Sewing Seed

Mk. 4: 1-20

The seed that Jesus sewed in me is hella tough, but he has never given up, and in all my struggling he has loved me incessantly. So how can I not love, Jeremy, Danny, Deeth,and all of them relentlessly as well.  Police have leads on Kevin Collins, missing for nearly 30 years in the Haight, brings to my mind 21 year old Matthew at the time who was to meet me 15 years ago, and never showed up. His mom has not heard from him since that night as well, she continues to grieve for him. I saw him get in a car with “john”, and he never returned. He is one of the many I know who have simply disappeared–no fan fare for them. I raise money to serve them, not to serve myself, I seek to plant the seeds that will flourish. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

 

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Alone–Never Lonely

Mk. 3:31-35

There is a quote by Thomas Merton that speaks to me and to the way I carry out ministry:

The more we are alone with God the more we are with one another, indarkness, yet a multitude. And the more we go out to one another inwork and activity and communication, according to the will andcharity of God, the more we are multiplied in Him and yet we are insolitude. – Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation –

I spend alot of time in solitude–to be alone with God in order that I might be present to others. That for me is what I have found to be the most profitable way of sustaining myself and my ability to do ministry. I see myself more and more as “an urban monk”, but being alone is not being lonely, for I am never lonely, and I move out to be and work with many people. Our society needs to be alone with God, and in so doing, God will move out in love and solidarity. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Being Loved

Luke 4:16-21

Jesus good news is that we are all loved uncondionally by God, no ifs, no buts. I think of Danny, “Spanky”, whom i have known for 18 years, died this week, drug addict, sex worker–Jesus loved him, as much as he loves me or anyone else. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Living on the Edge

Mk. 3:20-21-Timothy and Titus

People who knew Jesus were surprised about how he lived and acted–he lived out his freedom, not hemmed in by his habits or expectation of others.  To live freely is to challenge those who have constraints.  I seek to live in the same way, and I struggle to live freely, for when you do you challenge others who live by constraints.  It is often a lonely journey, but I have found it far worth it, far rewarding, and far meaningful. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Conversion

Acts 9:1-22; Mk. 16:15-18  Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle

Paul was converted on the road to Damascus but as you read his writings you see his continued conversion, his evolution when in the end he became the inclusive apostle. That is the way my life is–always evolving–I look back to my first years in ministry and it scares me, in fact my first years here 18 years ago scares me–i have evolved, continually been converted, and that is what counts–living in the evolutionary moment-=evolving with Jesus. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Jesus

Mk. 3:7-12  I have found that people often express towards me–and I realize it is not me they are afraid of–it is the message I preach, and the way I live. I organize my life around the marginalized, for me they are the center of my life, because I see the reign of God being organized around them Someone recently sent me a face book message: “To bad the government is not feeding more people,” to me Jesus calls us to feed people–if each one of us would share equally of what we had–no one would want. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Calling

Heb.. 5:1-10; Mk, 2:18-22 St. Agnes of Rome, virgin and martyr

Life is a call and a response–nothing in life is to be taken unless it is given. Everything in life is a gift that must be received gratefully, and lived faithfully.  As I have lived out my calling as a priest there have been seasons of joy, and seasons of much suffering, but I have known that Jesus has called me to live those seasons, and that like St. Agness: “I am already promised to the Lord of the Universe. He is more splendid than the sun and the stars and He has said He will never leave me. Jesus calls all of us, if we are but opened and walks with us. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

 

The Thousands or the One

Is. 62:1-5; I 12:4-11 Jn. 2:1-11

I attended a wedding last night, and I thought of the life I could have had as I reflected back with some sadness, but as I look back I am reminded of what a former boss told me many years ago when I was considering being involved, “You  can have the thousands or the one,” and I chose the thousands, the thousands of kids whose lives I have touched and touch, but more importantly I chose my spouse, my most significant relationship–Jesus of Nazareth.  My call was my choice, and I have chosen it willingly and wholeheartedly and with no regrets. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Feeding the Hungry

Mk. 2:13-17 During outreach last night I spent time with Elliot and he had not eaten all day,, and so it went as I gave people food last night.  During my life I have never gone hungry, been without food, but I have learned in the past 18 years that there are many, many people who go without food in our country. We need to open our eyes to the people around us, and see the hunger–on Haight, on Polk, on Market–every where we live–and each of us need to provide for our brother and sister.
Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Resting in God

Heb. 4:1-5, 11; Mk. 2:1-12  The “rest” of God is a key theme in the fourth chapter of Hebrews. We are all invited to rest in God. The paralytic found his rest in God when he received forgiveness of sins.  For me my rest in God as I have seen that life is a journey–and it is what we do in the present–that counts, we are evolving, if we simply rest in God, in that evolving we find ourselves more open to others, more forgiving, and we see God in ourselves and each other. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!