Your people awaited the salvation of the just. Wisdom 18
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you. Psalm 33
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. …
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” Luke 13
On my retreat this summer, I found that my prayer - relationship with Jesus - came to a simple and fairly “new” place. I just had read a piece which asked - asked me personally - “To whom do you belong?” and “Do I believe what I say I believe?” I found myself chewing these questions and returning to the simple - graced - realization that, if I really belong to the Lord (in whom I am baptized and whose servant I desire to be) and if I really believe what I say I believe (that I have nothing to fear because Jesus has overcome the power of sin and death) then I should be a much more joyful, trusting and courageous person.
Jesus is laying it out for us today. We really have nothing to fear. Of course, that confronts the fact that we live with a lot of fears. We live, too often, in a self-protective mode, as though we can “control” how safe and secure we are. Jesus is inviting us to live more freely because our life is in his hands and because we are going to enjoy eternal life in his kingdom forever and ever.
I’ve found myself, since that retreat, asking for the grace to live with daily trust, to walk with deeply joy in my heart - even in the midst of challenging things - and to ask myself more often if I’m being courageous enough in taking risks to love more completely, to witness my faith by the ways I am self-sacrificing in my care, and to open my heart to better hear the cry of the poor, so I might be a better advocate for those without a voice. Asking for the grace alone give me more courage to find steps in these directions in the here and now of each day.
I’m not always successful, and I am by no means a model of a person in solidarity with the poor. But, desiring makes a difference. I believe it is also a step in the direction of “being ready,” as Jesus describes it. Not out of fear. Not with anxiety. Being in better communion with Jesus each day, remembering that I belong to him, and to him alone, frees me from all the messages of the culture around me. It frees me from so desperately trying to live in both worlds, to give myself to companionship with the Lord, in half measures. And, most of all, the anticipation Jesus talks about tastes more like longing - a desire to be with the one who loves me so unconditionally and completely.
May you find me eager for your coming, Lord, fully engaged in being one with you, here and now, where your people most need this simple disciple to be.
Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ
I was born and raised in Omaha, 8 blocks from where I now work. My parents were very involved in the Jesuit parish here and were outstanding examples of a commitment to service for my sister and me as we were growing up. I entered the Jesuits in 1966, and was ordained in 1979.
I love giving the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius, in any adaptation. One of my greatest privileges was to serve as pastor at Gesu Parish in Milwaukee for 8 years before coming here. The community there taught me about church, and the relationship between the worship which says who we are and the ministry to which it sends us.
One of the privileges of being back in Omaha was helping my mother care for my father, the last four and a half years of his life. Both of my parents have died and are enjoying the embrace of the Lord which they taught me about all of their lives.
When I write these reflections, I try to imagine the people who will be reading them. I try to imagine what ways I might be in solidarity with people struggling in any way. Then I read the readings. Then I ask, “what is the good news that we need to hear?” Something usually just comes, to me.
It is tremendously consoling to receive mail from people around the world, simply expressing gratitude for a reflection. Most of the time, it is enough to know, from the numbers, that people are finding this site to be a helpful spiritual support.
