Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A JOURNEY OF FAITH

Baxter gets adventurous sometimes and wants to go exploring. Since his world is confined to the house where we live, he has a rather limited reach for his curiosity. He has the run of most of the first floor, so there’s little to peak his search for the new and unknown there. However, the basement is another matter. Sometimes he sits in front of the basement door and cries to have it opened. Once granted access, he can be gone for a long time. This nearly windowless underworld of furnaces, washers and dryers, storage closets and some old furniture is fascinating to him. He likes to sniff around, visit any space where the door is cracked open, and find a comfortable spot on a chair or couch for a token cat-nap. When he has had enough of this strange world, Baxter returns to the main floor satisfied and content with his familiar surroundings, but happy for the opportunity to visit a strange land for a while.

Did the Magi feel the same when they returned from their visit to Jesus? They had to leave their familiar surroundings to follow the star. They confronted a new ruler with suspicious motives in Herod. They finally arrived at the place where Jesus was staying and fulfilled their journey’s purpose, to offer simple gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, marking their respect for the newborn king. Their curiosity set them off on an adventure, and their faithfulness to its objective brought them back satisfied. Mission accomplished.

Such is the journey faith marks out for us. We set out looking for something still unknown to us, and our curiosity and inquisitiveness won’t let us rest. We want to explore more about what makes life matter, about how we and all of creation came to be. We wonder what will become of us when we mess up in life or when we are a mess of withering, dying life. Our search leads us into new areas with new questions, new ideas and new practices to follow. We sometimes follow strange ways in our explorations, but we somehow find the course again and continue the journey.

Eventually, we meet the Christ, sometimes as a child, sometimes as a person in physical or spiritual need, sometimes as an elderly person—He takes many human forms. Always, the Christ comes as an encounter with grace that shows us there is a loving mystery deep within and among the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This mystery fascinates us, encourages us, and leads us to new encounters where we come to understand that goodness, truth and beauty are one in God. God shares these with us as signs of His life, and they keep us going until we eventually come home to God. But when we return, the journey we have taken has made all the difference. We are changed, converted by grace, part of a new creation, remade as children of the loving Father of all.

So as Christian believers, we are Magi on a search, looking for more from life and hoping to find it in the encounters we have throughout our life’s journey. Our underworld is no basement like Baxter’s. It is the divine underpinnings we discover to any true love and concern. Finally, we come home again, grateful for the journey, with the companions we met along the way, and the Christ we found at the end.

Monday, December 23, 2013

DIET RESTRICTIONS

Baxter is on a diet again. The veterinarian suggested that I change his food to a metabolic weight control formula. When I took him for a weigh-in after a month, he gained 2 oz. So much for that idea. Baxter likes his new food, so I am still trying to see if it kick-starts his metabolism. I am skeptical, but ever hopeful. Baxter is simply looking for something to eat. He doesn’t know he is on a diet. He just knows when his stomach feels empty, and he lets everyone around at that time know that he has that feeling.

None of us likes to feel discomfort. We find ways to get rid of that feeling as soon as possible. We take a pill. We eat or drink or do both. We shop or spend money on gambling. We take a day off or simply stay in place and quit working. Whatever it is we find a way to sooth ourselves, to quiet the nagging feeling of displeasure, to change the situation so that we can feel alright again. We don’t like a sense of being ill at ease or unsatisfied, and we do what it takes to restore our sense of well-being and satisfaction.

Herod was uncomfortable with the Magi’s visit because he wanted no rivals to his power and position. He tried to trick them into being his accomplices in getting rid of the unpleasant threat, but God’s Spirit put them on the right track, a different way home. Growing more uncomfortable with his unknown competitor, Herod orders the death of all Hebrew boys under two years of age. He lashes out from his discomfort, and he makes many lives miserable and sad.

Contrast this picture with that of Simeon and Anna when the infant Jesus is presented in the temple. They are overjoyed. The hopes of their long lives are fulfilled, not by anything they accomplished nor possessed, but by seeing the fruit of God’s work beginning to unfold. Their prayer was hungry for the grace of salvation, and it stayed unsatisfied for many years. But now their souls’ appetites are satisfied in the Word become flesh in their arms. God is faithful.

Christmas tells us it’s good to be hungry for the right things, but dangerous to ourselves and others to desire the wrong things. Herod’s life ends in a tragedy of loneliness fostered by the distrust and hatred of his own people. Simeon’s and Anna’s lives are blessed by God in their old age, because they sought a sign of what God was doing to save them, and eventually, the whole world. The right diet—one rich in prayer, fidelity and the vision of faith—feeds our desire for God’s presence in our lives. The wrong diet of power seeking ambition and jealousy will just make us anxious, bitter and destructive. Eat well this Christmas season.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

FAVORITE FOOD

Baxter loves salmon. If I unwrap a fillet on the kitchen counter, he begins to react. His nose goes in the air. His tail is at alert. He stands on his hind legs with his paws on the cabinet drawers trying to get a peak at the delicacy. He meows loudly, rubs up against my leg, and then starts pacing, anxious to get a taste of the first morsel. There is no doubting it. Baxter’s favorite food is salmon.

Christmas is a time for us to enjoy our favorite foods as well. Much time is spent preparing the special holiday dishes and pastries. Some of these are once a year specialties. The tastes and aromas of these foods bring back memories of past Christmases with family and friends. They remind us of our heritage, of cherished loved ones who have passed, of long conversations around the table and the tree as Christmas day draws to a close. We taste more than the food. We taste what makes life worthwhile in our favorite foods of Christmas.

The Eucharist we celebrate at Christmas also holds some special tastes for us. At the Lord’s table on this feast, we come to realize God’s inescapable nearness to us. Born of a woman, nurtured as an infant, this is no divine warrior conquering the world by brute force. This is the divine child, soft and tender, claiming our attention by His innocence and melting our hard hearts by His vulnerability. This is God made simple, not as a naïve minor protected from the responsibilities of the adult world, but as a pure union of God and humanity in perfect harmony. Our carols sing of Him, but His birth first sings to us of how God is glorified in our flesh by bringing peace to all. If our souls can receive this wonderful mystery in the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation, life begins to taste sweet and rich to us despite its harsh and cruel side.

For many people, Christmas tastes sour because it recalls the losses, disappointments and unfairness of life. The gaiety and celebration of the season stands only as a reminder of these bitter realities. But putting Christ in Christmas draws us deeper into the celebration. What makes this day a feast is the taste of God’s delight in us who are so weak and fickle, and yet so lovable. This is what the Father saw in the Son’s birth, and what He sees in everyone born of His Son’s Spirit. It is better than all the cookies and candy, special cakes and spiked concoctions we can make. Yes, Baxter, it is even better than salmon. It is the joy of Christmas, the joy of God in our hearts, the holy laughter at sin and evil which, try as it might, can never win.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

THE FOUNDLING

As you know, Baxter was a foundling. I got him at a rescue center when he was only four months old. His parents were unknown. He probably would not have made it to adulthood, unless someone brought him to the no-kill shelter. I don’t know who that was. I just know that their care and kindness allowed Baxter and me to find each other. The rest is history, as they say. If anyone tells stories about me after I am gone, Baxter will be part of the narrative, and vice versa. That’s what happens when a genuine relationship of caring and sharing is formed—even across species. We become part of each other’s life story.

God is looking for such a relationship with each of us. He wants to become part of our life stories, and He wants to include us in His story. So He meets us on our terms. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us,” Saint John wrote. God took on our humanity in Jesus. He was born, lived and died as a human being, all so that we could connect with Him and know the meaning and purpose for living.

When Jesus was born, a special and unique process of divine revelation began. Now we see God in human ways, and we see our human ways from a divine perspective. We identify the divine presence in human works of justice and mercy, of compassion and forgiveness. We see divine inspiration in our search for cures for diseases, in our efforts to live in peace, and in the men and women who arise among us who are truly wise and magnanimous. We name the divine power at work when good comes out of evil, when truth prevails over deceptions and falsehoods, when we find a hidden beauty in the midst of the ugliness of poverty, war and death. When God embraced our humanity in Jesus, not just the Son of God was born. The whole human race was given the chance to be born again of God.

Christmas says to us, “We are orphans no longer. We have a name in God.” When the First Son was born to us, God adopted everyone who responds to His love as sons and daughters, and so all human beings are called to be brothers and sisters in Christ. We are related in grace to the Holy One, and our lives are intertwined with God and each other in a holy communion. Bethlehem is a much bigger story than we first imagined it to be. What happened there continues to play out in human history until the end of time. We contribute to this unfolding when, in the particular circumstances of our lives, we try to live faithfully.

When I found Baxter he had no real name. The shelter staff called him “Elmer”, but I knew that wasn’t the right name for him. I called him “Baxter”, and now he knows his name and responds when I call. God gave us each our names when we were baptized in Christ. Please respond when He calls, and add your own piece to the Christmas story.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

CAT TRICKS

I read an interesting little piece about cats a few weeks ago. Did you know that there is a Moscow Cat Circus? Yes, a professional clown began training cats in 1971 to do tricks like walking tightropes, riding bicycles and balancing on mirrored disco balls. Many of these “stars” were rescued strays whom their trainer took in and worked with to get them to perform these feats that seem beyond the characteristics of the species. Trained dogs? Of course, they will do anything for attention and to please their masters. Trained cats? Are you kidding me? But according to the article, even cats can perform beyond their native instincts to the astonishment of their audiences.

So there is hope for us. Looking at the terrible things that human beings do to each other—torture, slavery, drug selling, murder—we can lose our faith in the goodness of human nature. Add to these the fraud, deception, theft, and general meanness we can pull on each other, and there is little wonder that a recent survey said that trust among Americans is at an all time low. Only one third of us have any trust in our fellow citizens, down from 50% in 1971. But remember, no one expects cats to do circus tricks, but they do. How can we hope for more from each other?

By relying upon what God showed us about ourselves when He became flesh and dwelt among us. In God becoming human in Jesus, God uses our human nature to reveal His love and goodness. Jesus speaks words of forgiveness and healing, new life and hope when others want to condemn, reject and despair of human renewal. Jesus touches what others abhor, eats with sinners and tax collectors, and talks with strangers and Samaritans. These are all human ways to connect with others on a divine plain. He is not afraid of what might happen or distrustful of the outcomes. He enters into human interaction to show the divine link that can connect us to each other.

This kind of human encounter over God is tricky at times. Remember how the Scribes and Pharisees tried to trap Jesus. Remember how His own disciples ran off when He was in trouble with the authorities. But Jesus mastered the trick of walking the tightrope of human searching and desire to land on the other side, the place where God is found as the secure platform where anyone can stand, even if one is nailed to a cross. For Jesus, this kind of relationship with each other in God isn’t entertainment. It is the meaning and purpose of life, and the sign of eternal life to come.

Baxter is no circus entertainer. His tricks are mundane and casual. But they do hint at possibilities for his species I never thought could happen. Jesus’ human tricks open possibilities for us that we never imagined from our cynical and depressed point of view. Give our humanity a chance to shine with divine potential. Jesus shows us how. Just practice, practice, practice Gospel ways, and one day we may all be surprised at what God has made of us.