LinearWhat do you want to see? Sunday Readings 30th Yr B (Y-not question the Sunday Readings)
by Ynot 
, Friday, October 26, 2012, 17:38 (211 days ago)
edited by Ynot, Friday, October 26, 2012, 17:50
![[image]](http://www.catholica.com.au/sunday/images/Y-not271012_an_640x166.gif)
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time B
October 28, 2012
Reading I: Jeremiah 31:7-9
Responsorial Psalm: 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Reading II: Hebrews 5:1-6
Gospel: Mark 10:46-52
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102812.cfm
Gospel
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
The healing of the blind Bartimaeus marks the end of the central section of the gospel according to Mark. The deliberate symmetry of the narrative is worth noting, for the central section began with the healing of another blind man. Comparing the two stories, we might see the first as a passive individual who was brought to Jesus by others. The healing was an elaborate ritual, touching his eyes with spit and laying hands on the man. For full restoration of sight the ritual had to be repeated.
The Blind Man of Bethsaida Mk 8,22-26
When they arrived at Bethsaida, they brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?” Looking up he replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
The second blind man is presented as a very positive figure. He is named as the son of Timaeus. (We might assume that Timaeus was well-known to the readers.) Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus and refuses to be silenced. Responding to Jesus' question: What do you want? his reply goes straight to the point: Master, I want to see. The urgency in this second story reflects the situation of the group. Jericho represents the last town before Jerusalem.
Clearly we are meant to compare these two blind men. After the weeks of tough teaching as the group journeyed from Caesaria Philippi through Galilee and down along the river, we have reached the end of the road, and still the apostles are "without understanding". Ahead lies the confrontation that has been foretold three times during this journey. This will be the testing time. Are we still like the first blind man, needing to be led to Jesus, needing to be cured in stages. Or are we like Bartimaeus, impatient with our condition and ready to jump up, throw off our security blanket and push through the crowd, coming boldly to this Son of David to blurt out our desperate need: I want to see!
No limping tragic, this. He had enough front for Jesus to challenge him: “What do you want me to do for you?” The question in vs 51 echoes the one in vs 36 above, voiced by James and John. The request of this blind beggar is strikingly different from that of the favoured apostles that we looked at last Sunday.
The man's answer is decisive: "Master, I want to see!"
You want to see? What do you want to see? And why? Others have seen signs and wonders and been enthralled. Is that what you want? Signs of divinity manifest in marvels? The splendour of a messiah poised to shake the yoke of oppression off your shoulders?
The first blind man Jesus cured wanted to see what was around him. He regained his natural sight. This man just wants to see, and he was given insight into things the disciples had been struggling with for weeks. Instead of going on his way as Jesus told him to, he became a follower. Mark is obviously constructing a well-designed narrative, and we cannot help but raise our eyes to see what lies ahead for this new follower. Jesus is about to begin his final ascent to Jerusalem, the 24 km walk up the dangerous road where, according to the story, a traveler fell among thieves. This time next week it will all be over!
*****
Back to the question Jesus put: "What do you want of me?" I think the gospel expects us to hear the question as a personal one. "What do I, Tony, want of Jesus, son of David, on his way to meet his destiny - the world's destiny, as we believe, for John would put these words in his mouth: "Now is judgment passed on this world..."
For starters, there are two kinds of seeing, and I don't really need the type the first blind man was given. Skillful surgeons have already restored my cataract-impaired sight, and it will do me for now. But "I want to see!" I want to see what you are about, Master. I want to get inside this mystery, deeper into it than a wordy familiarity with its components - original sin, Anointed One, Saviour, Christ, Alpha and Omega, Master and "Lord". I want to see with my own seeing those meanings and values that will nourish my life.
People are leaving the church in droves, saying they cannot see the point of it all. I wonder what it is they can no longer see? Why can't modern people see what their parents or grandparents saw so clearly, so convincingly? The glory of the "Catholic Thing" has dispersed like a puff of incense, but for many the lingering odour is not of the sweet exotic kind, but acrid and stale.
*****
Should we each consider the question Jesus asked Bartimaeus as directed at us: "What do you want me to do for you?" We would have to go beyond the general: "I want to see!" to something like "I need to understand the meaning of, e.g., of death, or of the significance of the title "Lord", or of the type of “unity” we should expect among your followers (ref.: "I pray that they be one, as you Father in me and I in you, that they may be one in us.")
I need to know what is truth!
If I had the chance to be given real enlightenment on just one topic, what would I choose?
As I turned this idea over and over, I found that most of the questions I was inclined to ask already had their answer in the gospel. For example, what should we expect of our leaders in the community? or what is the proper role of the church? (To the first, to be servants; to the second, to be like a small measure of yeast hidden in the dough, a little being enough to leaven the whole batch if its good and fresh).
Death is the one issue that always puzzles me, and the closer it comes the more appalling it seems - and then the thought came: I wonder is it precisely the divine in me that protests against death! After all, if death is repulsive to animals in spite of the fact that we are put together in such a way that dissolution/death is part of the formula, how repulsive must it be to god for whom it cannot be natural in any way!
Our longing to never die is perhaps the brightest glimmer of divinity in our make-up. It gives rise to the idea (or is it just a dream?) that death is really a process of being born into a new life, into the dimension of real life. Sometimes Jesus seemed to teach that we ought not be afraid of death or see it as a problem, for it leads to fullness of life as surely as the door leads from this enclosed space into the great outdoors. Lord, I would like to get a feel for that idea!
*****
A cathedral prayer
"What do you want me to do for you?" "Teacher, I want to see!"
If I were putting together a liturgy for the local cathedral I would be inclined to formulate a prayer for the diocese, for the bishop and clergy, for the institution we call Church, and it might go something like this:
(To be led by the bishop in the name of all)
Teacher, I want to see the darkness in my soul.
I want to recognise the self-deception that makes me blind to the pain of the abused,
since in reality I have preferred to protect instead
the reputation of the church,
the fellowship of the clergy,
obedience to the pope.
I need to understand the corruption that these attitudes are symptoms of.
I want to be open to the light of truth.
I want to be able to stand naked before the public, before the parliamentary enquiry,
with no defences, with no trappings of office, no sacred robes to hide my common humanity.
I need strength and the power of the spirit to enable me
to lay open hidden secrets,
to expose devious strategies,
to forego excuses and explanations,
to allow the naked truth to set us free.
My teacher, I want to see the meaning of this crucial axiom:
Whoever would save his life will lose it -
and whoever would give up his life, his security, his self-esteem,
the exalted dignity of office -
that one will gain life, freshly liberated by the truth.
Master, I want to see!
*****
Looking back over this liturgical prayer provides another insight: that truth is not hard to see.
The way is clearly set out at the very start of the gospel: the call to metanoia and to believe/trust the Good News. And then the Beatitudes: Blessed are are pure of heart, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they who hunger for justice.
All of these are blessed because they can see the truth plainly. Perhaps our prayer ought to be a simple, humble request for the spirit of the beatitudes to fill our minds and hearts.
But there is an obstruction as long as we cling to hierarchies of prestige, to the security of wealth and to the legal defence of our rights.
It's time to toss aside the cloak...
Tony Lawless
'TonyL
"A post is a free gift, and it will go where it pleases."'
locked
Beatific vision. Sunday Readings 30th Yr B
by Francis , Kingsgrove, NSW, Friday, October 26, 2012, 22:45 (211 days ago) @ Ynot
If I had the chance to be given real enlightenment on just one topic, what would I choose?
Thanks, Tony. Tony and all dear sisters and brothers, how can I overcome my distressing blindness?
‘What do you want me to do for you?” asks Jesus of me.
“Jesus”, I reply. “I want to see through my spiritual eyes, as it were cataract ridden, the divinity our Creator, as part of evolution, shares with us. I want to have the clarity of what it means to be divine with you. I want to see the intimacy of the relationship you and I have of God. Surely, if I were not blind, I would see the divinity, given to us as being born of God, shining so brilliantly in us and in all of created evolution. Why is it I see it not as clearly as I ought in my brothers and sisters if it were not for my blindness? I know it, Jesus, as you have taught me to know it. Heal the blindness that hinders my full vision of that divinity. I want to have that clarity so we all, recognizing it in one another, will live our lives to the fullest they are meant to be. How beatific it would be if I could see, as others no doubt do, the true surpassing beauty of you and all my brothers and sisters! I fear not death if it is to be part of evolution but I fear not seeing you and my sisters and brothers in the eternal brilliance of seeing the divinity we share before I die. I want to see, Jesus, now. We are one so why is it I am blind to see it? Remove, as it were, the cataracts that have covered my beatific vision, as others, no doubt have. Some have told me of it and I sense it in the way they love and message it to one another. Put light into these eyes of mind! En-light-en me! I want to see. Too often have I heard, “Be quiet, Brownie. Moderate what you are asking”. No, I want to see. Please, Jesus, you are not one for half measures. You want to give me sight. Please, do not moderate the truth of you and me. Listen not to those who would restrain you and the truth of our lives. Is it of you this friend of mine writes?”
“I will be harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present”.
William Lloyd Garrison (1805 - 1879)
Jesus, you have shared with us the travails of life. You know what it is like to be put off in truth and behaviour by talk of being moderate. I want to see and I want it now.
Francis
My purpose is to remember the love that created me in God one with my brothers and sisters and with all life. My function is to extend that love and unity each moment to all.
locked
The universal yearning in all of us "to see"...
by Brian Coyne 
, LINDEN, NSW, Saturday, October 27, 2012, 15:07 (210 days ago) @ Francis
I am half-tempted to move Vince's string up into this position. Vince's forty-grand investment to try and "see" the truth in scripture, and the discussion it has provoked, might sit very comfortably with the more direct discussion on tomorrow's reading. Moving some of what Vince has written up here might be tempting fate a little too much though so I've left it where it is and instead provide this link to the string:
www.catholica.com.au/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=115520#p115520
![[image]](http://catholica.com.au/images/CatholicaICO_30x30.jpg)
Brian Coyne
[Editor & Publisher]
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Beatific vision. Sunday Readings 30th Yr B
by CathyT , Adelaide, South Australia, Sunday, October 28, 2012, 02:35 (210 days ago) @ Francis
Francis, this is really beautiful, and your conversation with Jesus is so honest and so natural. I love the way you redefine the "Beatific Vision": it makes so much more sense and seems so much more real than the idea we were taught, that we'll only see God when we get to heaven!
Cathy Taggart
I splash in my poetry puddle
and try to keep God amused. - James Broughton
lockedBeatific vision. Sunday Readings 30th Yr B
by Francis , Kingsgrove, NSW, Sunday, October 28, 2012, 11:09 (209 days ago) @ CathyT
Thank you, Cathy for commenting especially when there are so many intriguing topics to pick from. Beatific Vision is for all. So why do we remain blind when we can apply healing?
Francis
My purpose is to remember the love that created me in God one with my brothers and sisters and with all life. My function is to extend that love and unity each moment to all.
lockedWhat do you want to see? Sunday Readings 30th Yr B
by Jerome , Saturday, October 27, 2012, 18:44 (210 days ago) @ Ynot
Thank you Tony. A great reflection!
"What do you want of me?" I think the gospel expects us to hear the question as a personal one.
My random thoughts:
Two parts of this reading draw my attention in particular.
The first is the ending of the story.
Jesus doesn’t need to ask the question, but he did.
I imagine that he wants the blind man to think carefully about his answer.
Perhaps that is one of the lessons for us; that we should constantly be asking ourselves what we really want.
The blind man doesn't need to think about it!
The way he answers seems to suggest a deeper meaning to his wish ‘to see’.
Jesus tells him to ‘Go your way’ and now having vision the man’s way is to follow Jesus.
The expression ‘blind faith’ comes to mind.
This man’s faith isn’t blind.
He has a clear vision of what he wants to do.
He wants his way to be in the footsteps of Christ.
Others seem to have a blind faith; a faith without commitment.
The second aspect of the story to which I am drawn is the blind man’s persistence in yelling for the attention of Jesus.
It is very important for him and he does not let up in spite of the rebukes from the other followers of Jesus.
It reminds me of the need for so many more people to not be silent, to speak up about things that are not right, to commit themselves to react conscientiously, with commitment.
If we don’t, our faith is kind of blind; without actively seeking to realise the clear vision that is Christ’s way.
As the famous saying goes,
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
Is faith without commitment an extreme form of apathy?
As I reflect on the many messages in this gospel story I realise that Jesus is passing by!
It seems that I am being invited to be like the blind man and not allow to pass by this opportunity to clarify my vision and commitment to it.
lockedWhat I'm beginning to see now.
by CathyT , Adelaide, South Australia, Sunday, October 28, 2012, 02:30 (210 days ago) @ Ynot
Thank you Tony and to all who have contributed so far. I'd say both the lead reflection and the responses are among the best we've ever had in the "Y-not question..." segment, and that's really saying something! It's usually outstanding, much better, I'd say, than other regular reflections on the Sunday readings that I've come across. Two of the best things that have ever happened on Catholica would have to be when Tony decided to start this regular feature, and more recently, when Brian decided to make it the lead commentary on Saturdays, complete with his "magic pins" that keep it at the top of the Forum!
I must admit, though, that I was initially a bit alarmed by Brian's statement (threat?) that he was thinking of moving the string started by Vince to this thread. He didn't move it, he did provide a link to it instead. But despite my initial reaction, on second thoughts I found I wouldn't have been all that bothered if he HAD moved it. This led me to realise how I'm beginning to see things differently from how I used to see them, even a short time ago. I used to think of this Sunday Readings segment as being a little corner of Catholica inhabited only by those who still had some belief in God, however defined, and who still believed in the importance of pondering over scriptural texts in order to work out just what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I took a very dim view if people outside these categories "trespassed" into "our" space! But the older I get, the more convinced I become that life is very complex, full of ambiguity and paradox, and the elements that make it up tend to flow into one another and get all mixed up. If you try to make a "pure space" for yourself, you're in for a very frustrating and possibly painful time.
I'm also finding that, despite all the reasons not to do so, I still firmly believe in God, and I'm increasingly convinced that God wants very much to be close to us and to be intimately involved with us, personally and collectively. To my way of thinking (and seeing), this makes sense of all the messy and contradictory aspects of our religious tradition: the contradictions in the Bible, the mistakes that were made when Biblical manuscripts were copied or (even more so) translated, the wide diversity of interpretations, the countless different branches of Chritianity, even the misuse of religion for purposes that are hard to square with a loving and compassionate God. This complex and error-ridden state of affairs is part of being human, and God works with it, and through it, in order to be involved with us. It's rather like the old story about two women who each carried their water-jar from the well to their respective cottages, every day, year after year. One woman had a water-jar that was perfect, and she always had a good amount of water in her home. The other woman had a crack in her water-jar, so it always leaked out a certain amount of water as she walked home. This woman lamented this state of affairs for a long time - until she noticed that, along the path between her cottage and the well, where the water leaked out, there was an abundance of flowers and herbs, whereas the path to the other woman's house was bare! 
My prayer to Jesus is that he'll continue to guide me along the path where I can see what is really there, and not just what I want to see or fear to see. Having always been a worrier, as well as always having had a low opinion of myself, I want to be able to see the flowers and not the crack in the jar!
And above all, Jesus, don't forget to remind me that you are on the path with me!
Cathy Taggart
I splash in my poetry puddle
and try to keep God amused. - James Broughton
lockedWhat I'm beginning to see now.
"I'd say both the lead reflection and the responses are among the best we've ever had in the "Y-not question..." segment, and that's really saying something!
Two of the best things that have ever happened on Catholica would have to be when Tony decided to start this regular feature, and more recently, when Brian decided to make it the lead commentary on Saturdays, complete with his "magic pins" that keep it at the top of the Forum!"
Cathy
I couldn't agree more.
Maitland
lockedWhat I'm beginning to see now.
by Beehive , Brigadoon West Australia, Sunday, October 28, 2012, 23:06 (209 days ago) @ Maitland
"Two of the best things that have ever happened on Catholica would have to be when Tony decided to start this regular feature..."
Cathy I have to agree. We all have to thank you Tony who brings to the surface some of the rich underlying messages of the Gospel. I love your accurate insights into the circumstances, and you get to the heart of what our response should be. You are like the man fossicking in his treasure box. Great stuff!
Beehive
Brian Pitts
lockedWhat do I want to see?
I deeply appreciate the opportunity to peek into the various dimensions you open up.
It is gift that you share your 'space' with us.
Upon re-reading, this passage also struck me:
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
Listen . . . if I can.
I am being called!
What is it that You want from Me, Jesus the Christ?
As I reflect on this, I am also aware of echos from the past.
I recall The Voice in the breeze; the unsettling of Samuel. . .
"Here I am!", I respond eagerly because I have been following Him for a while. But can I really be 'present' if I do not Listen; if I do not Hear?
PaulJ
locked
I want to see the step
by Dolores , Northeastern USA, Monday, October 29, 2012, 03:14 (209 days ago) @ PaulJ
There are so many answers to the question "What do I want to see?" But choosing one means not choosing the others. And what about those that I don't even realize I should be thinking about choosing? Why limit the candidates to those I know?
When I realized my conundrum I also realized the answer.
What I really want (need) to see is the step I am supposed to take as each moment occurs.
It may seem overly simplistic but I know if I can see my step now then I can make the choice to walk that step. And walking my path has always led me to exactly where I am supposed to be in my life. Where God intends me to be. Which, in my experience, has always been far richer than anything I could have thought of.
He leads me to my true self.
"Go with Love, Go with God"
lockedWhat do you want to see? Sunday Readings 30th Yr B
Tony
Thank you for such a profound reflection.Ditto for the further insights of other members so far.
My intial thoughts about your beautiful Cathedral prayer was that it would also have made a great prayer for the Synod of bishops meeting in Rome.
However what strongly came through to me as I reflected on this passage was a series of contrasts.
It is my simplistic understanding that sometimes when someone loses or has impaired use of one of their senses, that their use of other senses may become enhanced.
Blindness - Whilst Bartimaeus is blind contrast that with the wilful blindness that can make us indifferent to injustice around us or has allowed the church's defence mechanisms to be more highly developed than it's conscience.
Bartimaeus could "see" with an insight that wsa still eluding the disciples then, and us today
Speech - This passage seems to involve a greater verbal exchange between Jesus and the person who is healed than appears in other 'healing' stories
Bartimaeus uses his words quite decisively.( Jerome thanks for emphasising that Jesus is just passing by )
Yet for many of us our words and ideas are so much clutter. As the clip by Joan Chittister identifiessilence and solitude loom like cliffs in the modern human psyche.However wilful silence is also an ingredient in our failures to address issues of injustice around us.The likes of Bartimaeus can still make us uncomfortable in today's modern society.
Hearing - Bartimaeus probably needed an acute sense of hearing on a day to day basis to have an idae of wht was going on around him
But again he could "hear" in a way that challenges us.
Sitting by the side of the road - How much are we like Bartimaeus sitting by the side of the road ( although in somewhat more comfortable circumstances than a blind beggar in first century Palestine)
However unlike Bartimaeus we remain on the margins of life,closed to the experiences that will lead to a new way of living and ultimately lacking the courage to actually get up (leaving the security of our cloke behind)
Maitland
lockedSittin' on the side of the road
by Ynot , Sunday, October 28, 2012, 11:23 (209 days ago) @ Maitland
edited by Ynot, Sunday, October 28, 2012, 23:03
Maitland, thanks, and to all who have contributed so far, and to Cathy for her hyperbole etc...
Yet for many of us our words and ideas are so much clutter. As the clip by Joan Chittister identifies, silence and solitude loom like cliffs in the modern human psyche. However wilful silence is also an ingredient in our failures to address issues of injustice around us. The likes of Bartimaeus can still make us uncomfortable in today's modern society.
...
Sitting by the side of the road - How much are we like Bartimaeus sitting by the side of the road...
However unlike Bartimaeus we remain on the margins of life,closed to the experiences that will lead to a new way of living and ultimately lacking the courage to actually get up (leaving the security of our cloak behind)
Wilfull silence is a problem for me - or being willing to speak. Long gone is the need to see one's words in print - always and still a source of mild gratification but never a compulsion. From the first word, you quickly realise you are putting yourself on the line, as Bartimaeus in refusing to be silenced risked making a fool of himself. (Incidentally, this is why I sign my major posts with my name: if I'm going to criticise, I had better be willing to stand by what I write.)
I sense that many who post on this forum feel the same reluctance. It would be easier to "remain on the margins" and not be committed to anything beyond the misty aura permeating insitutionalised religion. Maybe the Internet experience will give more people some idea of the courage it takes to speak out: all too easy to laugh at what someone writes - and remain aloof and uncommitted.
In view of Vince's post, I can see that much of what I write is still pretty much in the margins. In that address to the Synod, Fr Nicolas SJ put himself on the line while being careful not to alienate his audience. http://www.sjweb.info/imagesNews/121007%20Intervention.pdf
If it was ignored by the Synod it could still be a study text of great value for widespread use.
Cheers,
tony
'TonyL
"A post is a free gift, and it will go where it pleases."'
lockedThe blind beggar sees- the gorilla !!- An NCR reflection
http://ncronline.org/node/36526
We only see what we’re expecting to see or what we’re looking for.
The historical Jesus of Nazareth was all about seeing. His ministry revolved around a conviction that God’s kingdom is close at hand, right before our eyes. God is working effectively in our everyday lives -- something most people never seem to notice. They presume God is securely ensconced in heaven, not active here on earth. That’s why Jesus demands a repentance of those who receive this good news. They must go through a metanoia, a complete change of their value system.
Notice what Jesus says to Bartimaeus. We’d logically expect him to command, “Receive your sight!” or something similar. But instead, he simply tells him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
In a sense, Jesus is saying, “I don’t have to give you your sight; your faith has already done that. Faith in me enables you to see what I see.”
It’s all a matter of noticing what’s before our very eyes.
Maitland
lockedBlinding the begger
by Francis , Kingsgrove, NSW, Monday, October 29, 2012, 14:58 (208 days ago) @ Maitland
It’s all a matter of noticing what’s before our very eyes.
Yes, Maitland. There is all given to us in Creation before what we call our eyes and what we do nor see with our mind's eye is there to see when we consent to open the vision we unwittingly choose not to have. If there is any original sin it is humanity's fear of opening our eyes to the fullness of our being. I write this frequently but few in any here really takes this view up or rejects it. Why?
God creates which means extending Godself so that a bit of that self goes into the extended being of God. We are human but an extension of God. Why do we fear acknowledging that?
Francis
My purpose is to remember the love that created me in God one with my brothers and sisters and with all life. My function is to extend that love and unity each moment to all.
lockedEyes wide open
by Ynot , Monday, October 29, 2012, 21:08 (208 days ago) @ Francis
edited by Ynot, Monday, October 29, 2012, 23:20
If there is any original sin it is humanity's fear of opening our eyes to the fullness of our being. I write this frequently but few if any here really takes this view up or rejects it. Why?
Francis, thank you for your always very positive contributions to the segment. You are wondering why the question of our actual experience of god does not raise a discussion. I suspect it may be that many who post in this forum are not badly crippled. We are prepared to argue about the church institution, and about the interpretation of dogmas or traditional teachings or various bits of scripture or different practices, etc. But when it comes to our communion with god, well, maybe we just get on with it.
But here's a different angle: I consider (and I think you would agree) that god is manifest in the most ordinary elements of life. I don't talk about 'contemplating the divine' in some special way; I often wonder at the divine revealed in the mess. But is this something to write home about? Is it something to be talked about in church? Or discussed with a spiritual guru? Every now and then, Sue and I just talk, each in our own and different language about our quite different perceptions of the divine. Gradually we are pushing back the fear and opening our eyes publicly (to one another) to see the fullness of being we enjoy. Sue just has coffee for breakfast, while I enjoy my porridge and toast and tea. It's that ordinary. It's got to be that ordinary. I think Jesus was in touch with his Father 24/7. It's that ordinary.
Yesterday we were going to the plant nursery about midday and came across a mother duck taking her brood to the lake maybe a kilometre away. We stopped to try and count the ducklings, but just then she led them across a grate over a stormwater drain, and the two leaders disappeared. She backed off and took the others around the trap, crossed the road, and waited. We tried to lift the grate. A young couple (about 20 yr olds), and then a young mother and daughter, pulled up. The young man worked at the grate while the mother checked the opening across the street to see if you could get in that way - asking her daughter whether she would be able to crawl through the pipe!!! The girl was maybe 8 yrs old. She said, Yep!
Suddenly the grate moved, and was quickly lifted off, and the young woman dropped into the hole and passed up the two ducklings. The mother duck had crossed the streets again and again, determined to keep going with the remainder of her brood. (This all took place right on an intersection.) With the rescued ducklings firmly in their hands, the young couple went with me to try and locate the mother and brood. Grass is very long, and there was a metre-deep drain beside the road. We went down the hill, and back, and then spotted her climbing the sheer wall of that drain, and then calling her ducklings from the top. One after another they scrambled up the dirt wall, sometimes falling back, but always starting again, until she had eleven (11) with her aqain. My new friends put their two down and they plunged into the drain and were lost to sight in the long grass. Then they reached the far side and walked straight up that bank. The last we saw was mother duck looking over the mound of dirt to watch for them. Then she turned and they all set off again to battle their way through the grass and weeds and brambles. Heaven was drawing them onwards. Tomorrow I might go down to the lake and see if all 13 made it.
It's that ordinary.
Cheers, tony
'TonyL
"A post is a free gift, and it will go where it pleases."'
lockedTony, yes I do agree with you and I thank you for sharing with me. Communion includes communing.
Francis
My purpose is to remember the love that created me in God one with my brothers and sisters and with all life. My function is to extend that love and unity each moment to all.
lockedEyes wide open
Tony,
Thank you for sharing your reflection on the readings. Also, the amazing story about your experience with the mother duck and her ducklings. What came to my mind's eye in your telling this real life story is that it is the Spirit leading us. I like even more the idea of "luring us forward" to an ever-receding horizon, the future of an ever on-going evolving creation.
The mother duck is like the Holy Spirit, ahead of her brood, lovingly leading, waiting, encouraging, worrying, and prodding patiently. Knowing that those that may fall behind on the journey will be rescued by others along the way, then returned to the brood or set on the right path again to meet up with the brood.
It's that ordinary.
Yes, it is. But, all too often we make things more complex, when in plain sight it really isn’t.
Three thoughts, among hundreds, that struck me this weekend:
Jesus must be truly human, truly a part of the earth, truly a moment in the world 's biological process of becoming, a moment in natural history. He cannot simply be God Himself as acting in the world, he must be part of the cosmos, a moment in its history. – Karl Rahner
Jesus didn’t come into the world from somewhere else, he evolved out of it, and is one of the special goals of an evolutionary process begun and directed by the Holy Spirit. - Dr. Dick Westley
Jesus was/is an extraordinary human being, who evolved out of this world, who gave his 1st century disciples and still gives his disciples today, a way of seeing life with wider and greater vision. Jesus takes us from seeing life on a small TV screen, to seeing life in Cinemascope. And, the Holy Spirit is now luring us, in the 21st century, to see Jesus' teachings in I-Max.
To quote Dr. Dick Westley:
We are people on a forward moving journey. We are Sojourners.
And what is a "Sojourner"? "Sojourners" are those of us whose spiritual lives began by being rooted in Jesus but have begun to move beyond the exclusivity of the Roman (Vatican) Church, and in some ways have even moved beyond Jesus. A Sojourner has grown beyond the bounds of institutional religion. Her search for the Holy may have begun rooted in Jesus but deep reflection on the Spirit of Vatican II has opened her up to the presence of the Holy in other religions and in all of creation. A true Sojourner has joined that group of Jesus followers who some are beginning to label as being "Post-Christian".
A "Sojourner" takes seriously the fact that the world is not an enemy of faith because it is permeated by the Divine Presence, and a place where Christians can encounter the "other" - which is also Holy. As one Catholic put it:
"I was rooted in the story of Jesus, and it remains my core, but I've also moved beyond Jesus. Jesus is not the only son of God. Salvation is not limited to Christians. Wisdom is found not only in the traditions of my Church but also well beyond it."
Clearly, being a "Sojourner" is a scary thing because it means leaving the religious home of our fathers and mothers and traveling to a foreign land. We can no longer be "Catholic" the way they were. Following the lead of the Spirit in our day, we must be "Christian" in a new way, forsaking Catholic exclusivity and embracing the way of hospitality and openness to all.
Who is there to tell us that this movement beyond Rome and its traditional version of Jesus is not in reality a new movement into the very heart of God? It certainly feels that way !!!
The Holy Spirit is our guide on the journey.
lockedTaking up ideas
by CathyT , Adelaide, South Australia, Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 15:10 (207 days ago) @ Francis
There is all given to us in Creation before what we call our eyes and what we do nor see with our mind's eye is there to see when we consent to open the vision we unwittingly choose not to have. If there is any original sin it is humanity's fear of opening our eyes to the fullness of our being. I write this frequently but few in any here really takes this view up or rejects it. Why?
One problem I find with a forum like Catholica is that it is hard to know just what influence our posts are having on those who read them, or, for that matter, if they're having any influence at all. Obviously, there are far more people who read Catholica than there are active contributors, and even among the latter, we can't always be sure how they respond to any given post. At least, I know I would like to comment much more than I do, but I often don't have the time and/or the energy. I assume most other people are in a similar situation. Not only that, but many of us have developed our own particular lens for looking at the world, and our own way of understanding our relationship to the Divine, and of making sense of it all. Unless someone writes something that presents a serious challenge to our particular "lens", I suppose we feel no need to get into discussion with other people over how they see things.
My own particular "lens" has grown out of my family experience, and out of my observations of very young children, which has led me to be convinced how right Jesus was to present children as the heirs to the Kingdom! At the same time, though, Francis, you have very much inflenced my thinking, especially because of your sense of the oneness of all things, and of the natural sense of the Divine which you had even as a small child. I think it very likely that there are at least some other people who have "taken up" your ideas, or maybe even rejected them, but never got around to saying so on the Forum.
Cathy Taggart
I splash in my poetry puddle
and try to keep God amused. - James Broughton
lockedWhat do you want to see? Sunday Readings 30th Yr B
by louisquinze1 , Monday, October 29, 2012, 16:29 (208 days ago) @ Ynot
Loved this Tony, thank you.
i suspect that losing one's life to find it is when one puts oneself 'out there', cross-cultural, on the side of the disenfranchised and finds that who you thought were with you , aren't; when one defies the norms of our comfortable lives and finds oneself ostracised and marginalised oneself. This seems to lead to experience of God, when one can 'see' the inexplicable, the ultimately undefinable ......and rest in that love wherein oneself is found.
Actually i wonder whether this is not what is meant in the book of Revelation where we are to receive a new name known only to oneself.
lockedHidden manna and a new name...
by Ynot , Monday, October 29, 2012, 20:20 (208 days ago) @ louisquinze1
Actually i wonder whether this is not what is meant in the book of Revelation where we are to receive a new name known only to oneself.
"Vincenti dabo manna absconditum... / To the one who conquers I will give a hidden manna and a white stone... with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it." Rev 2:17
Mysterious, enigmatic and very wonderful, louisquinze1.
Thank you for reminding us of it: at one stage it was a sort of motto with me.
Something tells me that in the above you write of what you have experienced.
"To the one who conquers": Is this a condition, a warning, or an invitation to have a go. That's the way I see it: we overcome our crippling fear when we have a go. The outcome is not part of the equation. Resurrection happens after the final defeat of death.
Thanks again,
tony
'TonyL
"A post is a free gift, and it will go where it pleases."'
lockedHidden manna and a new name...
by louisquinze1 , Monday, October 29, 2012, 21:32 (208 days ago) @ Ynot
I think it's about 'here i stand i can do no other' Luther and 'where can we go? You have the words of eternal life' - the disciples to Jesus.
locked
