Challenge to Respond as Christ

     

Recently I was enjoying an evening walk with a friend, both of us masked and keeping some distance from one another.  We were approached by another walker who with raised voice said, “Democrats, right!” as he walked past.  Initially shocked we both looked at each other with disbelief, asking did that just happen?  My choice to wear a mask is not politically motivated but rather is about safety and a sense of doing my part to reduce the spread of Covid-19.  Knowing this, I felt myself becoming angry with this man, his assumptions about my motivations and his seeming disdain for us.

            Later, we and others to whom I told the story came up with many retorts that could have been hurdled back.  It may be just as well that in moments like that my mind slows and my tongue goes silent keeping words I might regret from escaping.  This experience left me with a larger question, how do I respond as Jesus Christ would have in moments like this one?  Jesus expressed anger at times but more often than not responded with a sense of compassion and care for the other person.  He offered a parable or a question to effect change on the other party.  His goal was to find ways to soften hearts, heal and draw people together.  In these days of Covid-19 and our approaching election which seem to exacerbate differences I pray for the grace:

·         to see the other with the compassionate and caring eyes of Christ

·         to listen with ears that seek to really hear and understand even when I disagree

·         to speak words that foster healing and connection

·         to live with a soft heart that remains open and vulnerable

·         to respond as Christ to whatever I encounter along the way

       Sr. Kimberly Porter, OSB

             

Jonah & his plant: a parable for us?

           

            "Darn it! Why won't this thing work?"

            "Who put that cup of coffee there where it could be knocked over?"

            "Who on earth left that shoe where someone could fall over it?"

            Have you ever been surprised at your reaction when something very ordinary doesn't go as expected?  Maybe frustration approached real anger when you spilled your latte or the keys you just had in hand disappeared.

            I got to thinking about this when I re-read the story of Jonah and the gourd plant. (Jonah 4:5-11). He was angry because God was so willing to forgive the people of Nineveh. In Jonah's mind, they deserved strict justice, not God's mercy; in his mind, God was wrong.

            Steaming with frustration, Jonah rigged a shelter from the sun and desert wind and settled down to rest. Then God caused a leafy bush to grow up overnight to give more shade. Jonah was delighted.

            The next day, though, God provided a worm to destroy the plant; Jonah's pleasure died with the plant. Jonah expressed his frustration: "It's better to be dead than alive!"  God asked him: "Why are you so angry?" and reminded Jonah he wasn't the one responsible for the plant; it was God. God then reminded the prophet that if he could be so concerned about one little plant, shouldn't God be concerned about a great city with its 120,000 people and many animals?

            This really hit Jonah in a vulnerable spot because earlier (4:2) he'd admitted that God's willingness to forgive "those people" was the reason he ran away from the mission in the first place. His frustration and anger were coming from a dark place in his heart, one that judged easily and made personal priorities his prime considerations. God's vision and his were poles apart.

            There are also places in the New Testament where human and divine visions don't mesh, as in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. When the owner paid the late-in-the-day workers as much as the early morning ones, many had trouble seeing that  mercy & compassion could balance the scales of  hourly wages.

            Both these examples show me that surface reactions to circumstances have the capacity to reveal  our hidden value system. Where are our emotions? What is it we are holding on to that skew our vision and temper? If our blood comes close to boiling because of lost keys or spilled coffee, where is the heat really coming from? Are we angry with someone we need to forgive? A sibling? A co-worker? Ourselves? Are we struggling over the same issue Jonah struggled with, putting compassion over justice, mercy over revenge?

            Maybe this season of Lent is a good time to consider our reactions to ordinary circumstances. Are they in harmony with their source, or could they be out of balance?  If they are, we're not alone, and Jonah may have something to say to us. Have an insightful Lenten season.

          Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted

An unlikely conversation

In an unlikely place:

A story from prison

Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted”

                                                Responsorial, Sunday, February 4^th.

        “I know what Jesus tells us, but do I have to be her friend?” An inmate (I will call her Sue) posed this question in an ongoing group. She then described a recent incident “While I was speaking to another woman in the lunch line I heard my name shouted repeatedly by an inmate. She is a person who latches on and won’t let go. I responded to her from anger and now feel guilty.” Sue said she feels haunted as to how she ought to relate to this person and further commented: “In this prison there are several inmates whom no one seems to like. I call them ‘throw away people,’ because many seem in agreement and experience them as a pain, a nuisance, aggressive, bothersome and a burden. No one will defend them. I don’t know how to deal with these women myself. I feel the same way as the others, but I know in my heart it is not right to treat them this way. I feel bad for them, they have had difficult lives and yet when I try and befriend them, they consume all my time. What I really want to know is, just how far does the mandate of Jesus “to love your neighbor as yourself go?” This generated much conversation in the group. 

        In subsequent meetings Sue reported that she had made the decision to treat this woman with kindness and to be less reactive to her, and this behavior was proving to be helpful. She continued this practice, and at one meeting announced “You know, now that I have gotten to know this woman and understand a little more about her life I like her and feel myself opening up to becoming  her friend.” 

        Then it happened. A woman who rarely spoke in the group raised her hand and spoke in a soft halting voice “It is hard for me to talk, but I feel like I am one of those throw away people. Even as a child I felt that way. My family life was chaotic, so much arguing, fighting and meanness. I prayed and begged my parents to take me to an orphanage and leave me. That didn’t happen and my life only got worse.” In the room, it seemed as though time stopped. The others in the group embraced her with empathy and understanding. From that day forward she joined the group sharing more of herself as she grew in her own self-import and love.  

“Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted”

Sr. Aileen Bankemper, OSB