The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B

Transcription

1 May we come to realize how wonderfully our hearts are entangled with His. The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B IS 35:4-7A, PS 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10, JAS 2:1-5, MK 7:31-37 Dcn. Frank Sila 9/9/2018

2 Good Morning. We have some rich images in our readings today. Let me begin with a story. When my daughters were small we had what we called Science Saturdays. We would spend Saturday mornings doing some kind of project meant to engage. Some of our projects involved dry ice, solar cells, electricity and all manner of things. One Saturday we busied ourselves in the garage making a bubble machine. It was simply a windmill with blower wands rotating through a solution of bubble mixture. The whole thing spun with the air from an electric fan. One of my daughters asked if they could try to make colored bubbles. Smiling, I said; go ahead, after all this was educational. They returned with a couple of bottles of red food coloring that they added to the bubble mix. To the delight of my daughters and neighbor children, we soon had red bubbles floating out our garage. That afternoon we piled into the car to go somewhere and I backed down the driveway and closed the garage door. My daughters began laughing. The bubbles that earlier landed on the open garage door left their mark. Renata looked from the red polka dot door to me. Without missing a beat, I said, It will wash off in the first rain. A couple of weeks after the rain came found me painting the garage doors. Some things just don t wash off. I have always had a love of science and I wanted to pass that on to our daughters. Science allows us to see the hidden things. Just as an expert can look at the fine brushstrokes of a painting and know the artist, so science allows us to look at our universe discovering its Author and Creator. I wanted to open my daughters to that awe and wonder.

3 There is a finding in quantum physics called entanglement. Entanglement refers to the relationship between two subatomic particles separated by space. Scientists have observed that measuring or changing one particle affects the other in spite of its physical and spatial separation. Albert Einstein referred to it as, Spooky action from a distance. I cannot help but wonder at the principle of entanglement and its part in God s creation. Because we are made of atoms and all sorts of subatomic particles, what implications does entanglement hold for us and creation? When we say that we are created in God s image and likeness, we do not mean that God has thinning hair and a receding hairline. By virtue of being created in God s image, we are entangled at a far deeper level then ever imagined. The spiritual fathers of old would journey into the desert seeking solitude. As contemplatives, they would clear their minds listening for the Lord s voice. They would allow their entangled hearts to meander listening for God s whisper and nudge. It reminds me of grandparents sitting on the porch for hours without a word. Then, out of the blue, grandad would ask, Would you like a glass of tea? Gram would answer, Well yes that would be nice. I was just thinking of that. In the same way, God hears our entangled hearts. The spiritual journey can be described as the movement from faith to certitude. We do not have to hope in God s existence because our entanglement in the physical world allows us to find him in our spiritual dimension. We hear that confidence in our first reading from Isaiah, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be Strong, fear not! Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be cleared. Isaiah 35:4-7a

4 To be created in God s image and likeness gives us an unshakeable entanglement and certitude. Nothing can change that Nothing. Jesus always stood with the hurting and marginalized. As we enter into his heart, our community finds itself with the poor in El Salvador, the immigrant and the homeless in Bronson Park. Some things cannot be washed away in the first rain nor should they be painted over. The focus and concern of clerical abuse must always be for the victims, the justice they seek, and the protection of our children. Like you, I am hurting in all of this. In listening to each other, we find will our strength to be community and to bear the unbearable wrong. In our Gospel Jesus touches the deaf mute and restores him. The deaf mute is each of us. Jesus wants us to be whole in body and spirit that we might be entangled in our love of God and neighbor. Our reception of Eucharist today, is Christ s opportunity to touch us and heal what is broken. He opens us to the possibility of a far greater love. May we come to realize how wonderfully our hearts are entangled with His.

5 All scripture quotations are taken from;. (1987). The New American Bible, Revised edition. USCCB. I welcome your questions and comments. My is fsila@sttomskazoo.org. (n.d.). Note: As the Christian church moved from bottom to top, protected and pampered by the Roman Empire, people like Anthony of the Desert (c. 250-c. 356), John Cassian (c. 360-c. 435), Evagrius Ponticus (c ), Syncletica (c. 270-c. 350) and other early Christians went off to the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria to find spiritual freedom, live out Jesus teachings, and continue growing in the Spirit. It was in these deserts that a different mind called contemplation was taught. As an alternative to empire and its economy, these men and women emphasized lifestyle practice, psychologically astute methods of prayer, and a very simple spirituality of transformation into Christ. The desert communities grew out of informal gatherings of monks or nuns, functioning much like families. A good number also became hermits to mine the deep mystery of their inner experience. This movement paralleled the monastic pattern in Hinduism and Buddhism. The desert tradition preceded the emergence of systematic theology and formal doctrine. Christian faith was first a lifestyle before it was a belief system. Since the desert dwellers were often formally uneducated, they told stories, much like Jesus did, to teach about essential issues of ego, love, virtue, surrender, peace, divine union, and inner freedom. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM Center for Action and Contemplation, Daily Meditation September 6 th 2018