“The Companionship of Empowerment”

Josaphat Kuncevyc

. . .Jesus answered the Pharisees:  The Kingdom of God (The Companionship of Empowerment”) is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” For in fact, the (Companionship of Empowerment) the Kingdom of God is among you!”  Luke 17-20-23

St. Josaphat said: “I am here among you as a shepherd, and i would give my life for you.” It is strange how the longer I stick with this path, and the older I get I understand what he means.  The “Companionship of Empowerment” is about the here and now, and the reign of God is present in our actions, and in the way we live out our life.   It is present in a mighty way and we just do not see it.  There are millions of environmentalist organzations, hundreds of Catholic Workers and those similar, and the list goes on and on. This is the companionship of empowerment, this is where the reign of God is present.  I am seeing that it is a slow process, it is an evolutionary process that we are in, and that this companionship of empowerment is about.  It is slow, but the reign of God is present and God is present.  The past few days have been on retreat. Sunday I saw AMERICAN IDIOT, a great show by Green Day.  About kids finding meaning in life. I attended a retreat out at San Daminao through Wednesday with Darmuid O Murcid who wrote ANCESTRAL GRACE. Not really very relaxing. I had to be up early and spent a lot of time with people.  The people there were in their sixties and seveneties. Had lived materially successful lives, but I sensed that they were trying to find some meaning. It is strange as I get older I find myself struggling with being content, and by being content I mean I know what I believe, and what my life is about and I live it without regrets.  Maybe that is growing up, but I remember when I strove for meaning, but as I have lived here the materal things of life have become meaningless and the faces of the individuals reflect to me the image of God.  I have a group coming for the meal tonight. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

 

“Small Gifts”

Gospel
Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”

It is amazing the look on people’s faces as I give them a simple pair of socks. They smile, they glitter–a pair of socks, something I take for granted–something that I am always losing and wearing out–they bring smiles to peoples faces.  It is the simple gifts that count–one young man commented to me last night–”You always have time for me,” presence, such a simple gift. We get caught up in our lives that we forget of St. Teresa of Avila said: It is love alone that gives worth to all things. That is all we need to give is an act of love, simple, pure, just an act of love.

Last night I cooked and served a meal with a group from the MCC.  Again I am amazed at how our status differeniates. One gentleman hears the kids talk about “traveling”, and he thinks of insecuity and no health insurance and their future. For centuries people have moved from one place to the other without much. In this country they are hid from society’s eyes for the most part–we do not want to see them because we feel guilty and are makes us fear for ourselves. In other countries the “travelers” are visible and a dominant part of the culture. It is hard for us to come out of our worlds and see another world, so different, and so painful to us. Ultimately it is the small gifts that matter.

Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

“Little Things”

Lk 16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,
“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

 

I worked in the Haight  last night, they are so young. Michael, 18, was high on acid, bought him a back pack, Yoro, 14, high and just wanted to hang out, up and down the street, one after another–giving them socks, and food. they were sweet, respectful, and they are Jesus. Came home and 22 year old albert met me at the door, he needed some food, and wanted to talk. Polk was really busy last night. A lot of young partiers. The homeless were simply ignored and pushed to the side.

There have been times when people look at the way I spend my time and see it as a waste–because I do not solve the big problems–of housing and drug abuse,  spend my time who are basically content with where they are, and I spend my time with small amounts of people, one by one.  To me it is being faithful in the small things and in so ding I find the flower of  love. I have a woman who has was my first donor, she gives 25.00 every month, and her gift is more than any other donor because she has been faithful.  When I prepare a gift for people I love, every detail counts, and I do it with joy.  A gentleman excused his lack of religious practice to St. Catherine of Siena, saying he was to busy with the affairs of every day life.  She anwswered, “It is you who make them temporal.”  The small things we do is what really makes the difference. For it is in the small things that people meet the Christ, and see him for who he is. It is in the small things where people are truly healed.  Meister Echart wrote: “For not only bread but all things necessary for sustenance in this life are given to us with others, and because of others and for others and to others through us.” It is in the little things of life that God becomes real to us, it is in the little things of life that we make a difference. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God”

“Good Stewards”

November 6, 2009

<!– Reading II
Rom 5:5-11Brothers and sisters:
Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

or

Rom 6:3-9

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
–> Gospel
Lk 16:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light.

It is rainy, and I am getting ready to go up to the Haight and then back to Polk. I spent the morning resting, went to the food bank. Last night was busy with the meal and then I hit the sack when I got home.

Today’s Gospel reminds me to be a good steward. Money given to me is to be used wisely, and I do use it wisely.  The steward knew how to use money for his purpose. People often are amazed at how much I accomplish in such a small space and with so little, but what it takes is the willingness to give of one’s self, and to adapt, as this steward did.  I am clear you do not have to have a lot of money to do ministry, to build a large structure,  to strategize, you just do it. I was talking with a friend who is basically looking for something to do in ministry, but he is searching and seems to be going from one thing to another and I told him ultimagely you just do it. I do it no matter how I feel, no matter how low I feel, or how little I have, i do the work.  It is not about us to begin with, it is about Jesus. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

 

“The One”

Luke: 15:1-10.  . . . .”which one of you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”

I am often asked why I go after the one, rather then the ninety and nine, and my answer is that no one else does for the most part–but the real answer is I have always been that one. I have always been different, I have always been an outsider, and the reason is that I have always walked the road less traveled.  I have never fitted in-in school, in the church. Some of it had to do with my sexuality, but the primary reason is that I have followed a different voice. I do not fit in with my clergy colleagues now–I do not choose to work in a local church, draw a large salary, and the reality is I am as educated, if not more so then them.  When I worked in mental health I worked with the people, would rather spend time with them rather then seek advancement, and I choose the side that is always on the losing side, the side of the oppressed, and I do not make any bones about it.  I walk on the edge.  St. Josephat Kuncevyc wrote: “I am here among you as a shepherd, and I would give my life for you.” That is the way I feel about my work, about the people I serve. People say things, do things, that are painful, but I am their shepherd and I would lay down my life for them in a minute. People ask me why I do not burn out, and it is simple, this is not my life, it is not a job, or something I do and leave and go to a “nice” place, but I live and work in their midst and they are a part of my life. I do not separate from them as my “clients”.  So I seek after “the one” simply because not many people choose to, but because I am one of the “ones” as well. I spent last night in the Haight. Had coffee with Maria, outreach on Polk and then to bed at 1:00 a.m. I was totally exhausted. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God”

“The Good Shepherd”

Jn. 10:11-16: “I am the Good Shepherd. . . .”

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received. .but only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.” St. Francis of Assisi

I have spent the morning and early afternoon resting. I am going to the Haight to work and come back and work on Polk. Last night I had a group, and they were tough.  It is tough for me when I try to explain my way of life–and to explain my faith in Jesus of Nazareth.  It is hard for many people to even hear the name of Jesus without reliving the phobias.  Gay marriage failed in Maine, and the religous right is claiming a victory in the name of Jesus, but for me the reality is that the Jesus I know accepts me for me, he only asks that we  love one another and ourselves. And that is what I try to practice in my work and teach. It is hard for people to move beyond ‘these people’. They talk of working with people in the Tenderloin and burning out, but they see them as “these people”, rather then as just human beings.  It is about sharing one’s live, and this is what Francis is talking about in the quote–sharing 0ne’s life, in service, and sacrifice, and it takes courage.  It takes giving up something of your self, and in so doing if we all did that we would live in a world without want. As I told them last night it is not easy for me. People are always being hurtful, and transferring their own pain to me, but it is not about me to begin with. I do the best I can to serve them, to love them, and to treat them as I would like to be treated.  Jesus is my sheperd, he walks with me each day, and I know that he loves me. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

“According to the Grace Given to Us”

Rom 12:5-16ab

Brothers and sisters:
We, though many, are one Body in Christ
and individually parts of one another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us exercise them:
if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;
if ministry, in ministering;
if one is a teacher, in teaching;
if one exhorts, in exhortation;
if one contributes, in generosity;
if one is over others, with diligence;
if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

“According to the grace given to us”, that is a beautiful phrase. For me it means that my call is given to me by the grace of God. We all have a call, a unique and different calling for which we are given to serve God. For me it is hanging out on the streets, fixing meals, walking with the untouchales.  I was called to ministry as a young boy and have pursued that call with all of my heart through the years, it has never been far from me, even in the times that I have been so away from God.  It has changed faces, but always the same–to be a priest–and as I look back I see that my call has always been to those that no one else wants to work with, it has always been one of simplicity, and that is why even in the most difficult times I am content, I am happy.  It is strange, for years I never said I was happy, but content. I saw happiness as being giddy, laughing all the time, but happiness is the utmost in contentment, even in the worst of times and I am extremely happy.  So the question I always asked people these days is what really makes you happy, content, satisfied with life–a life that is fulfilled with out having physical contentment and economic well being–what truly makes you happy-and content.

I spent yesterday in Vallejo for the service on same sex marriage remembering our defeat a year ago and wishing Maine the best. It was an excellent service. I came home and did outreach and I found myself thinking the different worlds I move in. The one of privilege and middle class, and then the one of disprivileged and so much pain. People were simply out of it last night. It is the first of the month and they have money for the most part and so they were high on drugs, drugs covers a multitude of need for them, they do not feel a thing.  The street seemed quiet, but I had my hands full. It was an excellent night. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

All Souls Day

Matthew 25:31-46

Today we remember all the souls that are with God, and we remember that their work is done here on earth. We remember that their work that they have so successfully done is found in Matthew 25:31-46–to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison–the works of mercy.  Simple–to be a human being to another human being. To give of one’s time and energy to walk with others. How many of us truly do that. We are so busy with phone, text, email, and work that we do not see the pain of people. I was asked the other night by a parishner about “professional boundaries” because I was so different from any other pastor he had met–I was available, present, and not distant. He was trying to understand the difference, and the difference is that we are on the journey together, my call is to be a pastor, to serve those in my presence, to walk with them, to suffer with and for them, to feed them, to comfort them, to clothe them. I am to be available, I am to accessible as we all are.  He commented on the social divisions he sees in society and those divisions divide us–homeless, black, red, white–we are called to walk with each other as one fellow human being on the road to God.  All of us are basically the same, we suffer the same, and we die the same. My prayer is that when my soul is celebrated on All Souls’s Day I will be one of the ones who has lived out to the best of his ablity the Works of Mercy. I stayed in yesterday, took the day off, did one round of outreach. Today I have a service on the eve of the election on same sex marriage in Maine in Vallejo and will be there all day. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

 

“All Saints”

Gospel
Mt 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Today is All Saint’s Day.  We recognize people as special for being saints.  In the early church being saint was what all Christians were called–it was nothing special–other than that in society in general Christians were ridiculed, consided odd, persecuted.  Only if we could be saints–to stand out against society.  I had two people serve the meal in the Haight last night.  One of the comments that was made was how separated people are in their categories, and they are. Later on Polk as I worked I watced people, hundreds of them in costumes walk past the homeless, those who really were in bad shape and did not give them a nod. The homeless were pushed aside, and I saw many harrassed by people in costume.   It is to bad we can not be saints–different, odd enough to recognize those in our midst in are reallyl in need, recognize them without judgment or condemnation, and give them help, assistance, a word.  The Beatitudes of Jesus refllect his inner attitude. He had a calmness about him in the midst of everything he saw around him, and and so it should be with us–not worrying about tomorrow but being about the business of the reign of God today–for in so doing we will be “Blessed”, and the reign of God will come in its fullness in time, but in so doing we experience that reign each and every day. For I have found when I center on the day, do my work, center on God–I am truly blessed and I experience God’s reign in my midst.

“Being Friends With Dorothy”

Lk 14:1, 7-11

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
‘Give your place to this man,’
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Below is an article I wrote for an anthology.  Yesterday was typical–going to the food bank, outreach in the haight and outreach on polk.  bed at 2 a.m. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

 

“Being A Friend of Dorothy”

My friendship with Dorothy began at a very painful time in my life. In the Spring of 1989 I had left the ministry of the United Methodist Church and entered a treatment program for depression in Wisconsin. I was gay, and I could not understand how God would place that burden upon me, let alone call me to ministry–ministry in a church where being gay was “a sin”.  I was trying to hide my sexuality and so I entered a period of great depression.  I had heard of Dorothy a few years earlier in seminary but really gave her no thought. I picked up a Catholic Worker newspaper at the treatment center and my heart was moved. It was moved by her identity with the poorest of the poor and by the the tenants of the Catholic Worker: voluntary poverty, personalism, the Works of Mercy, and non-violence. Thus began my journey with Dorothy.  Over the next five years I came out, I was a sex worker, and then a counselor, and I rejected the Church. But Dorothy stayed with me. I read everything I could find she had written. I tried living in a catholic worker but found myself not fitting in because of my sexuality. But despite the homophobia I found in the Catholic Worker I still could not run away from Dorothy. Wherever I went, whatever I did she followed me, in fact she became the Hound of Heaven–chasing me, loving me, calling me–calling me to her way of life, to a ministry with the poor. Her call was clear:  serve the poor and you will find the Christ.  I read of her struggles with people in the Worker who were gay, and yet I saw her transcend those struggles, and I believe that she has transcended them to seeing our gifts and seeing us for who we are–just human beings on the journey.  That calling became crystal clear to me one night on Santa Monica Blvd. in LA. I had had a rough night hustling. I felt lead to into a local church just simply to rest. As I looked up at the crucifix I heard a voice say to me: “It is ok, it is humans who are homophobic, you were born who you are, and you were called to ministry as a gay human being. And I felt the presence of Jesus and I could see Dorothy smiling.  From that time forward I moved out of the life of being a sex worker to a counselor and then to San Francisco as a Catholic Worker in 1994.

It was that call that lead me to  to San Francisco to  begin Temenos Catholic Worker working with the homeless, young adults, young male sex workers, and transgender sex workers.  And thus began the greatest adventure of my life, an experience that has transformed me, and brought me closer to Jesus then I could ever imagined.  I had left the Church because of it homophobia. In fact I did not darken the door of a Church for some time.

During the first year of working on the streets I came to know Jesus as I had never known him before. On this journey Dorothy was my spiritual director, always present.   My life was changing in deep ways.   During this time I became more aware then ever of my call to ministry and of the need of a Sacramental ministry to the people I walked with every day.  One day I was reading PSYCOLOGY TODAY and I came across and advertisement to join the Evangelical Anglican  Church in America and to become a part of its ordination process. It is an Old Catholic group.  I responded, and thus began my journey to ordination in a Church that received everyone for who they were.  I became a priest, and my priesthood has been given to the poorest of the poor. To celebrate the Sacraments for me is the greatest gift I have been given. In 2007 I was consecrated a Bishop and formed the Society of Franciscan Workers, Inc, a group that works with the poorest of the poor, and I continue to be a Catholic Worker.

Through the years I have wondered why I remain a Catholic Worker. For many Catholic Workers are very homophobic and are not very accepting, but I know the reason I am a Catholic Worker is my friendship with Dorothy. She has taught me everything about life, and most importantly she has taught me that change comes slowly and that we are called to be a witness, and that in that witness Jesus speaks. Being friends with Dorothy has transformed my life and the life of the countless thousands.  Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!
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