The Friendly Giant and Christ the King

When I was a child one of my favorite television shows was The Friendly Giant. I loved how the Friendly Giant no matter how enormous he was always made time for those who were lesser than he. I loved how he arranged the chairs by the fire place, talked with guests, enjoyed a tune or two and always had solid advice and a compassionate way to deliver it. I always looked at the Friendly Giant as a king, probably because he lived in a castle. However I also remember thinking if I was ever king (because at that age I thought that it could be a possible career option – well maybe I thought that for a while) I would like to be like the Friendly Giant.

I have been thinking about The Friendly Giant this week as we celebrate Christ the King. I see the virtues, the characteristics, the life-giving qualities of our Lord and King Jesus in the simple images of this childhood show. I wonder how often I forget that being a kingdom dweller in the reign of Christ the King means I need to arrange the chairs to be a place of welcome, spend time to listen to others stories of the sick and imprisoned, sing a song of praise to our God, and share the gospel through living it with compassion and not mere words. Yes, where do I build the kingdom of my King? Where do I give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, cloth the naked, visit the sick or the imprisoned? For the least of these are very much a part of the kingdom of God – it really is quite simple and yet I find excuses, reasons, ways not to live the gospel of Christ my King and to heed the simple wisdom I found in the Friendly Giant.

Christ my King,

for the times I fail to build your Kingdom.

Lord have mercy.

Christ my King

for the times I forget about my brothers and sisters.

Christ have mercy.

Christ my King

for the times I miss seeing you in my every day.

Lord have mercy.

The challenge and gift of Christ the King is to build the kingdom for all to be welcome. Where can you and I do just that this week no matter if we are a giant or the least among us?

Christ the King where do reign?

In my heart yes I know

which is the call for me to show

your love to our hurting world.

Christ the King where do reign?

In our world I know it’s true

when each of us does right by you

we build the kingdom piece by piece.

Christ the King where do reign?

In the mighty and the strong

when they rise up like the dawn

to help the lowly and the least.

Christ the King where do reign?

In the lowly and the poor

who don’t have any more

but their generous and hopeful trust.

Christ the King where do you reign?

Here, there and every where

for your love and mercy can always bear

even when God’s children fail to build your kingdom here.

Christ the King where do you reign?

I know where, I know it’s true

please help me see what there is to do

and the courage and strength to build with you.

World Day of the Poor: The Challenge of Relationship

November 19 (The Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time) is World Day of the Poor.

Pope Francis challenges us: “This new World Day, therefore, should become a powerful appeal to our consciences as believers, allowing us to grow in the conviction that sharing with the poor enables us to understand the deepest truth of the Gospel.  The poor are not a problem: they are a resource from which to draw as we strive to accept and practice in our lives the essence of the Gospel.”

Poverty is something I have never experienced. I have never been homeless, I have never not had enough food or drink, I have never not been able to find work or pay bills. I have never faced an addiction that has left me debilitated or unable to function.

The vow of poverty or ‘nothing of my own’ that I take as Friar is not the same as being poor, rather it is about sharing everything in common. As religious we do not claim private ownership, everything we own is used for the good of our community so that we can focus on our charism and ministry as Franciscans.   

So when I read that Pope Francis has declared an annual World Day of the Poor it makes me ponder all that my life has been, my life as Friar and my life a Christian. It challenges me to look at my life and causes me to ask if donating my used clothes, volunteering every so often at a soup kitchen and giving my loose change to a charity enough? These are all good and well and indeed help the poor, but does it put me into relationship with them? Does it break down barriers of fear and ignorance? Does it help me to see them as brothers and sisters? Or does it simply allow me to stay in my comfort zone?

The poor are our brothers and sisters. St. Francis of Assisi understood this and tried to help his brothers understand this. To help others see the value and dignity that everyone has and is worthy of was the work of St. Francis. This is about relationship.

Being a Franciscan in the footsteps of St. Francis has caused me to look at my immediate relationships. How am I brother to those I live, work, minister and study with? How am I brother to family, friends, neighbours and my brothers? Upon reflecting on this I see that these relationships are mostly healthy and I am challenged to move beyond the comfort zones they provide and integrate the good, lessons learned and the gift of relationship into my interactions, serving and relationship with poor.

“We are called, then, to draw near to the poor, to encounter them, to meet their gaze, to embrace them and to let them feel the warmth of love that breaks through their solitude.  Their outstretched hand is also an invitation to step out of our certainties and comforts, and to acknowledge the value of poverty in itself,” says Pope Francis.

How do I ensure that the poor know they have value and dignity? How do I move beyond fear and ignorance to truly be brother to men and women who are trapped or forced into poverty?

The second letter to the Thessalonians says, “you are all children of light and children of the day.” I believe this statement is true for all of us no matter our status, bank accounts or where we live or what we have or what we lack. Being children of light calls us into relationship, it calls us to see Christ in each other.

How do I bear light?

How do I share my talents?

How do I build relationships with my brothers and sisters like St. Francis did?

The questions throughout this reflection swirl around in my heart and my head. They challenge me in my daily living, my life as a Friar, my life as a disciple of Christ, as Advent draws near and as I complete my degree.

As I ponder all these questions I have once again come across a prayer card I have called “The Litany of St. Francis” written by the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate.

Where the darkness of loneliness reigns

Let us bring the light of friendship.

Where the darkness of bitterness reigns

Let us bring the light of forgiveness.

Where the darkness of hurt reigns

Let us bring the light of healing.

Where the darkness of sadness reigns

Let us bring the light of joy.

Where the darkness of doubt reigns

Let us bring the light of faith.

Where the darkness of despair reigns

Let us bring the light of hope.

Where the darkness of hatred reigns

Let us bring the light of love.

This Litany is not simply words – this is the challenge of being children of light, of being light bearers, of using talents and building relationship. I need to spend more time not simply with the words but with the actions that come with these words. How about you?

Lord Jesus,

as I seek to be a bearer of light,

I trust that you are lighting my way,

challenging my heart

and opening me up on how to be in relationship

with all my brothers and sisters.

May your light so fill me

so I may truly enter into relationship

and radiate you.

Amen.

Craving God... So Be Ready

 

On this 32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time as we move towards the end of the liturgical year we are presented with the Gospel of Matthew 25. Beginning this Sunday and for the following two Matthew 25 is the center for us to reflect on. Matthew 25 is a rich text with three scenarios for us to ponder: this Sunday with the wise and foolish bridesmaids, next week the parable of the talents and the last week the image of the sheep and the goats telling us whatsoever you do to the least. All three of these pieces of scripture challenge us to be kingdom dwellers and ask us to reflect on how we build the kingdom of God here and now, not simply hope for it as an eternal reward.

 

> God my God you I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.

 

            Being kingdom dwellers is not always easy, for as the gospel says: Be ready! Keep awake! For we know not the day nor the hour!

 

Let me share a story with you about being ready or at least vigilant waiting:

When were kids, we could look out our north windows and see open fields (much smaller evergreens) and when we looked out our south windows we would see the open back yards of our neighbours right to the highway. So when we knew company was coming for a visit the process was the same no matter which window we looked out, it went something like this:

If our company was Uncle John & Auntie Linda coming from the north of town, one of us would be assigned to watch out the bathroom window for lights to appear on the horizon. (If relatives from the south or west the dining room window was the perch.) When lights would appear whoever was watching would shout, “I think they are coming!” and we would watch and wait for updates: “They are closer, they are closer, oh never mind, it’s not them, just another car.” “Oh wait there is another set of lights, oh they are slowing down, oh they are really slowing down, they are here! they are here!”

One of us would go and run and tell Mom and Dad with great pride, we would announce: “Uncle John and Auntie Linda are here!” As if they didn’t know already and that what somehow change that fact that they were trying to get ready themselves. We would bounce around the house, and all huddle into our narrow hallway to greet our cousins and aunt and uncle.

The waiting seemed like forever, even when we saw the car on the horizon, it seemed to creep slower to town, and from the end of our short drive way until they unloaded out of the car seemed an eternity. Oh but the endless hours of playing, of games and of food and laughter to be shared swallowed up that waiting. A foretaste, if you will, of the kingdom of heaven.

 

> God my God you I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.

 

To be kingdom dwellers, means to be ready and keeping awake for the Lord always. For Jesus comes to us each day and comes to us in ways we fail to see or want to see. How often can we say “He is here! He is here!” like we as children announced the arrival of our guests? The truth is in our everyday living we should indeed be able to announce he is here.

The book of Wisdom reminds us that as kingdom dwellers we are called to be wisdom seekers. For true wisdom is from God and it is radiant and never fades. If only our efforts were always radiant and never fading, however we know they are not. We know that we stumble along, or we fumble up well intentioned plans or we fail to trust in God’s wisdom. Yet our God never leaves us to stray the path alone, our God always calls us back to God’s self, calling us to be vigilant and to have extra oil to trim our lamps and be ready for our God.

 

Come Holy Wisdom

Weave your mystery and profound gifts into the fabric of our journey.

Blessed are you, gracious God, in your Holy Wisdom.

 

> God my God you I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.

 

In our continually striving to be kingdom dwellers and to build the kingdom, we thirst for God, yet we know God’s steadfast love, our lives are filled as a rich banquet and we know our God is our help. In being kingdom dwellers and kingdom builders we are rooted in the paschal mystery – the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. The letter to the Thessalonians tells us that we know that this is not our final home for we hope in life eternal, however we must be encouragers on the path of life. We must not be like the foolish bridesmaids of the gospel and not come prepared, we must let our light shine through our good deeds which will build the kingdom here and lead to the great eternal wedding banquet. The light of our good deeds should then encourage others to ensure that their lamps are fueled and that they are ready to greet the Bridegroom.

 

Pour forth your Spirit upon us, O God

That she might be with us and work in us,

Blessed are you, gracious God, in your holy wisdom.

 

> God my God you I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.

 

         Building the kingdom can led us through a dry and weary land. It can be slow going and challenging, it can be like the vigilant waiting of my childhood when company was coming, it can leave us feeling empty. However in the slow going, in the challenges, in the waiting, in the what can feel like emptiness we are called to focus on and use the gift of wisdom to be prepared, to keep awake, to be ready. It’s like an emergency kit in the car, or a casserole in the freezer or an extra 5 in our wallets. We do not the hour or the time when Jesus will come and bring us all into the fullness of the heavenly banquet of life, only we can prepare ourselves and encourage others on the path.

 

Dwell deep within us, Holy Wisdom,

Enfold us in your light,

Imbue us with strength and purpose.

Above all, hold us fast,

Guide us in your ways,

Be our constant companion.

Blessed are you, gracious God, in your holy wisdom.

 

> God my God you I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.

 

The choice is ours. We can be the wise bridesmaids, craving our God and being prepared to greet our God.

 

The choice is ours.

How do we live?

When do we crave God? Always?  Sometimes? When convenient? When life is rough?

Are we open to God’s call in our lives?

Do we have an open heart focused on the light?

How do we ensure our lamps are trimmed and that we have extra oil?

How do we build the kingdom and be kingdom dwellers?

        By letting our light shine, by being the salt of the earth, by being the body of Christ, by being nourished by the Word and the Eucharist. God dwells among us and in us because God has given us the gift of being God’s children. With wisdom will we accept the free gift of grace and keep awake? For then in the being ready with the heart of a child, excited that the greatest gift we could ever receive is here, we can declare with joy and praise He is here!

> God my God you I crave my soul thirsts for you like a dry and weary land.





* The italicized verse are one prayer entitled Prayer for Wisdom
> The bolded refrain is a sung refrain from CBWIII - 658 
Image from: Working Preacher

We Bless You

The month of November begins with the great feast of All Saints Day on November 1. It is a great solemnity and one of my most favorite celebrations of the Church Year. Not only do we remember and celebrate the Saints that we all know, we also remember and celebrate the Saints known only to us. As the calendar year and Church year come to a close, reflecting on the lives of the Saints is a good thing. They always point us to Christ and remind us that our final home is no here but wrapped up in the love of God. They also challenge us to live our lives focused on the greater good of all, rooted in Christ, generous in service, open to the the Holy Spirit and to be humble and also grateful for all that we have. Saints of God pray for us!

To those men, women and children
who trust deeply,
who see beyond today,
who live authentic lives
rooted in Christ for today and tomorrow...
we bless you.

To those men, women and children
who have walked the valley,
who have carried the cross,
who have lived generously
rooted in Christ then and now...
we bless you.

To those men, women and children
who are known only to us,
who are known only to God,
who are known only by name
rooted in Christ always...
we bless you.

To those men, women and children
who are declared holy,
who are recognized by deeds,
who are witnesses to the gospel
rooted in Christ to show us the way...
we bless you.

To those men, women and children
who are Saints of God,
who radiate our Savior, 
who celebrated and celebrate life
rooted in Christ...
we bless you.

As the days of November draw on may we find a little time to spend with the Saints and remember that we too are Saints building the kingdom today, tomorrow and always.
Yes indeed... Saints of God... pray for us!