Reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday 2024

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; And no one puts new wine into old wineskins.

In this third week of Pre-Lent, Quinquagesima, we consider the power of overwhelming love.

I remember my Kindergarten girlfriend, Donna, my 8th grade girlfriend Lori, and perhaps a few others before finally meeting and falling in love with Renee.

We may all recall that special person we were attracted to and perhaps fell in love with. If we really consider the difference between the girlfriends and boyfriends we may have had and perhaps the person we finally entered relationship with, we will note differences in the depth and breadth of our love. That is important to remember since we see today God calling out in love to His people, seeking response.

God says He will give His beloved people everything. He pledges Himself to them. Not only that, but those who are His people will respond in love. What a beautiful vision of mutual love – deep love that knows no limit, where no sacrifice is too great – even to the sacrifice of Jesus for all of us.

I will betroth you to me forever: I will betroth you to me with justice and with judgment, with loyalty and with compassion; I will betroth you to me with fidelity, and you shall know the LORD.

Some may say: If I only had that kind of love in my life! Let us not forget that we already have that love it in Jesus.

Paul reminds the Church in Corinth that the relationship of love within the Christian Church is a letter, written on our hearts. The Holy Spirit writes God’s love within us – within our entirety. That love written in us is to be known and read by everyone.

Our relationship with God, in the best way, is the model for our relationship with each other. God’s model allows us to love not with mere infatuation or passion, not only on occasion, but with the totality of our being all the time.

The covenant relationship Jesus came to establish with us is one of total love. It is a call to mutuality. He tells us that something new is among us – new wine that will not work in old systems of relationship. Our way of life is not like anything of old. He tells the Pharisees to see things with new eyes, with new hearts open to love.

As we prepare to enter Lent, let us focus on the grandeur of God’s love and offer Him our entire selves in love.

Reflection for Sexagesima Sunday 2024

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us was not “Yes and no,” but in him is “Yes.” For however many are the promises of God, in him is the “Yes.” Therefore also through him is the “Amen,” to the glory of God through us.

In this second week of Pre-Lent, Sexagesima, we are presented with a view into the wonderful assurance of God.

In our gospel we see Jesus confronted by the hushed criticism of the Scribes. They were speaking to each other in whispers criticizing what Jesus was doing. They called His power and authority into question: “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” – something that would later be part of their pretexts for His arrest and crucifixion.

Jesus confronts their whispering and conniving by showing that He had power to forgive sin by curing the incurable.

That kind of grumbling also occurred in the early Church. Paul had planned to visit Corinth, but then had changed his travel plans. Luckily in changing his itinerary he didn’t have to deal with trains and planes. What he did have to deal with though was grumbling among the Corinthians. They started to think he was fickle, couldn’t make up his mind, and that led them to question all he taught about Jesus.

It seems silly, doesn’t it? Even so, Paul confronts the grumbling, and their resulting lack of confidence head on. Paul does this in a remarkable way, not by laying out some record of all the great things he had done, the accomplishments he had on his Apostle resume, but rather by going to the source of all assurance and confidence – Jesus.

He declares the absolute yes that is in Jesus. That is the yes of God Who does not vacillate or change in His declaration to us or in His promises. In Christ is also the Amen – which beside meaning ‘so be it’ also means ‘steady’ and ‘trustworthy.’ 

As we continue in our Pre-Lenten journey of preparation let us be assured of the yes and amen that is in Christ Jesus who welcomes the contrite, grants grace for needed change, and who has the power to forgive. Again, let us resolve to meet Ash Wednesday and the Great Lent head-on going to the source of all assurance and confidence – Jesus – Who is ready and able to cure what we think incurable in us.

February 2024 Newsletter – Living in His Pattern

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

The text above from the First Letter of St. Peter was aimed at new Christians. Peter is saying that Christianity is not easy. Christianity demands a lot from us. Some will not understand why we endure what we endure. Others will pile on those who have entered the kingdom of God. Suffering is part of the Christian life. Our Pre-Lent and Lenten journey are specifically designed to call us to self-sacrifice, to connect with and undertake some suffering for the sake of Christ and His Church (the Body of Christ – all of us together), and to walk the difficult road Jesus traveled to the Cross. Self-sacrifice and suffering go hand in hand.

We all know what it is like to give something up. Whether it is the fasting we do on Wednesdays and Fridays, or some deeper abstinence from certain behaviors that have become sinful in our lives. Being honest, we know it will hurt to do those things. Yet we must. What that suffering comes down to then is how we meet it. We might meet it with fear, trepidation, and a propensity to dwell on the negative or we could turn our thoughts to the joyful outcomes and experiences we will derive from what we undertake. The result is that our current suffering for Christ’s body will return to us as blessings and miracles.

Similarly, walking with Jesus, particularly through acts of devotion and prayer (Stations, Bitter Lamentations, a Lenten Retreat) keep us connected to what He suffered for us. We come to clearly see God giving His whole self for us, accepting the worst pain and punishment of all – physical and psychological – because God sees us as worth His Son’s suffering. The result is that we do not underestimate our value in God’s eyes. We see His love full on.

God calls us to live in the pattern Jesus laid out for us in sacrifice, suffering, and in walking with Him. He is alongside us as our Guide as we put our feet in His footprints. We then should follow His steps with every effort now so to do so forever.

Welcome to our February 2024 Newsletter. We have already entered into our Pre-Lenten journey and we reflect both on this time of preparation and how we will meet Lent head-on this Ash Wednesday, February 14th. We cover the various disciplines of Lent, our upcoming Lenten retreat, and offer suggestions for directed giving. Our various parish meetings are upcoming, part of our celebration of a tradition that goes back to the early Church, shared decision making. We once again support Super Bowl Sunday in giving to local food charities. There are prayers for Pre-Lent and for Valentine’s Day. Is there a parish ministry in your future? And… are you incensed? All that and more in our February 2024 Newsletter.

Reflection for Septuagesima Sunday 2024

He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report.

Here we are. Pre-Lent. Septuagesima, a time vitally important for our own good, the benefit of our souls, and the attainment of the graces we need to enter Lent head on.

As many of you know, I love to cook. One YouTube channel I regularly watch is Chef Jean Pierre. He’s been around awhile, used to have a PBS show, was on the major networks, owned a restaurant, and had a cooking school. He transitioned from the cooking school to teaching videos. He is also quite funny.

In any event, one key thing he continually reminds his viewers about (including – the onion is always number one) is the ‘mise en place.’ Literally, it is the preparatory stage of getting everything together, pre-preparation for the cooking.

Let’s say you were making a stew or soup. You would pre-cut the meats and vegetables and array them before you along with the herbs, spices, liquids, and anything else you need. You wouldn’t turn on the burners until everything was in place, mise en place.

Believe me, learning this tip saved me tons of aggravation (where is that ingredient) and burned food.

It is interesting how the ordinary things in life derive from our shared faith experience. 

Pre-Lent is our pre-prep or our mise en place for Lent. We are called to get everything ready for the Lenten journey only two-and-a-half weeks away.

Think of all the mise en place in our lives. I know I have walked into tests without pre-preparation – learned very quickly it was not a good idea. Coaches, teachers, doctors, trainers require us to pre-prepare. They learned from the Holy Church’s call to preparation for Lent, the most vital of times for our souls.

Brothers, sisters, our soul is the most important thing we carry within us, for from it – when it is aligned with God – flows every good thing. So today, we are called to get ready, to put all in place for the good of our everlasting souls during the Great Lent.

Let us resolve to meet Ash Wednesday head-on, prepared and ready to go.

January 2024 Newsletter – To Everything A Time

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven

A number one hit with the oldest lyrics? That is Pete Seeger’s song Turn, Turn Turn covered by the Byrds in 1965. The lyrics from Ecclesiastes ca. 300 BC

The first eight verses of Chapter 3 tells us that everything is suitable for its time. God is in control, indeed sovereign, and that gives us reassurance and a sense of sobriety. We cannot necessarily fathom the mystery of God, but we can say that we are ok with the mystery He offers if we have faith in His goodness – the goodness of God Who gave His Son Jesus so that we might be saved. We just celebrated that beginning by allowing Jesus to be reborn into our lives.

I remember my mom talking about songs like Turn, Turn Turn with some sense of amazement – ‘they’re singing about the Bible,’ or words to that affect. Truthfully, it wouldn’t take too much effort in going through the pop and rock songs of the 1960’s and 1970’s and even beyond to see the influence of faith, the Church, and scripture in a good number of those hits. I suppose my memory of my mother’s talking about scripture in pop and rock music attuned my ear, gave me an awareness of God permeating every time and season, every method of expression.

It is a positive practice for us, as Christians, to remain aware, to listen and look, for God is continually making Himself known through ordinary means and in each time and season. We will find Him in music, literature, the beauty of nature, and in each other. Speaking of times and season, we just experienced a very short Advent which kicked-off the new Church year. Now we will experience a somewhat shorter Christmas season because Pre-Lent begins January 28th. Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent is just around the corner – February 14th. As we wend our way through God’s seasons and times, as we keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to the revelation of His mystery and His timeless grace, let us meet each season in this new year both reassured and open to Him.

Happy New Year and welcome to our January 2024 Newsletter. The Newsletter covers the good we are doing and will be doing as God’s people in our corner of the world. Need your house blessed? It is Epiphany / Kolędy House Blessing season so make your appointments with Fr. Jim. The annual parish meeting and elections are upcoming, please plan to attend. Why not run for office… We are once again holding our Outrageous Valentine’s Raffle to support our youth ministry. Get your tickets now. We give thanks for the many blessings in our lives and look forward to the events of 2024, Lent which is just around the corner, and our Basket Social! Also, check out the poetry of Rev. Walter Andrew Hyszko for the New Year. Check it all out in our January 2024 Newsletter.

Reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday 2023

The way of life.

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

Thank you for joining as we testify, proclaim, and evangelize the great and Holy Name of Jesus. 

Today we come near to the conclusion of this Pre-Lenten season. 

Over two weeks we considered choices and consequences, the fact that hot stoves of sin are everywhere and so often seem like fun. If we chose that seeming fun, we get burned and must come to the realization that in doing so we abandon the promises of God.

We know that how we live now, how close the world grows toward the kingdom we are supposed to be building, and how we live in eternity depend on choices made here and now. 

If we have lived up to our resolution by taking this Pre-Lenten season as an opportunity to identify the stoves in our lives and have planned our strategies for eliminating them this Lent, we have done well.

Um, but Father, I’ve been kind of busy, got distracted, and lost the last two weeks. 

I can empathize. I used to get all kinds of awards in grade school for “deportment.” It means I carried myself well and was a ‘good boy.’ The part I did not do well in was use of time. I can still hear my mother saying – Your report card says that you did not make good use of your time. Too much daydreaming I suppose.

Jesus takes a two-pronged approach for those of us who have not made good use of our time, who have not focused. 

Jesus’ first approach is to remind us of the necessity to focus – to pay attention to God’s way and to ensure He is indeed the Master of our life.

Whatever worldly/everyday stuff gets in our way should not be counted as consequential. Whatever seems important to us must pale against the glory of God and how our lives proclaim Him. Each moment needs to be dedicated to God – loving Him, devoted to Him, and serving Him. In short- pay attention to what is truly important and serve that choice.

Next, Jesus veers into reminders of God’s care. He knows our weakness, He saw his disciples get easily distracted, so He speaks of the fact that our focus must not be given in vain, but rather is to be toward the One Who will see to our every need.

Jesus left no gaps. Faith in God and dedication to God, making choices for God and toward God leads to blessed consequences: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 

As we have been reminded, making choices for hot stoves and away from God leads to loss and eventually total destruction.

In these last two-and-a-half days, let us use our time wisely. See the distraction trying to pull you away, push the distraction away for tomorrow will take care of itself.. Nothing is more important than the right now in our focus on what God wants this Lent and saying yes to where the Holy Spirit leads.

Reflection for Sexagesima Sunday 2023

The way of life.

“For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Thank you for joining as we testify, proclaim, and evangelize the great and Holy Name of Jesus. 

Today we continue in this Pre-Lenten season. 

Last week we considered choices, the fact that the hot stoves of sin are everywhere and so often seem like fun. Jesus’ way seems so different, so odd, and so hard. No one does that, do they? 

We resolved to take this Pre-Lenten opportunity to identify the stoves in our lives, those areas of disaster we reach out to, the ways we fail to represent Jesus’ gospel way. We reminded ourselves of what will happen if we do not stop reaching for those hot stoves of sin and destruction and determined to prepare ourselves for eliminating them this Lent, to live the way Jesus asks us to live.

Today we continue in our study of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus continues to ask us to live His Father’s commandments in their fullness. Thou shalt not kill is not just about physical murder, but about any hardship or rejection we would bring upon another, even if only in our thoughts. If we hold ourselves back and away when another in in need, we kill. It may not seem at all bloody to us, but it is – emotionally, spiritually, psychologically. 

But, what if someone is mean to me, what if they are hurting me? Jesus’ instruction seems clear – turn the other cheek. Seems hard, but simple. What we miss is the way we act is a sort of dam against sin. We, my brothers and sisters, have power to thwart sin, to turn the tide of sin. If we respond to harm, meanness, rejection, anger, and so many other evils in kind we are just perpetuating evil, fostering more sin. But if we act as Jesus asks, we stop that sin right there. We break the chain of sin.

So often in the Christian life it seems we are making no headway, we aren’t changing anything. What we tend to miss is the downstream effect of our faithfulness. Our impact is huge if we turn the other cheek, if we hand over more than demanded of us, if we go the extra mile, if we give to those who ask – perfect examples our work with CarePortal and Operation SouperBowl.

Jesus demands a lot of us. He asks us for perfection in our gospel walk, to be real kingdom dwellers who live so very differently from the way of the world.

There are consequences to our choices, to choosing the hot stove or the gospel, to reflecting the world and its ruler or to reflecting our Heavenly Father. Those consequences have impact not only here in the present world but also throughout eternity.

As we continue in this Pre-Lenten time of reflection and preparation let us not just consider choices but also consequences. How we live now, how close the world grows toward the kingdom we are supposed to be building, and how we live in eternity depends on the here and now.

February 2023 Newsletter – Prepare, Grow, and Build Like Noah

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. 

The text above is from Hebrews 11:7, wherein the writer is reminding people who knew the Hebrew Scriptures, of Noah’s faithfulness to God’s instruction and the fact that by being faithful he became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 

This year, the Pre-Lenten season begins right on the first Sunday in February, and by the time this two-and-a-half week season passes on we are in Lent. It will go by quickly. This year, let us liken ourselves to Noah. We all know the account found in Genesis Chapter 5 – 9.

Scripture says that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation and that he walked with God. While this was true of Noah, and because of Noah was also true in his family, the rest of the world was corrupt, violent, and filled with continuous evil (sound familiar?). The question to ask – Am I faithful like Noah, and how will my faithfulness affect this age? Noah certainly did not know what to do with the corruption of his time. While he acted properly, was righteous and blameless, he made no impact on those around him. God had to intervene to change the situation. For us, we live in the light of God’s greatest intervention. Not the flood, but the sending of His Son Jesus. That means we now know what to do and we have the power to do it (no flood needed).

Jesus showed us the way to go. He  gave us the gospel that is life. He enjoined on us the Beatitudes as a way of life along with all the other instruction from the Sermon on the Mount. If we do as Jesus taught, we will deeply impact our time, culture, and the people around us. As with the early Christians, people will be amazed and enter the kingdom. Like Noah, let us use this time to prepare, to grow in faithfulness, to build a way of life consistent with the gospel. Where we have succeeded, let us build further.  Where we have fallen short, let us prepare to fix it now, and fix it this Lent.

Welcome to our February 2023 Newsletter. With the start of February we enter the Pre-Lenten Season of Septuagesima. We engage in preparation for our Lenten journey because by the end of February we will be in Lent. This month and next we engage in the ministry of administration with our annual parish and financial meetings. Our Valentine’s Raffle is underway. SouperBowl Sunday is February 12th – let us give generously to feed those in need locally. We also celebrate Scout Sunday, review the great scholarships we have available, and list some fantastic Youth events/opportunities upcoming. There is a pizza/game night around the corner and the Basket Social is not that far away.

Check out all that and more in our February 2023 Newsletter.

Reflection for Septuagesima Sunday 2023

The way of life.

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.

Thank you for joining as we testify, proclaim, and evangelize the great and Holy Name of Jesus.

Today we enter the Pre-Lenten season. I say that every year, and perhaps this year I have come to understand it even better because I better understand the nature of choices. We do that as we get older because, as some would say, we have wisdom. Others would say that we now see the long-term consequences of our decisions. Did that decision lead to good, or did it create a disaster.

Ben Sira of Jerusalem, or in short Sirach, shares various versus of wisdom with us, things learned from the Spirit of God for right living. Today, he presents us with some real age-old wisdom we totally connect with: There is a hot stove, don’t touch it. As I just mentioned, wisdom comes from experience with choices made. I wonder how many times Ben Sira touched the hot stove after his mom told him not to. Ben Sira knew, as wisdom, the fact that touching a hot stove leads to disaster while listening leads to good.

That is the way of God. We have a way of life before us. Will we reach out to His life or chose death?

St. Paul tells the Corinthians the practical truth: What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

Paul is speaking from experience, i.e., the wisdom he had acquired from Jesus on the road to Damascus. Meeting Jesus caused him to pull his hand away from the stove and to choose life. He said to himself, Wow, I was about to be burned bad, I could not see it, I could not hear it, my heart was closed to it, but now I know what God has in store for me if I chose His way of life.

It is of note that the Corinthians were new Christians, for not more than three years. They were falling back into their former way of life in so many ways. They were running headlong to each and every hot stove they could find. Paul is reminding them of that choice, the fact that they will be burned, and in being burned will reject all God has in store for them.

Jesus’ commandments to us, His way of life built upon His Father’s Commandments, may seem anachronistic to us. Divorce is common. Treating people as sexualized objects, without humanity, is not just a way to sell music and products, but a commonplace way of life. Disrespect for others, calling them empty (raqa) or impious (foolish), basically non-human, most especially online, is easy. The stoves seem to be so much fun. Jesus’ way of life so difficult. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Let us then take this Pre-Lenten opportunity to identify the stoves in our lives, those areas of disaster we reach out to. Let us recall what will happen if we do not stop, and focus our Lent on eliminating them, choosing life with God.

Reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday 2022

Called to Live Anew.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Anew – Life Anew in Christ is exhibited especially when we live to know, love, and serve the Lord and when call people to also know, love, and serve the Lord and His Holy Church right here at this parish.

Today we enter the final half-week of this Pre-Lenten season. This season is specifically designed so we might prepare ourselves for the rigors of the Lenten season to begin in just three days. Between now and Easter we endeavor and strive at the vast changes we need in our lives.

St. Paul reminds the Church at Corinth, and us, that we have been made new, we have put on the eternal, the incorruptible. The definition of life anew. He reminds us that we are not to be those hypocrites Jesus warns against, but rather those who bear good fruit, producers of good.

In baptism we were consecrated to the Lord and that makes us different, new. We have entered the Kingdom and its life. We have victory. Therefore, we must be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord. As such, we must live as the Kingdom people we are now, not the people we were then.

Being fully devoted to the work of the Lord means calling ourselves to necessary repentance, to fasting, prayer, and charity. Being fully devoted to the Lord means constantly reaching for the next rung on the ladder to heaven and helping others up the ladder.

By growing in this new life, we show our beauty – our attractiveness – to those who do not know the Lord. Between our Kingdom life example and the gentleness of our words we call others into the Kingdom life.

Last night’s Grand Ole Opry introduced a group appearing for the first time, We The Kingdom. It was a great example of people, family and friends, living out their faith in Jesus Christ publicly, with joy, and celebration. So, we should be We The Kingdom for indeed that is what we are – as we live out our life anew in Jesus Christ publicly, with joy, and celebration. As they sang, calling others to meet Jesus by their artistic example, so must we by the means and opportunities that are in our paths.

Imagine a community of people where others are welcome without criticism and judgment, where words and music are sweet balm for the hurting, where the inhabitants are steadfast, devoted to the work of the Lord, where each person helps the other to climb the ladder to heaven. Yes, that place is here because we are the Kingdom and we grow evermore as we endeavor and strive at the changes we need in our lives – living anew each day, and welcoming others to the same.