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Exploring the word

09 Aug 2015 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

When Ernest Shackleton, the great polar explorer, advertized for crews to join his legendary expeditions, he didn’t beat around the bush. Shackleton didn’t promise fame and glory, or propose a glamorous adventure. Here’s an ad he put in the papers: “MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY: small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.” Would you sign up for this voyage? Enough did to make his expeditions to the north and south poles possible. There are easier ways to make a living, of course. Those who undertake epic journeys are looking for more than wages. “Honor and recognition,” as Shackleton put it, is prize enough for some. But for others, the epic journey is really a spiritual quest to find out who you are, what inhabits the core of your being when the rest of the world is stripped away. The prophet Elijah takes an epic journey of courage in confronting the reigning monarchs in his day. Elijah’s not after honor and recognition; his only motivation is to serve God faithfully. Like the sailors who signed on with Shackleton, Elijah knows up front that his mission is perilous, that he’s in constant danger. But the seasons of complete darkness eventually get to him anyway. He gives up, surrenders to the desert experience, lies down and prepares for death. Then comes the angel, bringing heavenly refreshments. You’ll need this for the journey ahead: that’s the message. There’s still a ways to go before you can rest. Each of us here has a ways to go on the journey we’re uniquely pursuing, before we take our rest. We’ll find cold, and dark, and danger on this road—maybe long seasons when the darkness is so complete that our safety seems in great doubt. Honor and recognition will frequently be lacking. We’ll have to feel our way by grace and bolster our courage with prayer through the toughest parts. In milder seasons of life, our worship can seem insubstantial and inert, “like drifting into a pious coma,” as spiritual writer Jim Manney phrases it. But we mustn’t be fooled. In the seemingly soft seasons of our spiritual practices, we’re developing a relationship that will sustain us through the arctic darkness when it comes. “I am the living bread,” Jesus declares to believers, and to non-believers, who hover around him demanding to be fed. Then he adds something so astonishing that, if we really heard it, we’d paint it in bold letters across the walls of our living rooms: “The bread—that I give—is my flesh—for the life of the world.” No journey is so hazardous that this bread won’t sustain us all the way through. Related scripture links Being taught by God: Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:33-34 Come to me all who labor: Matt. 11:28 Elijah’s exploits: 1 Kings 17-19 Manna story: Exod. 16:1-35 Other “magic” meal stories: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Mark 6:34-44; 8:1-9 With God all things are possible: Matt. 19:26 or Mark 10:27

Authors Alice Camille

Elijah Journey Courage

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Exploring the word

12 Aug 2012 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

When undertaking a journey—whether it be a vacation, pilgrimage, relocation, or the life-voyage as a whole—you need to prepare appropriately. Underpacking is perilous. Overpacking is burdensome. Lugging the wrong equipment is frustrating. Every inch and ounce of luggage has to be made to count. Some things are always useful, no matter where you’re headed. Education. Information. Logic. Courage and determination. Creativity and resourcefulness. A cheerful attitude and a can-do spirit. A sense of humor is essential. Being able to laugh at yourself and the absurdity of the unexpected can be more helpful than the can-opener or matches you left behind. Maybe Elijah failed to bring humor along that day he fled into the desert. Ahab and Jezebel were out for his blood, true, but throwing himself under a broom tree and praying for death was not a helpful response to his dilemma. Also, he went a day’s journey into the desert without water and food. While accustomed to living by a spring with ravens bringing him sustenance, he might have been pushing his luck this time. Evidently Elijah was unfamiliar with the saying: God helps those who help themselves. No matter. God remained faithful to his prophet. Not quite finished with Elijah, God sent an angel to revive him for one more expedition. Many of us have been to this spot ourselves, the point at which we are no longer willing to try to save ourselves, the moment of exhaustion when we give up and let fate decide if we survive or not. And then the angel comes, by any other name. It could be in the form of an unanticipated reprieve, a phone call or sudden visitor, a stranger’s kind word, or what we often call a "lucky break.” Grace arrives and a bridge appears over troubled waters, enabling us to cross to the other side unscathed. It’s the hour when we might remember to say: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord! Life is full of desert moments when, if the manna doesn’t fall from heaven or the angel doesn’t arrive in time, we’re goners. Even if we travel in Winnebagos or never leave home without American Express, sooner or later we find ourselves on a trail we didn’t plan to take, without the resources we need to endure it. Illness, unemployment, disability, the anguish of losing someone we love, moral uncertainties take us by surprise and can hurl us under the broom tree, out of options and praying for a quick resolution, however final. The single most critical item, though, to take on this journey—on any journey—is confidence in God. God will always provide bread for the road we’re on. When God is our destination, any road will do. Related Scripture links Being taught by God: Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:33-34 Come to me all who labor: Matt. 11:28 Elijah’s exploits: 1 Kings 17-19 Manna story: Exod. 16:1-35 Other “magic” meal stories: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Mark 6:34-44; 8:1-9 With God all things are possible: Matt. 19:26 or Mark 10:27 Catechism links Eucharist: CCC 1333-1336; 1341-1344; 1356-1390; 2177-2183

Authors Alice Camille

manna angel Journey Elijah

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Exploring the word

20 May 2012 - Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Cycle B

THE NARRATIVES ABOUT Jesus by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John fit nicely into a classic American genre: the road story. Jesus and his friends leave the familiarity of home and hearth to light out for the territories, see the world in all its fascination and misery, give some help and get into some trouble, make a few allies and a few more enemies, and take the ultimate journey to the center of their society, Jerusalem, where, according to the genre, they would either triumph or be vanquished. This story arc is basic to every story from The Wizard of Oz to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and though we tend to think of it as an American narrative form, Homer’s Odyssey and Dante’s Divine Comedy would protest. The journey story, in which fools become wise and children grow up, is also the story of Israel in the First Testament. The band of 12 disciples are not the first ignorant bunch—or even the first bunch in the Bible—who went on the road to meet their destiny and prepare for it in the same inadequate shoes. Abraham did it, and so did Jacob, Moses, David, Ruth and Naomi, Tobias, and all the way to Paul of Tarsus. Here, however, is where the Christian narrative takes an original turn. The end of the journey in road stories requires a finale: either win or lose, be crowned or crushed by your fate. In the case of Jesus, arrival in Jerusalem leads to the paradox of defeat and victory—inscrutably in tandem. What’s more, rather than inscribing “The End” at this obvious conclusion, another chapter unfolds: 40 more days of teaching and learning, followed by a surprise sequel. Another road story is about to unfold. Those who were learners will now be the teachers. And on it goes, through the centuries of church. Of course the supernatural events of Incarnation through Ascension are the road-story-to-end-all-road-stories. From heaven to earth to hell and back again. That unique journey is not ours to take. but the other is not only recommended but required for people of faith. We can’t sit on our creeds in the pews but must follow the story line from learner to teacher, from disciple to evangelist. It would be a horrible misunderstanding to think that the Ascension is an event in which Jesus makes it safely home, a happy ending about which you need trouble yourself no further. The liturgical year is not a pageant of historical episodes in the life of God, which all work out to our mutual satisfaction in the end. The next wave of this arc involves you and your being “sent” to continue the story for the age to come. So tie up your laces, and let’s get moving. Related scripture links Gift of wisdom and understanding: Col. 1:9 Head and members: Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 10:17; 12: 27-31; Col. 1:18 Go forth and spread the gospel: Matt. 28:19-20 Catechism links Ascension of Jesus: CCC 659-664; 670; 673 Descent of Jesus to the dead: CCC 624; 631-635

Authors Alice Camille

Journey story storytelling

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Homily stories

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Dorothy followed the Yellow Brick Road through the Land of Oz and came upon all sorts of signs pointing to different ways back home. In the end, she had the secret to getting back to Kansas right at her heels. But, as the Good Witch of the North tells her, she couldn't have been told the secret to achieving her heart's desire. She had to discover it for herself. Jesus' disciples on the road to Emmaus and all Christian disciples down through the ages have a similar challenge before them as they skip along on their spiritual journeys. The secret to finding their way home to God lies within their burning hearts, but they don't discover that until they've taken a few wrong turns and been set straight by the collection of characters they encounter along the way.

Road to Emmaus spiritual journey

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The inner word

27 Mar 2011 - Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Aren't the readings this week about the journey of faith? The Israelites in the desert, with some stubbornness, come to trust in the God who really is with them and saves them. Saint Paul speaks of the power of faith to bring believers to the grace of hope and salvation. And in the long gospel story, the Samaritan woman moves from unbelief to faith to testifying in the Christ who brings living water. What has been your personal "exodus"? When have you felt as if you were traveling through the desert? Where did you find "water," the living presence of God? The Samaritan woman came to faith through a direct experience of Jesus. What are your most personal encounters with the Lord? She also testified to her neighbors about Jesus. Where do you make your most effective testimony to your faith?

faith journey Samaritan Exodus christ

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Exploring the word

02 Jan 2011 - Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle A

IT’S HARD TO make progress when you can’t see where you’re going. That is true whether you’re navigating down a foggy highway, lost in a forest, feeling your way through a power outage, or just bumbling through life in general. None of us knows what lies around the next bend on this journey, for ourselves personally or for our families, our community, nation, and world. Who could have predicted half of the developments that led to where we are today? Despite the unknowability of the future, shedding a little light on the subject helps. We can’t know everything, but we can seek as much information as is available to assess the next step. When we don’t have a road map, we have to get better at reading the signs around us: Which way is the sun setting? Does moss really grow only on the north side of trees? If it’s too dark to use our eyes, can our ears and hands do the “seeing” for us? If our relationships have become so convoluted that we don’t know how to communicate anymore, can we find a guide to lead us forward? When our days have lost their meaning, do we know which way to go to get more? Isaiah once predicted that Jerusalem would become a light for the world, a place of sought-after wisdom and splendor, worthy of international acclaim. This destiny would come about not through the city’s own merits but because of the glory of God shining out from it. Today, sadly, Jerusalem is known more for radiating violence and insoluble problems, although pilgrims of three world religions still travel there in hopes of glimpsing some of the glory. The mystery of unity across ancient divisions that was announced in Ephesians has indeed been revealed—and, seemingly, rejected. We humans like our prohibitive walls too much to tear them down. But we can’t point a finger at Jerusalem without finding ourselves before a mirror of our own intolerance and defensiveness. The darkness that hides the mystery of humanity’s oneness begins very locally, in your heart and mine. If we want to find our way out of that darkness, we have to take the journey toward Epiphany: that is, to bow before the Real Presence of God for ourselves. We have to follow the star through the gloom of prejudice, stereotypes, political spin, personal comfort zones, and self-interest. We have to risk the danger of change, as those intriguing magi did, crossing borders that kept them safe and heading into territory that was unfamiliar and potentially unwelcoming. We have to bring our resources with us, prepared to set them down and walk away. Sometimes we need much more than our eyes to see rightly. Related scripture links Magi in Daniel: Dan. 1:4, 20, 2:2 (Daniel as magos: 1:17) Magi in the NT: Acts 8:9-25, 13:6-13 More kings in Isaiah: Isa. 49:7b Other Hebrew images used: Num. 24:17 (star), Gen. 49:10 (tribute), Mic. 5:1-3 (Bethlehem) Jesus on palaces fit for royalty: Luke 7:24-25 Catechism links Epiphany: CCC 486; 528; 724

Authors Alice Camille

Journey omniscience Prophecy future

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Exploring the word

27 Jun 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

PEOPLE START ASKING us the question pretty early: What do you want to be when you grow up? We want so many things in the beginning, as much as wonder permits. We want to be superheroes, artists, rock stars, presidents, NASCAR racers, truck drivers, millionaires. Or as my preschool niece used to explain: "First a baker, then a mommy, then a ballerina, and maybe a schoolteacher. I don't know what else later." When it comes to our early dreams for life, our eyes are the limit. Whatever we see, we imagine ourselves becoming—at least for a while. By high school we absorb the deflating truth that we have to take definite steps to become something. And what we become may well preclude other things or everything else. Maybe that's when we define ourselves down to the traditional goals: a good paying job, someone to love, home, family. We get behind the plow and try to keep the lines reasonably straight. We know nothing about Elisha before the day Elijah snapped him up for great things. All we know is what we hear about that particular day: a young man plowing in the fields, keeping the lines straight, his thoughts on his chores and his duty to his family. And then, suddenly, his world gets dis-mantled. A flying cloak is hurled across his shoulders, and the prophet who flung it hurries down the road. A startled Elisha has to run to catch up with him. He knows the authority one must assume with this cloak. He knows the sword of decision hangs right above his head. He knows the classic domestic life he'd assumed for himself is no longer a given. He has to make a radical choice, and make it now. Elisha belongs to the lucky ones because he understands so much about his predicament. Most of us are more like those hapless folks who run up to Jesus along the journey and make half-baked pledges of allegiance to him. "I'll follow you wherever you go," we say—but give no thought to how radical a journey that might be. Or we make conditional statements: "I'll follow later—but first . . . but only if . . . but on one condition . . . ." Jesus exposes these false declarations of discipleship for what they are and rejects them all. Authentic followers don't look back. They turn forward. We can only head into kingdom territory if we first abandon our allegiance to other, smaller goals. Because Elisha is perceptive, responsive, and decisive, he becomes the greatest of the prophets, greater even than the one whose mantle he accepts. We never learn what those other people become who once were offered a great opportunity—and preferred things just as they are. Related scripture links Giving testimony: Acts 2:1-11; 1 John 1:1-4 Called to Christ: Rom. 1:5-7, 8:28-30, 11:29; 1 Cor. 1:1-2, 26-31 Famous calls in scripture: Gen. 15:1-6; Exod. 3:4-10; 1 Sam. 3:1-18; Ruth 1:16-18; Isa. 6:1-8; Jer.1:4-10; Acts 9:1-6; Gal. 1:11-16 "Unequal yokes": 1 Cor. 10-13, 5:6-8, 6:15-20, 7:12-16; 2 Cor. 6:14-18 Catechism links Facing Jerusalem: CCC 557 Human freedom: CCC 1730-1742; 1749

Authors Alice Camille

identity professions Destiny Leadership Journey discipleship

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The inner word

27 Jun 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Elijah's summoning of Elijah comes in the midst of everyday activities: Elisha is plowing. Where do you hear God's call in your daily work? Christ has set us free to serve others and live by the Spirit, Paul says. Do you experience your ministry more as service or, at times, a form of "slavery"? What can you do to "free" yourself to do your best and most satisfying work? In the gospel today, Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem. With the church, you, too, are on the road with Jesus. Consider how your life has been a pilgrimage-where it's been, is now, and is going. What has been your road? What are you following?

call work Service Journey pilgrimage

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Homily stories

04 May 2014 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Who doesn’t love a road trip? Families tell of their adventures on a summer vacation; friends talk of their escapades while traveling to warmer climes on spring break; strangers bond during the harrows of a routine trip gone awry. Film critics from around the world, including the Vatican, place Stagecoach, a classic Western road trip movie, on their list of all-time great films, and you’ll find The Odyssey and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on any list of the world’s greatest literature. A road trip story can be humorous, suspenseful, or romantic, but as BBC reviewer Jordan Hoffman says, “Its essence is always the same: an outward journey that triggers and signifies its characters’ inward transformation.” Which leads us to the greatest biblical road trip story: Although the Israelite’s Exodus and Saint Paul’s journey to Damascus get props for amazing special effects, and the Good Samaritan on the Road to Jericho is by far the most instructive on how to love your neighbor, the story of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus is the epitome of the classic road trip story: A physical journey leads to a spiritual enlightenment. Take a trip. The change will do you good.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

Journey Change

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Homily stories

30 Jun 2013 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

The gospel tells us that Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” Unwelcoming villagers and reluctant disciples could not steer him off course. His mission was clear. That image of Jesus’ resoluteness and purpose is a good one to keep in mind when you pray—particularly if you are attempting a more contemplative form of prayer, such as Centering Prayer, where you can be easily distracted by everyday thoughts. As contemplative monk Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO, writes in Open Mind, Open Hearts, “Our ordinary thoughts are like boats sitting on a river so closely packed together that we cannot see the river that is holding them up. When we slow down that flow for a little while, space begins to appear between the boats. Up comes the reality on which they are floating.” Accept the distractions that inevitably come on your journey toward God in prayer, but do not attach any emotion to them. Simply let them go as boats passing down a river, and draw your attention back toward your purpose: union with the underlying all-encompassing presence of God.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

Journey Destiny mission

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