Category: Christ

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture Uncategorized

Fairness and generosity.

Vindemia Winery

Some thoughts on fairness and generosity from our archives: Today’s gospel is all about fairness and generosity. At the beginning of the day a landowner goes out to hire workers for his vineyard, offering them a fair price for the day’s work.

He goes out again several times later in the day, right up to the 11th hour, and still finding idle workers sends them to his vineyard offering them “a fair wage”.

At the end of the day he tells his bailiff to pay all the workers the same amount, starting with the ones who came last. This causes some consternation to those who have been working all day, and they grumble that it’s not fair as they have worked longer and should receive more.

They evoke our sympathy because we all know what it feels like to be treated unfairly. Yet, the vineyard owner takes a different view, saying to them:

“My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?… Why be envious because I am generous?

His words turn the situation on its head, challenging his workers, and us, to look at it from a different perspective. He calls us to look at our motivations and to acknowledge that there can be a thin line between our desire for fairness and envy.

His generous action points out that generosity is a hallmark of the Kingdom. It compels us to reflect on where we can be generous towards those around us with both our material goods and our time.

Where is Christ calling you to act generously today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Rule of St Benedict Scripture

Finding contentment.

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In today’s gospel Jesus, perhaps fed up with a barrage of complaints, says to the people:

“‘What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market-place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t cry.’”

His words challenge me to reflect on a very human tendency which we all recognize and fall into all to easily, grumbling. It can sometimes seem that whatever we have, even if we get exactly what we say we want, we are never content. We always hanker after something else.

His words take me back to the Rule of St Benedict. They almost perfectly illustrate one of the things he warns against at every opportunity. He repeatedly warns his community against “murmuring”, that low level discontent that can bubble destructively under the surface of our lives, sapping our appetite for real and constructive change.

It’s easy to grumble in these challenging times when so much that we relied on seems to be broken or untrustworthy. This distracts us, helping us to avoid taking responsibility and appropriate action where we can. That’s never the call of the gospel.

Instead, Jesus’ words are a call to discernment. He calls us to look at where we fall into the temptation of grumbling instead of using our discontent to seek constructive solutions to our challenges.

Where is Christ challenging you to avoid grumbling today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

Before the cross

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As we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross I’m reflecting the variety of meanings that the cross carries for us. As today’s feast suggests it signifies the ultimate triumph of Christ over death.

It’s a symbol of hope, reminding us that this is not the end. It speaks of the lowest point of human suffering, ensuring us that even when we reach that point we are not alone, because our God understands that suffering completely.

We have to be honest and admit that it is also sometimes used to signify less positive and less hopeful things. We can, and have used the cross as a sign of judgement, exclusion and alienation.

That brings me to another important role that the cross has in our lives. It can act as a mirror, inviting and challenging us to reflect on how our lives measure up to the call of love which is the heart of the gospel. I’m reflecting on this from today’s gospel.

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.”

The cross promises us that our suffering will never separate us from God’s love. The passage continues:

“For God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.”

We live in times that are quick to condemn and to judge, and it’s very easy to get caught up in that or even to use the cross to justify it. Today’s feast reminds us that the call of the cross is not to condemn, to bring God’s love and healing to our broken world.

How does the cross challenge you to bring God’s love and healing to your encounters?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Rule of St Benedict Scripture

People of forgiveness.

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This Sunday’s gospel calls us to be reflect on forgiveness, one of the most challenging and most necessary parts of life. We know that our relationships with one another are often broken.

Whatever our best intentions we end up wounding each other in a myriad of ways throughout the day. This leaves us with a real interest in Peter’s question about the limits of forgiveness.

If we’re honest, like Peter, we’d like a limit put on that forgiveness. We’d like to know there’s a point at which we can close the door on a troublesome situation. But Jesus’ response extends the limits of forgiveness, saying:

“‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.”

He goes on to tell the story of the unjust servant. The story very directly highlights the way we might subvert the challenging work of forgiveness. Having been forgiven does not incline the servant to be forgiving himself, just the opposite.

Jesus uses the story to remind us that we have been forgiven by God, freely and lovingly. He then calls us to learn to forgive others as God forgives us, from the depths of our hearts. Our forgiveness is to come with with openness, love and a willingness to give the benefit of the doubt:

“Forgive your sister or brother from your heart.”

He invites & challenges us to recreate our relationships in ways that reflect the love and compassion that God lavishes on us. This is one of the hardest things we’re called to, which is why St Benedict reminds us to be quick to ask for forgiveness.

Where is Christ calling you let acknowledge your need to be forgiven and to forgive others?

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Beatitudes Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture Sermon on the Mount

The values of the Kingdom

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Luke’s Beatitudes are challenging read. Unlike Matthew, whose focus is on the spiritual attributes of the Beatitudes, Luke links them much more to the grim material reality of poverty and hunger. For those of us who live materially comfortable lives it gives them a stark urgency, showing us precisely how different the values of the kingdom are from our human values.

Almost everything he lists as blessed, we would choose to call cursed, and vice versa. His words remind me that if we are to follow Christ we have to choose to live by values that are not the world’s. We have to be prepared both to rock the boat and to live with the consequences of that:

“Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven.”

They have particular resonance as we face a cost of living crisis that is driving many more people into poverty. It seems to me that they call us question a status quo that leaves so many unable to meet their most basic needs while others, including ourselves, have so much more than needed.

They call us to look hard at our own lives, the choices we make and how they impact on other people. Their concern with the material reality of life remained us that the call to build the kingdom is not just about our heavenly future. It is a call to do all we can to make it possible for everybody have the material basics they need to live life with dignity.

How are you allowing the challenge of the Beatitudes to shape the choices you make in daily life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

In the presence of God

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Today were celebrating the Birthday of Our Lady, a solemnity for our congregation. It’s the anniversary of the day I entered the monastery, so it carries a certain resonance for me, and I often find myself looking back to that day.

So I was especially struck by these words from our first reading at Mass:

“We know that for those who love God, everything works together for good…” (Romans 8:28)

These are not the words of Scripture that would have come to mind on the day I entered. I can see the truth in them with hindsight but, I’m not sure I could have seen it on that day of mixed and sometimes conflicting emotions. The reality of the hope that they express is central to our faith, yet it is very easily pushed to one side as soon as we struggle with the challenging realities of life.

When I think of Mary I imagine that she too experienced mixed and conflicting emotions as she faced the consequences of the “yes” that changed the world for all of us. Yet, she is still able to trust and rejoice in God’s great goodness:

“I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God!”

Her words offer me hope and encouragement that seem particularly important in our unsettled times. She reminds me that, unlikely as it may seem, we are loved and held by God. Whatever we face, whatever we suffer, the God of love will be there, not necessarily to remove the suffering, but to hold and support us as we face it.

Where are you being reminded of the presence of the God of love in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Lectio Divina Scripture Uncategorized

People of love.

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Today I’m reflecting on St Paul’s letter to the Romans. Echoing Jesus in the gospels he tells the Romans that all of the commandments can be summed up in the call to love their neighbours as themselves. He goes on to say:

“Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.”

His words bring to mind St Benedict’s call to choose what is better for others over our own preferences. Our hearts recognise the truth of this call every time we hear it. We know it’s truth from both sides, from receiving love and from giving it to others.

Yet we can still so easily be drawn away from making that principle the basis of our actions. Our needs, our fears or a myriad of distractions can draw us away from focussing on showing love to each other, whatever our intentions.

I’m inclined to think that it’s one of those things we can’t remind of ourselves often enough. Sometimes it’s easier to remember when we encounter people facing challenging or painful situations. We seem to be able to put ourselves aside to show love when we face the big challenges of life.

I sometimes think it’s harder to do in the small, apparently unimportant things that make up the bulk of our daily interactions. I wonder how different our behaviour would be if we truly took Paul’s words to heart and allowed them to shape our daily interactions.

Where are you being called to grow in love today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Scripture

Time for prayer

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Today’s gospel is all about service. Leaving the synagogue Jesus goes immediately to Simon’s house where he cures Simon’s mother-in-law. Immediately she gets up and begins to serve them.

The evening sees Jesus serving again, as crowds of people come to him seeking healing. It must have been a long and tiring day, and all of us know that feeling. The next morning Luke tells us:

“When daylight came, he got up and left the house and made his way to a lonely place.”

We read this as a break in the pattern of service, Jesus taking time out to pray in order to return to serving refreshed and renewed. On one level that is is true, but the Gospels often have many layers of truth. On another level Jesus’ act of taking time to be alone in God’s presence is also an act of service.

It is an act of self-care which allows him to draw all that he needs to carry on from God. It’s also an act of service to others, a reminder that part of what it is to be human is to need time to rest and recharge.

When the needs of the people we serve seem to be overwhelming we can feel pressured to keep going regardless of our own needs. Jesus doesn’t wait until every need is met, every person healed, every situation resolved before he takes the time he needs. He doesn’t expect us to do that either there is both an invitation and a challenge in that.

Where is Jesus inviting you to take time to pray in the midst of serving others?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

The challenge of discipleship.

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In today’s gospel Jesus makes clear to his disciples that he is heading towards Jerusalem and suffering. His words are stark and challenging. Once again, I find myself sympathising with Peter’s response. He says to him:

“Heaven preserve you, Lord;… This must not happen to you.”

Peter rushes to make things better, to help Jesus avoid the suffering. We often feel like that when we encounter a loved one in pain. Our first instinct is to do whatever we can to remove the pain, to “make everything better”. We do this even when we know from experience it is not necessarily the best or most helpful way.

Jesus points out that God’s way is different. God calls us not to avoid the necessary suffering life brings, but to accept it:

“Those who want to be followers of mine must renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their lives will lose them; but those who lose their lives for my sake will find it.”

We can all identify with the suffering this passage talks about. Jesus is not glorifying suffering, or suggesting that we should deliberately seek or hang onto it when it comes. Instead, he suggests that in embracing the suffering that comes our way we move through into the new life that he promises.

The cross is a vital part of our faith, that we all experience in some form. But it is not the point of the gospel, or the end of the Christian story. Sometimes it is more challenging to trust and embrace that hope of new life than it is to accept the suffering of the cross.

Where is Christ inviting you find the hope of new life in the sufferings you face?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Saints Scripture

The gift of peace.

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I’m reflecting on these words from today’s first reading. In his second letter to the Thessalonians St Paul writes:

“May the Lord of peace himself give you peace all the time and in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

They have particular resonance in the light of today’s news, which gives the impression that there is almost nowhere in the world where peace prevails. In such a challenging scenario it’s tempting to dismiss his words as too idealistic for such troubled times. But the gospel calls us to hope, not hopelessness.

St Paul wasn’t unfamiliar with violent times. He had experience of both supporting and resisting the use of violence, so he had a clear idea of the value of peace and the high cost of violence. He’d have known how hard it is to hope and work for peace in violent times.

St Paul was able to face his times with courage and hope, and to continue striving for peace because of his faith in the gospel and its promise.

In many ways we face the same dilemma that he did. It’s not easy to be hopeful in our own challenging and violent times. It’s hard to see people suffer and not be able to fix things.

It’s tough to believe that peace is possible when we live surrounded by war and violence. Yet it is in precisely these times that we are called to follow St Paul’s example, to seek and share the peace of Christ wherever and however we can.

Where are you aware of needing the Lord of peace to bring peace to your life today?