They asked me how I knew
What I judged was true
Oh, I of course replied
I had clear insight
Cannot be denied
They said some day you’ll find
You were just as blind
Oh, as a porcupine
Then you’ll realize
Wood gets in your eyes
So I chaffed them, and I gaily laughed
To think they could doubt my sight
Now it’s dawn, all my companions gone
So was I wrong or right?
Now angry friends deride
Planks I cannot hide
Oh, so I cry and say
When my pride goes awry
Wood gets in my eyes
Wood gets in my eyes
(Porcupines are near-sighted. Really.)
Lord, you remind us today to “judge not, lest ye be judged”. Help us first turn our judgement inwards, to examine our own faults and prejudices, before refocusing on the people around us with a more loving and caring countenance. Amen.
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
Zechariah 12:10-11,13:1 | Psalm 62:2-6,8-9 | Galatians 3:26-29 | Luke 9:18-24
The central question in today’s Gospel, how everyone perceives Jesus, is just as appropriate when directed at ourselves. Who do people say I am…behind my back?
The answers can be quite troubling. There was a dark period during my college days, for instance, when I was described as a self-centered homeless jerk. (That hurt a lot, but it was also a much-needed wake-up call.)
I think the answers also point to our destiny in the afterlife. If it’s “you can go to hell for all they care”, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where we’re headed.
If it’s “who’s he?”, that’s probably not good either. Christ has called us to touch others’ lives with the love that he shared in toto with us, not to “light a lamp to put it under a tub” (Matthew 5:15) or “hide our talent in the ground” (Matthew 25:25).
In the end, we should strive to be worthy of “a good man”, “an angel in disguise”, “a true Christian”.
Saturday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Times (Year II)
2 Chronicles 24:17-25 | Psalm 88:4-5,29-34 | Matthew 6:24-34
‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money. (Matthew 6:24)
This passage is often misinterpreted. Jesus isn’t saying that we must reject money in order to be faithful to Our Father. It’s perfectly possible to be “monogamous” to God, to spend each day reflecting His love onto others, yet simultaneously acquire and spend money in reasonable ways, particularly with charity towards others.
As I write this, I’m surrounded by literally thousands of books, printed booklets and magazines acquired over the last 25 years, the vast majority of which I’ll never read in my lifetime – they’re already largely out of date, but I keep convincing myself that there’s gems of knowledge in there that I’ll need real soon. And this is after my wife and I managed to recycle about half of the original stock. ?
Clearly, I was a slave to money at some point, and still suffer some elements of Stockholm syndrome when it comes to mammon. It’s a goad that’s driving me to greater involvement with God in my life, in an effort to “enslave” myself to the Author of eternal life and love instead.
So far, I’ve seen some improvement – the only new books I’ve bought in the last year have been on Catholic topics, and Brother Google and Sister Internet have largely supplied my tech knowledge needs. It’s still early days, but I hope that some day, my shelves will be almost bare of everything that doesn’t speak of God in some form.
Lord, help me consciously turn to You each day, and away from the unnecessary peripherals and temptations of earthly life, so that I may share my bounty with others in need with an open and loving heart. Amen.
P.S. If you’re wondering why that bizarre title sounds familiar…
Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)
2 Kings 11:1-4,9-18,20 | Psalm 131:11-14,17-18 | Matthew 6:19-23
‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkness, what darkness that will be!’ (Matthew 6:22-23)
?❗️
Of course, we should also take care to ? too, since temptation can also come as a seductive whisper in the dark, but the core message in today’s Gospel remains the same: keep our eyes firmly affixed on God, keep our feet firmly on His holy way, keep ourselves free to love others as Christ loved us.
