Bruce's Notes for the 3rd. Sunday of Ordinary Time

So often, we think about Jesus in the past, what he did or said.  Or we think about him in the future,  about his coming again. But in this week's gospel, Jesus makes it clear that his listeners need to focus on the present.

In Mark 1:15, Jesus says straight out, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel!” Pretty unequivocal: Jesus is telling all who are able to hear that the kingdom is NOW, that NOW is when God’s word is fulfilled, that NOW is the time to repent (rethink, change your mind, start anew). But if he said that then, is he still saying it today?

We forget sometimes that as Christians, we are a people of NOW. Our liturgy is primarily of the moment. From the very beginning of the Mass, we give glory in the present. We ask for (and receive) forgiveness in the present. We praise God in the present. The priest consecrates in the present. Communion happens in the moment. The Mass is not a recreation of an historical event; it is new each and every time, in the present.

So what is “the time of fulfillment,” here and now? What is fulfilled? WE are fulfilled! We are completed. We come to fruition, to ripeness, to fullness, every moment -- every holy instant -- we accept Jesus into our hearts. In that moment there is no past to regret. There is no future to fear. There is only Jesus, with us, in the Kingdom of God. And all we have to do to be there is repent; that is, to change our thinking, to accept God’s great gift to us, the children that He loves. Now. And now. And now.

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Bruce's Notes for the 2nd. Sunday of Ordinary Time

In this week’s gospel, John, describing Peter’s first encounter with Jesus, tells us, “Then they brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said ‘You are Simon son of John; you will be called Cephas.’ “ Wow! With loving authority, Jesus sees -- I mean really sees -- the inner person he is speaking to and gives him a new life.

As I think about Jesus speaking to me like that, a couple of questions come to mind. First, what do I have to do so I can hear Jesus speak to me the way he spoke to Peter? Second, what happens when I do hear him speak?   

First, then: what do I have to do to encounter Jesus? Do what Peter did! Peter went to Jesus. (It’s true that he was led there, but he did agree to go.) And so I need to go to Jesus, with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. That means making space in my day, in my life, whatever it takes, for these encounters. We all have different ways of making that space, but we need to do it, regularly. We need to go to Jesus and let him in. 

And second, what happens when I do let him in, and Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, does speak with me? When I am really, really listening, then I feel no guilt, no shame, no regret, no “should do this or should do that.” When I am really listening and paying attention, I feel only loved and newly empowered. Deep joy and strength and praise well up in me, and at that moment I do feel ready to take on this new life that Jesus has for me, this new life of devotion: to loving God and all my fellow human beings/neighbors as much as I can, every time I can.

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Bruce's Notes for the Feast of Baptism of the Lord

Since we have heard it so many times, we think we know the story of Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan (as recorded in Mark’s gospel this week). We think the story tells us that as Jesus came up out of the Jordan, a dove descended on him and a voice from heaven proclaimed him the Son of God. And that’s close… but not quite accurate. And the difference, the part we don’t remember accurately, is importance for us and our faith life.

What the gospel actually says is: “On coming out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ ” That day at the Jordan only Jesus saw the Holy Spirit (dove) descend and heard the voice from heaven. This was an individual revelation and communication with the Father.

Why is that distinction important? Because Jesus, in the course of his ministry, opens the eyes of one individual person after another (Peter, the Samaritan woman at the well, the blind man, the woman crippled by a spirit...the list goes on and on). He opens the eyes of each: to God’s love, to God’s mercy, to the simple (though often very challenging) commandment to love God and one another.

All this applies to each of us just as much as it did to each individual person in Jesus’ time. Each time we strive to open up and really hear and accept that we are loved, we are forgiven, we are held and cared for by God, something truly remarkable happens: the Holy Spirit descends on us. And each time we strive to love each other, to forgive each other, to hold and care for each other, something else remarkable happens: a voice from God -- one that only each of us can hear -- says, “With you I am well pleased.”

And more good news: this amazing God-given cycle, of baptism with the Holy Spirit, of receiving and giving, giving and receiving, happens over and over and over and over. Now and forever.

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Bruce's Notes for the Epiphany of the Lord

This week, in the third chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul explains that the Spirit has revealed “that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” What does that mean? And why is it important?

First of all, we need to understand that the phrase “the Gentiles'' refers to all people who are not Jewish. So if the Jews and the Gentiles are coheirs and copartners, that means that everybody is a coheir and a copartner, because Jews and Gentiles are all the people there are; there is no one else!

Next, if the Holy Spirit has revealed that we are all members of the same body and all coheirs and copartners in the same promise, then we all are truly brothers and sisters, truly “neighbors.” And if we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, that means we are to love everyone as ourselves: no exceptions, everyone.

But what is this “promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel”? It’s this: that Jesus came to set us free Free from doubt, free from fear, free from anger, and shame...and death. Free to rejoice, knowing that God loves us, always and unconditionally. And free to love everyone in our hearts and to share that love with them, with all our fellow coheirs and copartners, with anyone we meet, with the whole world. Pretty good promise, I’d say.