for faithful living during the days, months and years that follow.

We all from time to time have experiences of Mass which seem not to engage, not to encourage. Indeed they may even seem to sap us of energy or the will to live!

Yet even in those less than positive reactions we receive something which may prompt us  – because of the ‘bad’ experience –  to return to the Lord in prayer, or take up – even more deliberately, carefully and appreciatively – our own Christian ministry and witness.

The Mass is gift from God – as indeed are in some sense, all aspects of our lives. Always, everywhere, they give us something to take back to God in prayer, for our good and the building up of the Kingdom.

• What gifts – welcome or unwelcome – did you receive from Mass on Sunday?
• How have you lived from them, brought them to prayer in the time since?

Graphic prepared for Calix Society London. (c) 2008, Allen Morris.

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Taste and See: unworldly?

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Psalm 145:6-10

The Psalm at Mass yesterday, the 4th Sunday of the Year, set before us God’s choices, and challenged us about ours.

Are the choices we make about self-protection and seeking after our own well-being or do they have us seek to respond lovingly to the needs of others.

• As we go through this new day, maybe we can keep a check. What am I doing for others? What am I doing for myself.
• How do I invite them to an experience of unity with me and ‘us’, and how do I define them as ‘them’ and other’?

‘The choir of manufacturers of weapons: a strong fortress is our Geneva.’  John Heartfield, photomontage for AIZ magazine, 1934. Displayed in Tate Modern, London. Photograph (c) 2016, Allen Morris

Speak Lord: guide us to deep life…

Seek the Lord,
all you, the humble of the earth,
who obey his commands.
Seek integrity,
seek humility:
you may perhaps find shelter
on the day of the anger of the Lord.

In your midst I will leave
a humble and lowly people,
and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
They will do no wrong,
will tell no lies;
and the perjured tongue will no longer
be found in their mouths.
But they will be able to graze and rest
with no one to disturb them.

Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13

The first reading at Mass today, the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, calls to us as the humble of the earth, obedient to God. It also calls on us to seek integrity, seek humility: it sort of implies these are qualities we have not yet got.

And as we gather for prayer today maybe we will recognise – and not only in the other people gathering – that we have some way to go before we meet the description in Zephnaniah of the people God wishes to leave to the world, for the worlds good.

We know to what we are called, and at our best we know how far short we fall.  And so we gather seeking what we lack,  with repentence, and in hope.

• For what do you pray today?
• Why?

Faith, Hope and Charity. All Saints, Leamington Spa. Photograph (c) 2016, Allen Morris.

Speak Lord: Be our ruler and our rule

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
or
Alleluia!

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
or
Alleluia!

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
or
Alleluia!

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
or
Alleluia!

Psalm 145:6-10

Tomorrow – the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time –  in the Responsorial Psalm sung at Mass, the Church sings of the Lord’s ministry of mercy.

The Kingship of God is beautifully, tenderly, expressed there in the description of his service and protection to those in need. Even the thwarting of the paths of the wicked is an act of love – not just for their would be victims, but for the wicked themselves – part of his work of giving sight to the blind, setting prisoners free.

The Kingship of God is over all people and for all people. Into his care we can relax. And his love, at our best, we strive to imitate.

• From what does the Lord call you?
• To what does the Lord call you?

Karl Hoffman: Christ. In the collection of the Hermitage, St Petersburg. Photograph (c) 2015, Allen Morris

Speak Lord: a humble way…

Take yourselves for instance, brothers, at the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the ordinary sense of the word, how many were influential people, or came from noble families? No, it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything.

The human race has nothing to boast about to God, but you, God has made members of Christ Jesus and by God’s doing he has become our wisdom, and our virtue, and our holiness, and our freedom. As scripture says: if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

St Paul calls us a realistic sense of ourselves. Humility about who were are/were in ourselves; proper pride about who in Christ we have become.

On the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, the sequence of readings invite us to a fresh humility about ourselves, and a fresh dedication to the Lord and his way of living.

In God’s purview so many of the things we have considered strengths are revealed as weaknesses, sapping us of our purpose and drawing us from what makes life most worth living.

To take to ourselves God’s vision and God’s life is not necessarily easy! But we seek to do it, not alone, but as very members of Christ. From him will come the strength we need, and from him the love and patience we need as we struggle as we learn to live by his strength.

• In what do you take false pride?
• In what can you take real pride?

Rock church, Goreme, Turkey. (c) 2014, Allen Morris

Speak Lord: Speak up?

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

Matthew 5:1-12

This coming Sunday, the 4th in Ordinary Time, we hear teh Beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel as our Sunday Gospel.

The passage from the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is a key exposition of the teaching of Jesus. Perhaps because they never read to the end, some -for example Goebbels, have belittled it as proclaiming a Gospel of weakness and impotence.

Monty Python offered their own take in the Life of Brian, exploiting the sermon on the mount to provide a funny tale of poor crowd control and mishearing. They provided a sympathetic sign-off to the sketch, but again one which focuses on the softer element of the teaching of Jesus.

MAN #2: You hear that? Blessed are the Greek.

GREGORY: The Greek?

MAN #2: Mmm. Well, apparently, he’s going to inherit the earth…..

 

MRS. BIG NOSE: Oh, it’s the meek! Blessed are the meek! Oh, that’s nice, isn’t it? I’m glad they’re getting something, ’cause they have a hell of a time.

Jesus himself ends with a challenge to his listeners to be strong and resilient as they engage with the evils of the world: to endure abuse and persecution for the cause of right and in defence of their following of Jesus.

• Which Beatitude do you find most attractive?
• Which do you find most challenging?
• Which Beatitude most deepens the quality of life in you?

 

To see the Sermon on the Mount scene from The Life of Brian click here.

Photograph of Church at the Mount of Beatitudes. (c) 2007, Allen Morris.

 

Taste and See: at home with the Lord

The Lord is my light and my help.

The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?

The Lord is my light and my help.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.

The Lord is my light and my help.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!

The Lord is my light and my help.

Psalm 26:1,4,13-14

The Responsorial Psalm at Mass on Sunday had us proclaim the love and care of God, and express our longing for us to be allowed/be able to entrust ourselves always to his tender care.

The psalmist speaks of the temple and the house of the Lord. In our world there have been many glorious temples and palaces, designed to give eloquent expression of the power and glory of the monarch or dynasty that posseses them.

Yet what the psalmist’s most longs for is not a housing upgrade, but a deeper and abiding closeness to the Lord himself. And this is what is offered to us again and again.

• Take time to pause and rejoice in the Lord’s tenderness and love for you….
• Give thanks.

Exterior facade of Nazarid Palace at the Alhambra, Granada. Photograph (c) 2014, Allen Morris.

Taste and See: Unity

Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:

‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.’

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.
He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.

Matthew 4:12-23

The Gospel at Mass on Sunday, the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, presents the dawn of the public ministry of Jesus, and in the faithful following of James and John, Peter and Andrew presents the dawn of the Church.

That following of Jesus – who helps us recognise the closeness of the Kingdom of Heaven, and offers us personal encounter with God – continues to this day.

And the most unexpected people are followers. Not always very good followers, but who find some inspiration and some guidance in Jesus. Together we are part of his Church, some more central, some more focussed, but all together of the one Church.

• On Sunday look and notice the people who gather with you in Church. Remember those who are not gathering with you but who identify as Catholics. Remember the others who are members of other Christian communities.
• Pray for them.
• And know afresh that you pray with them, and pray for the unity and faithfulness of the Church.

Sea of Galilee. (c) 2007, Allen Morris

Taste and See: Listen up

 

I appeal to you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to make up the differences between you, and instead of disagreeing among yourselves, to be united again in your belief and practice. From what Chloe’s people have been telling me, my dear brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: ‘I am for Paul’, ‘I am for Apollos’, ‘I am for Cephas’, ‘I am for Christ.’ Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17

The Second reading at Mass yesterday, the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, calls for a restoration of unity.

Our original unity comes from our shared humanity, gift of the Creator of all. That unity has been fractured so many times in so many ways. Wealth/religion/culture/political opinion are but some of the forces that drive us away from others and into self-interest groups. Can anything be more inimical to God’s will for us – the God who in Jesus Christ went to the Cross not for the (self-) righteous but for sinnes, for those outside our caste.

St Paul calls on all who call on Christ to find common ground again through Christ, to work for ways that help them to love and serve each other and together.

• Who offends you?
• How might you offend them?

Photograph (c) 2014, Allen Morris. Installation at Birmingham Library. (c) 2014, Allen Morris

Speak Lord: New light as we dawn

In days past the Lord humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in days to come he will confer glory on the Way of the Sea on the far side of Jordan, province of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor –
these you break as on the day of Midian.

Isaiah 8:23-9:3

As we listen to the first reading at Mass today, we look back to before the birth of Jesus to recall Israel’s anticipation of the fulfilment of God’s promise to them.

We do it because, despite the Incarnation and the new life in Grace it enables, we still await our full cooperation with God’s grace.

We have seen the dawn, indeed more than the dawn.And in that we find inspiration and encouragement for all that – still – lies ahead.

• What is shadow and darkness in your life?
• How does Jesus point a way forward for you?

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. (c) 2013, Allen Morris