Cultivating habits of the heart early

“…Very early the next morning, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray” (Mark 1:35)

Mark 1:29-39 (Year B: Second Sunday before Lent: 4^th February 2018)

A day in the life of Jesus. He is up and out before sunrise – praying. The previous night he was engaged in healing after sunset in the house of Peter’s mother-in-law and before that he was at the Synagogue on the Sabbath with his small band of new followers.  Today, he is heading towards other places in Galilee. Always on the move, living from the centre of his being and in relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus moves among the people preaching, healing and setting people free.

Praying in solitary places was Jesus’ way of refuelling and recharging.

Praying in solitary places is not just for monks, spiritual nerds and other people with time on their hands. Praying in solitary places is for everyone including, I believe, people who say they are atheists and agnostics. There is a hole in every person’s heart to be filled with awe, wonder, conversation, asking, thanking and even cursing at times (the psalms can come in handy for this purpose!). The point is that everyone needs space and time to simply ‘be’. The story goes that the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, said ‘I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours of my day in prayer.’  In recent times, Dag Hammarskjöld, a former Secretary General of the United Nations said that, because of his busy schedule, he got up an hour early to pray. When he was ‘extra busy’ he got up two hours early for the same purpose.

Spending two to three hours in prayer is not an option, I suspect, for most ordinary people like you and me. However, quiet times and spaces are a must.  A story is told that many decades ago a novice in a certain religious congregation who had not yet learned the art of ‘seeking forgiveness more than permission’ asked a brother who looked after novices if it was OK to smoke while praying. After a firm ‘NO’ he paused for a moment and asked ‘But, would it be OK to pray while smoking?’  High five!

The point of prayer is a ‘lifting up’ (some of us will remember our old ‘Green Catechism’) and opening out while going in….going into a secret place in the depths of our hearts that goes beyond space, time and consciousness.

Seriously.

And simply. 

Manuals, textbooks and various types of ‘guides’ tend to overcomplicate what is an altogether natural and wholesome thing for humans to do. We, the busy ones, are merely joining the rest of creation by resting in the anguish and glory of ‘Being’.

Pick your times and your place or places.

It might be on the top of the first bus into town for work (the driver can always wake you if you fall asleep before reaching the terminus!). It might be a little corner of your bedroom where you place a picture of a loved one, a bible, an icon or some other ‘reminder’.  It might be a place of fondness on a mountain or by the sea. And, crucially, it could be a place in the middle of a busy congregation gathered together to pray and break bread.  Just as the novice, in the story above, ‘prayed while smoking’ Christians delight to ‘pray while eating and drinking’ at the Eucharist. But, after some time in prayer the reality is that ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ (Mark 1:36).

The morning is a precious time of the day. As it says in the Psalm (5:4):

‘In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting.’

Watching and waiting early, very early in the morning. A tonic for a weary, thankful and hopeful soul as a fresh day begins. As it is written in Isaiah (30:15):

‘..in quietness and trust is your strength..’ (‘A new spring in your step’)

Or in the first book of Kings (19:12):

‘And after the fire came a gentle whisper’

That still small voice that whispers gently to us in the quiet of the house or streets as the sun is rising.

A brother at the community of Taizé has put it:

‘So many Christians find in prayer the courage to take on responsibilities. Rooting themselves in the very wellsprings of Christ, they run the risks of faith.’

By going to the wellsprings deep within us (we are baptised, actually or by entrusting) we find the courage and the faith to risk everything while remaining rooted in the here and now and all that we are called upon to do this day. And just as the morning is the key to the day, the evening is the lock for the night.

Together let us praise the Lord for ourselves and others.

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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

Preliminaries

Nearing the end of the first chapter and having called his first companions, we see Jesus move into full healing and mission mode.

29-31   Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law

As soon as Jesus left the meeting place with James and John, they went home with Simon and Andrew. When they got there, Jesus was told that Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever. Jesus went to her. He took hold of her hand and helped her up. The fever left her, and she served them a meal.

Early Christians saw in the lifting up of Simon’s mother-in-law a sign of the resurrection to come.  Jesus has declared that sickness, death and evil do not have the last word then or now.  The mother-in-law was quick on her feet to serve Jesus a meal.  It looks as if Simon-Peter’s friend Jesus was in very good standing that day with Peter’s mother! So also, we may presume was the wife of Peter who mostly likely was present at this healing (see 1 Corinthians 9:5).

32-34   Jesus heals many sick persons 

That evening after sunset, all who were sick or had demons in them were brought to Jesus. In fact, the whole town gathered around the door of the house. Jesus healed all kinds of terrible diseases and forced out a lot of demons. But the demons knew who he was, and he did not let them speak.

The Sabbath is over with sunset. Hence, healing is permitted according to the strictures of the Law.  Evil knows the Name of Love but Love is not overpowered by evil.

35         Jesus goes to pray in a solitary place,

Very early the next morning, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray. 

Timely and consistent prayer was a cornerstone in the life of ministry of Jesus.

36-37   In search of Jesus

Simon and the others started looking for him. And when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”

38-39   Time to move on: Jesus sets the disciples’ sights on wider horizons

Jesus replied, “We must go to the nearby towns, so that I can tell the good news to those people. This is why I have come.” Then Jesus went to Jewish meeting places everywhere in Galilee, where he preached and forced out demons.

Now is the time

“…And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:18)

Mark 1:14-20 (Year B: 3^rd Sunday after the Epiphany, 21^st January 2018)

Throughout the Gospel of St Mark there is an immediacy and urgency about the message of Jesus. The time is said to have come. It is time to repent and believe now and to follow the Saviour.  When called, the disciples leave what they are doing and who they are with immediately. ‘Without delay’, Jesus calls them and they respond without delay.

In life, our natural tendency is to wait and see, to evaluate and consider, to consult and reflect and to postpone a decision until later. Sometimes this is good to do; others time not: we need to know the difference.  When God calls we are bid to follow with clarity and courage leaving behind doubts and obstacles. We must trust that God will show us the way and enable us to follow there.

The secret in following is in the now. Answering a lifetime’s call is made in a series of steps beginning with a simple step now. Giving a full yes here and now is the only reality we can embrace. The past is a given and the future has not yet arrived. We can only live in the here and now. Nothing else is real as far as action and will are concerned.

The Gospel of Mark, which we read over most Sundays for the remainder of this year, is a very concise account of the life of Jesus Christ. The first chapter reads, in many respects, as a type of ‘executive summary’ of this entire Gospel and all four canonical Gospels. This week’s passage from the first chapter of the gospel of St Mark may be summarised in five key points:

To repent of our sins (v 15).
To believe in Jesus (v 15).
To be healed by Jesus (v 34).
To follow Jesus (v 17).
To be sent by Jesus (v 17).

As in other callings, we have here a call addressed both to individuals and to groups or pairs of individuals. We never walk alone – at least not entirely.

We would do well to take Mark in hand today and let the words and their meaning sink in. As with the rest of the gospels, the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark is worth reading slowly and prayerfully. It holds the key to the entire Good News story about Jesus. When a sentence or a phrase strikes we can just stop there and linger awhile in silence and quiet. A quiet spot and a regular time of day, if at all possible, is a great idea for this type of exercise. It takes practice and discipline. It bears fruit. In that way, we can ‘prepare a way’ in the desert of our lives. And we will be overtaken by surprise – surprise that God loves us more than we ever imagined possible.

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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

14:  It all starts in Galilee

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God

The ministry and first calling of the disciples originated in an obscure corner of an obscure country in the Roman Empire.  It did not start on the floor the Temple or the Holiest of Holies in Jerusalem. Neither did it start in Rome – the centre of political power at the time. It didn’t start in some pre-existing religious community such as the Essenes in Qumran.  It didn’t start in the halls of some institution of human learning and skill. And it didn’t start in the continent of Europe as we know it today.

15:       The waiting is over

and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;[c] repent, and believe in the good news.’

The time of waiting (‘kairos’) is over. This is the acceptable and necessary time to turn (‘repent’) and to experience the good news of God’s saving work. To repent is not to sink further into guilt, shame and retribution. Rather, to repent is to be set free not because we deserve it but because God loves us unconditionally and waits for our free response in love. This is what repentance is about.

16-17:  A new way of life for those called to be ‘fishers’

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ 

From the natural occupation of fishing on a large lake (The Sea of Galilee which is probably about twice the size of Dublin Bay) Jesus sees that these fishermen will have a purpose and a trade of a different kind. The analogy of fishing for people will not be lost on Peter and Andrew. I wonder what their families thought when the brothers went off to follow Jesus? Peter was, after all, married and the evidence from 1 Corinthians 9:5 (and see, also, Mark 1:29-31) is that his wife was alive and not dead at the time of his calling and subsequent ministry. We may note that, at this point, the emphasis in Mark is on the preaching of the Word of God. Miracles accompanying this preaching would follow very soon. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see Peter along with the other apostles or disciples preaching, healing, calling and sowing the seeds of a new reality and kingdom. It all began on the shores of a lake in a far off place. Peter and Andrew must have had little idea where this would all lead when this amazing Rabbi/Teacher said to them abruptly one day: ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people’ (v. 17).

18:  Answering the call without delay

 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 

There is no evidence that they hesitated. They ‘immediately left their nets and followed him’ (v. 18).

19-20:  Immediacy

As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat  with the hired men, and followed him.

And again, the disciples called did not delay but dropped their nets and left their families and fellow-workers behind.  The sons of Zebedee would have inherited a family fishing business for mention was made of ‘hired men’.  The sons did not leave their father without help in those who were hired and stayed behind.

What do we really want in life?

“…What are you looking for” (John 1:38)

John 1:35-51

Year B: 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, 14th January 2018

When did you last read an obituary (or hear a funeral eulogy) that went something like this:

‘He was a much revered person who worked all the hours God gave to become the head in this industry and organisation. He put in long hours, cut deals, fought off competitors and saved the organisation on more than one critical moment. He received numerous honorary doctorates and one real one while he wrote six books, 30 journal articles and served on many commission and boards. He had many friends and contacts but none terribly close. He did make time for family life and local rotary club activities.  He will be missed but life goes on and things change. It was sad to see his health deteriorate in his final years.  He did recognise the few who visited him in the very final months at St Fachtna’ Nursing Home.  His farewell was an occasion of some sadness.’

Not often, I suggest. Not at all in fact!

Write your own obituary or, better still, live in such a way that others will write an obituary that you can be justly proud of because you were a caring, loving, truthful and fair person in whatever role or responsibility was entrusted to you.

Every so often we need to stop for a few minutes, or hours or even days and ask the hard question that Jesus asked the two disciples: ‘what do I want?’ What do I seek?  Above and beyond the daily toils and struggles what is my purpose and aim in life? Truly?

Sometimes there are no immediate or clear answers. It may involve some trial and error. ‘Come and see’ was Jesus’ reply when asked ‘where are you staying?’

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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

Preliminaries

The choice of passage is all encompassing: it combines John 1:35-41 with John 1:42-51 as, respectively, these correspond to the typical choice of Gospel reading on this Sunday in the Roman Catholic and most of the Reformed Churches.  Perhaps, by accident, the former emphasises Peter and his brother Andrew while the latter emphasises Philip and Nathaniel.

35-36:  John bears witness

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ 

On ‘the next day’ (the third day), John bears witness in front of two of his own disciples. John’s Gospel attaches great importance to time, night, day and numbers hiding key parallels and deeper significance beneath the stories and words.

This is where Galilee and Judea meet up: the disciples of Jesus, according to John the evangelist, were disciples of John the Baptist. Where ‘two or three’ were gathered there was the Messiah in their midst. This prefigures what is to come after the resurrection of Jesus.

I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. (Isaiah 65:1)

37-39:  Time to come and see

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

It was late in the day and as often happens in the Gospel of John, light and darkness, day and night play out in a deep exchange of meanings.

The two disciples who followed Jesus belonged, initially, to John’s people (was Jesus also associated with them?). John lets go of his own disciples. These disciples were prompted by John and they set off on a new and unexpected course.

(We should always remain open to the inspirations and promptings of the Holy Spirit especially when they come through someone wise and someone we can trust).

‘What are you looking for?’ is the same question posed by St Benedict to those would follow in the monastic way of life. What do you seek? Do you really seek God?

Andrew and another disciple sought the Saviour. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and there is a possibility that, his brother, was at least connected to the Johannine dessert movement.  Note that, according to this passage, Jesus does not say to them, at this stage, ‘Come and follow me’ but, rather, ‘Come and see’. Jesus respects the freedom and responsibility of the disciples who will be called. In reality, this day is the decisive day for Andrew and the other disciple.  By following Jesus to where he stayed they were being led to a new reality. This was more than an individual call. The two disciples sought and followed Jesus together and not each of them alone. Might it be possible that the other disciple who is unnamed by John the evangelist was John the evangelist himself? Or, might it have been – perish the thought – a woman who could not be named but had been a follower of John the Baptist ! 

There is a strong echo of John 20:15-16 here. At the resurrection (the ‘third day’), Jesus is sought by Mary who does not recognise him at first. When she does acknowledge him she addresses him as ‘Rabbi’ just as Andrew and Peter do.

Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew,‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).

This coming to Jesus to see is a very striking way of telling us that the first disciples had a personal encounter with Jesus. Following Jesus was, in the first place, a personal encounter and experience and not a detached intellectual discourse followed by assent. They simply saw where Jesus lived and how he lived and related to them and others.

‘Staying’ and ‘remaining’ with Jesus that evening chime with our lives as disciples. We stay and remain in the blessed Trinity. As it says in the Prayer of Humble Access:

‘….and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us’

40-42   Seeking, finding and responding

One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

Andrew could not contain himself. He had to go and tell his brother Peter and invite him to join up. He declared to his brother ‘We have found the Messiah’. John the evangelist is drawing important theological conclusions, here, and is careful to explain the meaning of terminology such as Rabbi, Messiah and Cephas to a non-Hebrew audience. Jesus ‘looked at’ Peter. Using the underlying Greek word, emblépō, it would be accurate to understand this ‘looked at’ as the equivalent of looking in a concentrated and sustained way.

The call to discipleship is pressing, urgent and appealing. In fact, irresistible. Our first and natural instinct is to share it with others and, perhaps, they too will follow.

There is a touch of irony here. The one to be called ‘rock’ was not quite rock-like when confronted with an opportunity for martyrdom on the night of Jesus’ betrayal.  Not even Peter could resist his human nature and betray his Lord at a crucial moment. Did this stop him from going on to witness to Jesus and, ultimately, be led to death for his sake? No.

Jesus would say to Peter much later in the Gospel of John:

Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’  (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ (John 21:18-19)

Following Jesus is the road to freedom. But the paradox is that it leads to constraint too. This is especially so in those called to lead as Peter was. Grace is never lacking.

43-46   Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael  

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’

A third person from the ‘city’ of Bethsaida is called and this time it is Philip. (It may be that all three came from Capernaum which is 10 Km down the road from Bethsaida by Lake Galilee.  By now, the village must been buzzing! However, Nathanael (probably the same person as Bartholomew Matthew 10:3) was added to the small band. A distance of over 50 Km separated Bethsaida from Jesus’ home town of Nazareth.  Jesus was in search of followers and, perhaps, he already knew Philip or knew of him.  His invitation was simply ‘follow me’.  There are scarcely any occasions where the invitation to ‘follow’ is used in the New Testament except on the lips of Jesus. It reminds us as 21^st century disciples that we are invited to follow Jesus and Jesus alone. However, we do not follow him on our own. We travel together with others. This is, also, a key point of this passage of scripture. Nathanael is, initially, sceptical when Philip tells him of the Messiah he has found.  The invitation is extended by Philip to ‘come and see’.

47-48   what you see is what you get

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’

Were it only possible to say about every politician, church leader, minister, doctor, lawyer, plumber, car mechanic, economist, employer and trade union official: ‘Here is someone in whom there is no deceit – what you see is what you get’!

49-51   The dream of Jacob come true

Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

Nathanael’s declaration of faith is more gradual in the synoptic gospels. John compresses a lot to bring theological matters to the fore. There is no mistaking it – Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel and it takes an Israelite without deceit to declare it.

Speaking of ascending and descending is very much rooted in scripture.  There are plenty of stories about people ascending up to heaven (e.g. Jacob’s dream of angels ascending and descending in Genesis 28:12, Jesus’ conversation with Nathanael in John 1:51, Elijah being taken up in a ‘whirlwind’ to heaven in 2 Kings 2:11).  In many different cultures of the ancient world people had a three-tier idea of the universe: the heavens up there, hell down there (a hot place!) and the earth right here where we stand. Over time, other categories were stitched on such as limbo and purgatory to meet various theological conundrums (necessity being the mother of invention!).