In today’s gospel St. Mark presents us with 2 miracle narratives which have the purpose of revealing Jesus, not only as the Son of God; but also as the Lord of the Dance. In the Hebrew Scripture Psalm 62 tells us: “In God alone there is rest for my soul. He is the source of our hope and our safety; with him as my rock, I can never fail. Unburden your hearts to him for he is our shelter”. place a significant burden on our spiritual well-being. We live in a world that is extremely complex and yet we desire to wield complete control. We live in a world where we crave authority and demand respect, yet we turn a deaf ear to those who are most in need, to those who have no voice in our society. We live in a world where the rich are getting richer while the poor remain in poverty. We live in a world where we seek many things that bring us pleasure with the mistaken belief that they will fill the spiritual emptiness we feel in our hearts. You see - in spite of our shortcomings, we live in a world where we believe that we are the Lord of the Dance. In all of those situations, and in all of the other situations which force us, as a last resort, to turn to God in fervent prayer, God compassionately responds by saying: “Dance, dance wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance says he, and I’ll lead you all wherever you may be and I’ll lead you all in the dance says he.”
WHO IS THIS? WHO IS THIS THAT EVEN THE WIND AND SEA OBEY? WHO IS JESUS IN MY LIFE? Does your faith in Jesus affect the way you live your life in what you say and do? Who is Jesus for you in the midst of the storms of your life? Can we identify with the fear of the apostles about the seeming absence of Jesus at times in our life? In what situations do we lose the confidence of prayer and resort to fear and anxiety? Consider temptations as windy squalls and surging seas. In these situations of fearfulness, do what the disciples did. Wake up Jesus who is asleep in our hearts. May our daily prayer invite Jesus to calm the storms of life we are facing and trust that Jesus is awake and knows very well that we are God’s beloved. What will it take to convert our fears and anxieties to trust and faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Pope Francis bids us imitate St. Francis of Assisi’s graced ability to see all of nature as a wondrous book in which God speaks to us and permits us to glimpsed God’s infinite beauty and goodness. Pope Francis calls to be good stewards of God’s creation. May we praise in the beauty of all of creation, and may we trust in God in dealing with the fears and storminess of life.
Far from being a pit stop for fast food and entertainment in the journey of life, the gift of the Body and Blood of Christ is the necessary sustenance for the spiritual growth of each member of the community and for the community itself. As we reflect on the mystery of the Sunday Eucharist, we are reflecting on the central prayer of our faith tradition. We are part of a tradition that is nearly 2000 years old. The Sunday Eucharist is our participation in the paschal mystery of Christ Jesus. The Sunday Eucharist satisfies the deepest hungers of the human heart. The thing of it is with spiritual hungers; we can be spiritually hungry without being in touch with our deep hunger. As the great St. Augustine said, "you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are hungry until they rest in thee". As the congregation approaches the altar and receives communion, it is as if the Church is filling up with Christ. We are not only in union with Christ, we are in communion with all those who receive him. The Eucharist is a community affair, not simply Jesus and me. We are not only in union with Christ; we are in communion with all those who receive Christ. This is the meaning of Church. The Church is a people of God who are in union with Christ in the mystery of the Eucharist. We are also a people in communion with all those who receive Christ Jesus in the Eucharist. By our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ. Go in peace glorifying the Lord by our lives in all that we say and do this day and every day.