Keeping the faith

In our Catholic Liturgy of the Mass, the first reading from the Old Testament and the third reading from the Gospel are usually connected. The Old Testament reading often prefigures the Gospel and the Gospel often enlightens our understanding of the Old Testament reading.

In today’s first reading (First Book of Kings 3:5, 7-12), we have the story of Solomon’s wonderful dream.

We are all delighted when we have a good dream and often share it easily at the breakfast table. Other members of the household listen willingly and give their own expert interpretation from their own two cents of wisdom.

Solomon’s dream was amazing, unbelievable. God invites him to ask for anything he wishes and promises to give it to him.

If God spoke to me like that what would I ask for? If God spoke to you like that what would you request of him?

Solomon’s request was gracious, humble and thoughtful. He was aware of his youth and of his new responsibilities as the successor to his father, King David, who ruled Israel for 40 years.

“Give your servant therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”

God was pleased with Solomon’s petition not for riches, not for a long life, not for victory in battle, but for an “understanding heart to know what is right.” He gave it to him willingly and abundantly, so much so that Solomon’s name has becomes synonymous with wisdom.

The Gospel for today’s Liturgy gives us the last three parables of the seven presented in Chapter 13 of Matthew’s account of the preaching of Jesus. All are parables of the Kingdom of God and the ones we hear today — that of the treasure hidden in the field, then the pearl of great price and the net thrown into the sea and bringing out a great haul of fish of every sort.

They all give us some insight into the mystery of the Kingdom. They also provoke us to think, to figure out things for ourselves and above all to recognize the presence of the Kingdom in our midst. The use of parables was a favorite way of preaching by Jesus. He interpreted some of them for the disciples but for the most part he left them for us to do our own job of interpretation.

Perhaps for that task we all need something of the wisdom of Solomon; we, too, need an understanding heart and the willingness and ability to apply it to the reality of our present-day situation.

We are all dreamers longing for acceptance, for a place we call home, for justice and a better way of life. God is in our dreams, too.

We are all leaders, maybe not in a political sense, but we need to pray regularly for our elected leaders. Each one of us is a leader in the sense that every single person can make a difference in the life of our nation.

We are all seekers searching for the hidden treasure of truth about life and about justice for all. Each and every human life is precious and matters.

We are all searchers for that mysterious pearl of great price — to love and to be loved, now and for all eternity.

We are all in the same boat and in the same net of humanity like the fish, good and bad, until the end of the age, when that difference will be resolved by the angels of God.

The Kingdom of God is among us. Like Solomon, let us ask God for an “understanding heart” to know what is right and what is wrong, so that together we may fulfill His plans of peace for all His sons and daughters.

The gospel song “We Shall Overcome” is one my family and I are all too familiar with. It is a song that gave my grandparents and great-grandparents hope while living during the Jim Crow period in this country.

This seven-verse song was originally written by an A.M.E. preacher named Charles Albert Tindley in 1900 titled “I’ll Overcome Some Day.” He looked at the text of Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” and was moved to write these words:

“The world is one great battlefield, with forces all arrayed; If in my heart I do not yield, I’ll overcome some day.”

Though this song became the anthem of the civil rights movements of the 1960s, the admonition to overcome has always been the mantra of God’s people in troubled times.

Friends, I am thankful for inspiring words to help us get through, get past, rise above and go over every challenge, threat and trial that comes our way. Nevertheless, it is the unchanging, unfailing, and undisputed words of Jesus that will give us peace over panic, faith over fear and remind us that God is over all.

Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Therefore, through Christ, we shall overcome.

The seven phrases of encouragement all come from the seven verses of the song.

1. We shall overcome … evil (Matthew 6:13)

2. The Lord will see us through … this pandemic (Romans 8:37-39)

3. We’re on to victory … by our faith (1 John 5:4-5)

4. We’ll walk hand in hand … now and forever (Psalm 133:1)

5. We are not afraid … of naysayers (Psalm 3:6)

6. The truth shall make us free … not liars (1 John 2:4-6)

7. We shall live in peace … over panic (Deuteronomy 20:1-4)

I close with the words of Tony Evans. He states:

“Pro wrestling is staged. Before the wrestlers ever go out, it has been predetermined who will win. The contenders go through the battle for entertainment purposes, but the point of the battle is not to decide who will win, but to give the crowd a show. The winner of the match does not battle for victory, but from victory. He battles knowing that he’s already won.”

Those of us who have faith have already won.

God allows us to go through our walk, not to win the victory, but to show off to the world that he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.

My friends, deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome someday. Never give up.

How can you help fix the wrongs in our world?

How can you make a difference?

We have so many feelings whirling around in our hearts right now. We want to do something to stop the injustices in our society, but we need to keep in mind what the Bible says.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” — 1 John 4:7

Love is not a feeling. Love is a choice to choose someone else’s needs before your own. Life does not always make it easy to love, especially when we are hurting, but that is what Jesus wants us to do. Jesus experienced incomprehensible pain in His life, but through it all, He showed us the greatest example of love. He chose to give us hope, even though He had to pay the price.

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” — 1 John 4:10

Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Jesus wants you to demonstrate this love by “living peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18

How do you make a real difference?

The greatest difference you can make in your city is by influencing the people you know. Helping them to understand who they are, where they came from, and how Jesus loves them! Proverbs says:

“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” — Proverbs 9:9

The greatest missionary in history was the Apostle Paul, and he influenced the known world from Gaul to Greece with the message of Jesus and the love that Jesus has for each and every person. Even though he taught thousands of people, he chose to individually invest into a young man named Timothy. Timothy went on to be the leader in the church of Ephesus because Paul invested time into his life.

Whose life can you make a difference in today by investing your time into and choosing their benefit over yours?

Matthew 7:24-27

An early morning reflection to a colleague in Los Angeles, written after rising out of the haze of sleep:

Digging deep, I find, takes patience, trust, and a willingness to let go of my preconceived conclusions.

I believe that as we age we can all fall into certain patterns of life that help us to feel comfortable, this is very natural until there is something to disrupt the flow that we have become accustomed to. How we navigate the disruptions, I find, teaches us a lot about what we’ve built our lives upon, and invites us to ask the question, is my life set upon rock or sand?

If sand, when the storms come, everything shifts, moves and falls.

If rock, when the storms come, which they will, we are able to navigate them because we have things that we can hold fast to which give us sobriety, clarity, and the healthy humility to move into whatever direction we need to in order to be healthy — even if it’s checking our egos in a healthy and non-violent way — so that we can see clearly.

This is why God, my faith, my family, those precious friends and loved ones, the Dominicans, and the lessons of my life thus far are so useful. They continue to remind me of who I am, really, and what is of true value. This remains a heartbeat that keeps me listening to the whispers of God in all seasons of life.

These are some of my reflections, and not answers.

Keep breathing steadily each day, create space for quiet and to be with God.

Breathe in and through the ups and downs asking the question “On what am I building my house? Rock or sand?” God will be with you.

Try not to be addicted to immediate solutions, (even though it’s hard not to be) but rather on the promise of God to be with you.

Don’t be afraid to keep doing the work, to be healthy in your whole self.

All of these things, I continue to discover, help in the work of healing, changing, growing and flourishing.

My prayers remain.