“We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  (2 Cor. 4:7)

The treasure is Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  The jars of clay are we who have accepted Christ, who have been baptized into his church, and who have opened the door of our hearts to experience his presence and the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

But this treasure is not just for us, but also for the people and circumstances in our lives.  To release the treasure, the jars of clay need to be broken.  We need to be broken of our pride, our agendas and doing things “my way.” 

My self-focused nature is often the greatest obstacle to my sharing the treasure of God’s love with my family, friends and strangers that enter into my daily life.  It is amazing how easily I can forget that Christ lives in me when responding to an unsolicited phone caller, a store clerk who doesn’t seem to meet my expectations or the interruption of my plans for the day by a loved one. 

Yet as we share this treasure, the light of Christ, his love, truth and sacrifice will shine in the darkness of the world surrounding us even if the darkness does not understand it.  There are of course countless ways to share this treasure.  Let me offer one example. 

One day I was having lunch with a business colleague and he started to share with me how his wife of more than 40 years had left him due to some actions on his part.  I could tell that he was very distraught over both his actions and her response.  After listening to him  get choked up as he described their life and the recent developments, I asked him if I could pray with him.   He said yes, I reached across the table, took hold his arm, and prayed that God would give him courage to say he was sorry and ask his wife to forgive him; that she would be open to receive his request and the grace to forgive. 

He was not necessarily a religious person, but by God’s grace they reconciled.  He subsequently retired and died of cancer a couple of years later in her love and care.

How are you allowing the treasure of Christ’s presence in your jar of clay to impact the people and circumstances of your life?

“Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

Have you ever heard a eulogy at a funeral commemorating the deceased for his or her wealth? 

Eulogies are usually about how someone has been a good parent, a loving spouse, or a faithful friend.  We hear about attributes such as being kind, gentle, patient, diligent and loving.  We listen to stories about how they have served others instead of themselves, how they have been generous with their time and resources, and how they have volunteered for this or that cause.

What we hear in eulogies seems to confirm Jesus’ warning about greed.  Jesus shares the Parable of the Rich Fool, whose land produced an abundant crop.  So he decided to tear down his barns and build larger ones to store all his grain.  He then said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.’” (Luke 12:16-21)

Throughout recorded history people have been consumed with accumulating money and possessions in order to achieve some supposed level of security.  Power, authority and fame all contribute to this drive.  As a young attorney, I was very career focused early on in my life.  Marriage and children started to temper that focus.  Then I experienced an encounter with Jesus Christ, and a renewal in my faith that led to some challenging choices between career and family, and later between work and ministry.    

Being blessed with abundance is not sinful in itself, but it can become a distraction to what God wants for us because of the temptations of increased self-focus, entitlement, increasing comfort, and isolation from people in need.  These are not the kinds of characteristics that usually end up in eulogies.  No doubt that is why Jesus urges us to “Watch out!”  

When a reporter asked John D. Rockefeller, who at the time was considered the richest man in the world, how much money is enough, he responded, “Just a little bit more.”  Although Rockefeller, a practicing Christian, used a good part of his surplus wealth to build hospitals, support numerous educational institutions and other causes, his response demonstrates how insidious accumulating wealth can be.  

As eulogies bear out, a kind word, a joyful heart, a loving act of service and sacrifice have lasting effect.  They are indeed eternal and, as Jesus characterizes them, “treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”  (Mt. 6:19-20)

What will be your eulogy?

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

God’s work did not end with his creation.  Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”  (John 5:17)  God never stops creating.  He is constantly doing new things.  Through his Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, he loves, forgives, teaches, heals and guides.  He also invites us to join with him in taking care of his creation.  In all of this he is always looking forward, not backward. 

While our sin can interfere with God’s creation and work, God provides a remedy through repentance and forgiveness.  Once we acknowledge our sin and seek to change, God offers forgiveness.  While it is natural to regret our past sin and mistakes, once we acknowledge them and are forgiven, it is time for us to move on and seek to live the life that God is calling us to live today. 

For me, that includes loving and caring for my wife of 58 years, supporting an adult child with special needs, and being available to love and encourage four other adult children who are raising families of their own.  It includes being a good steward of the time, talents and resources God has made available to me to serve him in family, work and ministry. 

As an example, God has opened the door for me to work with a charitable organization that raises funds and supports special education and inclusion in Catholic schools.  This past year we have taken steps to hire professional staff and expand our board to bring more expertise and resources to our mission.  At one point our diocese had no schools that served students with special needs.  Today, students with special needs are being served in all four diocesan high schools, and ten parish schools.  The objective of our organization and our Bishop is that every Catholic school in the diocese will be able to offer a loving, nurturing and inclusive education for students with special needs.   

God is doing a new thing in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, and I am blessed to be a part of it.  He is always seeking to do something new to further his kingdom on this earth.  So too with us, he is always seeking to do something new – providing new opportunities for us to love, forgive, teach, heal, guide – always looking forward, advancing his creation “on earth as it is in heaven.” 

Do you hold on to the past, or are you opening your eyes to the new opportunities God is putting before you?

Does our frequent use of the Lord’s Prayer result in it becoming a rote prayer with little power? 

Before COVID, I took communion on one or two Sundays a month to residents of a local nursing home.   One of the residents on the Alzheimer’s floor (we will call her Mary Jane) has always been eager to receive communion, but on this occasion became quite agitated and even accused me of wanting to do her harm.  I was shocked as was her attendant, who tried to calm and assure her that everything was fine.  She would have none of it, and I retreated to call on other residents.   

The next time I returned to the home, I found Mary Jane just finishing her breakfast and I asked if she wanted to receive communion.  She did not respond.  I knelt down beside her chair and asked if she would like to say the Lord’s Prayer.   I started to say it slowly, “Our Father who art in heaven…”  She quietly joined in, “Hallowed be thy name.”  As we continued, she pronounced each word in a slow deliberate fashion, “Thy – kingdom – come, thy – will – be – done, on – earth – as – it – is – in – heaven.”  She grew more emphatic, “Give – us – this- day – our – daily – bread, – and – forgive – us – our – trespasses – as – we – forgive – those – who – trespass – against – us.”  With a smile on her face and a look of accomplishment, we continued, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” 

I gave her communion, and then to my surprise, she said, “I love you.”  I responded, “I love you, too, Mary Jane.”  What a contrast to my prior visit! 

In reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Mary Jane may have been recalling a prior time in her relationship with God — perhaps in church, maybe a personal prayer or a family prayer time.  We can only speculate what she may have been thinking, but it brought her a sense of joy and peace.  

We should not underestimate the power of this prayer which Jesus used to teach his disciples how to pray.  Its proclamation of the holiness and omnipotence of God, its petitions that God’s will to be done on this earth, that our daily needs be provided, that our sins be forgiven as we forgive others, and that we be protected from temptation and evil are a profound and eloquent summation of what counts most in life. 

Why should we be surprised that this prayer, testifying to the kingdom, glory and power of God, awakens a soul in the shadow of Alzheimer’s?

A good exercise for us might be to say the Lord’s Prayer very slowly as Mary Jane did, hanging on each word, and meditating on each phrase. 

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion.” (Amos 6:1) 

During the middle of the eighth century before Christ, the prophet, Amos, was decrying those in Israel who were accumulating wealth and neglecting the poor. 

Complacency is ruinous to almost any endeavor of life – athletics, parenting, doing your job well, and living out our Christian faith.  A few years ago I read a book entitled Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis, describing her experience of going on a mission trip to Uganda over Christmas break of her senior year in high school and how it led her into full time ministry to care for and educate the poorest children of Uganda.  

The book describes multiple stories reflecting a special God-inspired love she acquired for children who live in houses of sticks, stones and mud, and sleep on hard dirt floors surrounded by filth and disease.  After returning to Uganda instead of going on to college as her parents desired, her reaction was:

“In my mind, these people had every reason to be despondent and downcast, but were the most joyful human beings I could imagine.  I learned so much from them as they made my frustrations seem small and petty and taught me just to rejoice in the simple pleasures God surrounded me with.  Once I could do this, I embraced extreme exhilaration; I felt closer to God, to myself and the people, and more alive than ever before.”

Katy is the exact opposite of being complacent.  She is full of passion for the Lord Jesus Christ, and she is bringing his presence to hundreds of children in Uganda, thirteen of whom she has since adopted as a single mother.

Like Katie, all of us who have been baptized have God dwelling within us.  Do we let his presence and love be manifested through us to the people and circumstances in our lives, or do we bury his presence through our complacency?  I wish I could say that I always embrace the same level of passion for the Lord’s call on my life as Katie’s, but I struggle with the distractions of my comfortable life.

We must remember the words of Jesus to the church of Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15)

Fortunately, through my affiliation with Christians in Commerce, I have been able to support in an indirect way that the people of Uganda hear about Jesus Christ, and to assist with their need for clean water, food and education.   But we don’t need to go to Africa to bring God’s presence to the people in our lives including our families, work colleagues, friends and strangers. 

Am I complacent in living out my Christian faith with the people and circumstances in my life?

“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.”  (Luke 4:1- 2)

If Jesus, who shared our humanity, needed the Holy Spirit to resist the temptations of the devil, how much more do we?  Certainly, our fallen humanity makes us subject to all kinds of temptations.  The list is lengthy.  St. Paul describes, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

Other sins are more subtle, such as checking our faith at the door of our workplace, not taking time to listen to someone who is hurting, or failing to be kind and respectful in our interactions with others.  These sins of omission can be just as destructive to others and us as the more obvious sins of commission.

There was a time in my life when I let my work and career take precedence over my wife and family, but fortunately, I was invited by a priest and a group of nuns from Scarsdale, New York to be prayed with for the release of the power of the Holy Spirit.  I will never forget the reassuring words of God’s love and forgiveness from Sister Pauline, one of the nuns.  Experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in a more personal and real way opened my eyes to both the sins of commission and omission.  It changed the course of my life.

We all have different propensities to sin, but Jesus came to forgive and free us from our sins and enable us through the power of the Holy Spirit to resist temptations.  I can personally testify that Jesus can set you free of a nagging, persistent sin.  Ask Jesus with all your heart to take a sin from you, and he will do so!

The Holy Spirit gave me an entirely new perspective on how God was calling me to love and serve him through my family, work, and ministry.  Experiencing the fullness and presence of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to resisting the devil’s many temptations.   

Have you asked God to fill you with the Holy Spirit to help you resist sin?

“Encourage one another daily, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13) 

The Gospel of John explains what “sin’s deceitfulness” means when it tells us that the devil “is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)  His most prevalent lies are that we are not worthy, that we are not loved or appreciated, that what we do doesn’t matter, and that God does not really care about us or our lives.

These lies seek to oppress us.  They cause us to forget that we are God’s special creation, made in his image and likeness, with the important task of taking care of the garden of his creation and establishing his kingdom on this earth.  These lies can be disabling.  They derail us from the reason for our being. They prevent us from carrying out the work God has in mind for only us to do in the context of the people and circumstances of our lives.

The antidote for these lies is encouragement.  Psalm 10:17 says God encourages the afflicted.  We are his agents for encouragement.  It is an act of love.  One of the ways God shows his love for us is through the encouragement of one another.

When I think of encouragement, I think of my wife who constantly encourages our adult daughter, Emily, who has Down syndrome.  Up until last year Emily worked at a bakery and catering business five days a week for twelve years.  The bakery employed more than thirty people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  In March of 2020, the bakery suspended operations due to COVID.  For a variety of reasons the bakery later closed its business permanently. 

Because of the continued presence of COVID and the general lack of employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we have not been able to find suitable work for Emily.  Needless to say, she misses the routine of her work, getting out of the house, and seeing her many friends there each day. 

My wife constantly encourages Emily by getting her to help with the daily chores of making the beds, folding clothes, vacuuming, and other housework.  She develops routines for Emily to help with making her lunch and snacks, going for walks, arranging for former high school friends to come and visit, and generally encouraging her to be the joyful person she has always been — upbeat in spite of not having the work routine she previously enjoyed so much. 

Is there someone in your life who needs encouragement?

“So [the shepherds] went in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in a manger.  They made known the message that they had been told about the child.  And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”  (Luke 2:16-17, 19) 

What was it that Mary was reflecting on in her heart?   Could it have been that what the angels had told the shepherds confirmed what the angel had said to her; that the son she bore was to be the savior of the world? 

How loving and merciful of God to give Mary a confirmation of her momentous decision to say yes to his plan for her to be the mother of his Son!  

God providing confirmation of important decisions is not confined to the Holy Family, but is something available to anyone who seeks an ongoing relationship with him and asks for guidance in the decisions of life. 

Let me share a story involving my mother when I was teenage boy, growing up in Mason City, Iowa.  I was born with a deformed sternum bone that was inverted inward and had the effect of crowding my heart and lungs as I grew older.  When I was 15, it was determined that it was causing my heart to enlarge with serious consequences on my future health and life expectancy.  A thoracic surgeon in Des Moines had developed a procedure where the sternum bone would be cut from the rib cage lifted out and a bone strut placed across the ribs from one side to the other and then the sternum laid back down over the strut with everything wired back together. 

Since this was in the 1950’s and the surgery was considered unusually invasive and experimental, my parents agonized over the decision to proceed.   After seeking second opinions, deliberating extensively and praying, they decided to go forward with the surgery. 

The Sunday before we were to travel to Des Moines for the surgery, my mother was earnestly praying at mass, asking God for some kind of assurance that they were making the right decision.  As she was praying, she felt a hand on her shoulder.  It was distinctly physical.  She paused, looked behind her, but there was no one there or anywhere nearby.  She knew it was a confirmation from God of their decision to go ahead with the surgery.  Sixty-seven years later, I am still here to share the story.

“All who heard [the angels’ message] were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2:18)

Has God given you a sign or assurance with a difficult decision?

Do you ever struggle with grasping the full meaning and purpose of God becoming one of us in the person of Jesus Christ? 

For many years radio commentator Paul Harvey shared the following story at Christmas to help us understand.

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The man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge; he was a kind, decent, mostly good man; generous to his family, and upright in his dealings with other men.  But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time.  It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise.  He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to Earth as a man. 

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.”  He said he’d feel like a hypocrite.  That he’d much rather stay at home, but that he would wait up for them.  And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall.  He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.  Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound…then another, and then another.  Sort of a thump or a thud…at first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow.  They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony.  That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it.  Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn.  He opened the doors wide and turned on the light, but the birds did not come in.  He figured food would entice them.

So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable.  But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.  He tried catching them…he tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms…instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm lighted barn. 

And then he realized that they were afraid of him.  To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me…that I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them.  But how?  Because any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them, they just would not follow.  They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language.  Then I could tell them not to be afraid.  Then I could show them the way to safe, warm…to the safe warm barn.  But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.”  At that moment the church bells began to ring.  The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind.  And he stood there listening to the bells, listening, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.  And he sank to his knees in the snow.

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May you and your loved ones have a blessed Christmas!

“May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, we see that God did not force his will on her.  We may tend to take her decision for granted, but it was not automatic.  However holy and righteous Mary may have been, it was still within her power to decline the role God desired for her.  He gave her freedom to reject his invitation, but she chose to say yes. 

Even Jesus had the freedom to choose when he prayed in Gethsemane that the cup of torture and death he was facing be taken from him, but then he submitted. “Yet not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) 

Like Mary and Jesus, God has given us the freedom to make choices.  When I was in my mid-40’s, I was offered a promotion in my work that would have required our family to move. Everything in my work experience was calling out to me to accept this apparent advance in my career, but we had three teenage daughters and a young son at the time.  My wife and I discerned that under the circumstances it was not in God’s will for us to make this move. We will never know what might have happened had I accepted the assignment, but we do know what did happen – an apparent initial sacrifice was transformed into a cup overflowing with a multitude of blessings.  Since that time God added another special child to our family.  The first four children are now raising Christian families of their own, adding 13 grandchildren to our overall family. 

How precious is the gift of freedom which God gives to each of us!  He preserved it even in the midst of his most important act after creation – his intention to become one of his created in the person of Jesus in order to overcome evil and save the world from sin and death. 

We honor and revere Mary for her decision of faithfulness and obedience to God’s desire.  As we read the Gospel of Luke, we may tend to gloss over all of the real and practical complications, second guessing, and judgments Mary must have endured in saying yes to God’s messenger.  Even Joseph intended to divorce her until God spoke to him in a dream.    

Without this freedom to choose, love, faithfulness and obedience have no meaning.  A coerced love is no love at all.  Freedom is a precondition to love.  It’s the way God set things up, and Mary illustrates it perfectly in agreeing to be part of something that had never happened before in human history. 

Do we appreciate the gift of freedom that God has given us?