Advent Reflection for Sunday, December 5th

Click here for today's readings.

Some of the most popular Christmas cards are reproductions of the many images of “The Peaceable Kingdom” painted by the Pennsylvania Quaker folk artist Edward Hicks (1780 – 1849). Time after time Hicks returned to depictions of today’s text from Isaiah. Perhaps when we are younger the focus of our desire for peace is outward. We’re like John the Baptist in today’s Gospel. We want to call one and all to a new way of thinking (installing a new mind!) which is what “repent” really means. Perhaps as we grow older, our expectations shrink and we think that we’d be happy if the members of our family and friends, our work colleagues, our parish or religious community could come to live in peace. Then the words from today’s Epistle of Paul to the Romans become our prayer: “May the God of encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another.” Wouldn’t that be great? Then perhaps later in life we begin to realize that all along there has been a lion, a leopard and a bear within our own hearts. If we are blessed enough to take long hard looks at these dark parts of ourselves we may then also see that the child promised by the prophets is also deep within our hearts. The child is there already and is yet to come. The child is the Christ-self within us. Once we befriend and care for that child the peaceable kingdom begins to come to reality within us and we begin to move out to those to whom we have been blind and in need of our attention and care. Then others begin to “catch our peace” as though it were a communicative blessing. As far as this happens this Advent and Christmastide the world will have moved a little closer to the peaceable kingdom promised by Isaiah, founded by Christ and being built in the Spirit in and through and among us.

- Fr. Andrew D. Ciferni, O. Praem, is Prior of Daylesford Abbey (Paoli, PA).

Advent Reflection for Saturday, December 4th

Click here for today's readings.

One Sunday, every time I got in or out of my car, I heard the same warm and engaging voice calling out to me from my satellite radio. Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest and author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion had definitely caught my attention. When I returned home, I found the interview online. Lately I have found the level of intolerance for anyone seen as “other” both alarming and disturbing. Boyle’s message of the transformative power of God’s unconditional love – apparently for gang members and suburban moms alike – was one that had clearly struck a chord. I bought his book that day.

In today’s Gospel, we hear: “At the sight of the crowds, [Jesus’s] heart was moved with pity for them . . . troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.” Can’t you just imagine it? Jesus sees His people and before He even reaches them, He feels them and is moved by them. In Tattoos on the Heart, Boyle speaks of Jesus’s compassion being visceral, coming from the very depths of His being. That’s the way I have been feeling lately listening to the news, relating to the pain of the college kid brought to the depths of despair by the cruelty of a roommate or of faithful Muslim Americans being scorned and reviled because of ignorance and bigotry. That’s really the only way to feel compassion, though, isn’t it – from your heart, in your gut?

What to do about these feelings? Jesus has the answer: “Go out to the lost sheep . . . proclaim[ing]: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Jesus commands me to proclaim that His kingdom is indeed coming. Knowing that He loves me unconditionally – whether I succeed or fail – frees me to work to bring about His kingdom here on earth. That’s The Power of Boundless Compasssion, though, isn’t it – from your heart, in your gut?

What to do about these feelings? Jesus has the answer: “Go out to the lost sheep . . . proclaim[ing]: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Jesus commands me to proclaim that His kingdom is indeed coming. Knowing that He loves me unconditionally – whether I succeed or fail – frees me to work to bring about His kingdom here on earth. That’s The Power of Boundless Compasssion.

- Erin Dolan is chairwoman of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees

Advent Reflection for Friday, December 3rd

Click here for today's readings

Upon reading the Scripture for the day, you may notice how flush the readings are with preoccupation on eyesight and hearing. Particularly, eyesight, how one sees (or doesn't), is a theme traced through the readings from Isaiah, Matthew and Psalm 27.

For instance, Isaiah reads, “...and out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.” The antiphon from the psalm proclaims, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” The psalmist ardently desires to “...gaze on the loveliness of the Lord,” and he believes that he “shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” Finally, the Gospel is a story of two blind men who, though blind, somehow follow Jesus into a house where they are confronted with a question: Do you believe that I can do this?

Jesus, the Messiah, came to shed light on the darkness; the darkness in our lives, in our country, in all of human history. Our country currently suffers from a near 15% poverty rate, a struggling economy, a polarized people, and a toxic culture. Natural disasters have crippled parts of the globe. There is just so much going on, the desire to hide ourselves from this reality is great. It is too much. Often, our culture is good enough at hiding it for us

We all also face our own darkness, our blindness. We all have blind spots. We may not be physically blind, but can be blind to the truth. We all pray for liberation, and want to be part of the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. We are told that the Kingdom is here among us, but then why all this darkness?

Do we believe that Jesus can do this? Do we truly wish to see? These readings should give us hope. As Christians, we are leaven for the world, salt of the earth. Sometimes we don't wish to see, or we turn a blind eye to the problems at our doorstep. Jesus seems to be asking, “I'm ready to heal you (and the world) and am in fact healing you; but, are you ready to see?”

Ask yourself today, and often, what this means for you

- Joel Yablunsky is a former FaithJustice Fellowship volunteer and LeaderworX alumnus.

Advent Reflection for Thursday, December 2nd

Click here for today's readings

Asher Brown, age 13. Seth Walsh, age 13. Tyler Clementi, age 18. Young men who took their lives rather than face what our society had in store for them as homosexuals. Instead of working to curb intolerance and bullying, there are some who claim that school anti-bullying programs that advocate tolerance are part of the “gay agenda,” and therefore should be tossed out.

Yet Jesus, who holds out his arms to love us on the cross, demonstrates love of all. He tells us that just saying, “Lord, Lord” will not get us into the Kingdom of Heaven. Nor will it build the Reign of God. It is in the listening and acting on his words that we build a firm foundation. Theologian Richard Rohr says, “Jesus’ concept of the Reign of God is totally positive – not fear based or against any individual, group, sin or problem.” The strongest house is the one that is built on love, acceptance, respect and justice. Jesus embodies these building blocks. He died so we can be free to live them. So, in this prayerful Advent season, let us remember and pray for all of God’s children: the bullies and the bullied, the troubled and the troublers, the questioners and the questioned. Let us watch and wait as the Incarnate Word, Emmanuel, God-with-us, Jesus, arrives on the scene to show us how to build. Then let us continue to work to build a world in which we all can live in God’s peace.

- Christine Barranco is a pastoral associate at the Church of St. Ann (Lawrenceville, NJ).

Advent Reflection for Wednesday, December 1st

Click here for today's readings.

As I reflect on the readings of today, I am moved to joy and wonder concerning our Lord’s superabundant love for us. The Creator of the Universe is inviting me to his table and feast and anointing me with oil. The King of Kings wants to stand by my side and wipe tears from my face. The Lord, who is made of love, loves me, a sinner, who is not deserving of this immense generosity that is truly beyond my understanding. But for some reason, the Lord loves me. 

During this season of Advent, I cannot help but be in awe. I can only describe the love our God has for us as incomprehensible or indescribable. In “A Sky Full of Children,” Madeleine L’Engle explains: “Don’t try to explain the Incarnation to me! It is further from being explainable than the furthest star in the furthest galaxy. It is love, God’s limitless love enfleshing that love into the form of a human being, Jesus, the Christ, fully human and fully divine.”  

- Mike Gomez is a member of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees.

Advent Reflection for Tuesday, November 30th

Click here for today's readings.

We must remember as it is written in Scripture: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!” As we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew today, we must remember that we are all called to be disciples of Christ. In being a disciple of Christ, we must walk each day professing that He is Lord and Savior. This is not only done with our tongue, but in the way we live.  We must live our faith each and every day not only for ourselves but for those we come in contact with. Please ask yourself, “Am I living out my faith and giving thanks for the gifts God has bestowed upon me through service to others? Am I constantly striving to bring peace to the world through prayer and action? Do I work for justice on behalf of those less fortunate and marginalized?”

As we prepare to celebrate the coming of our Messiah into the world let us pray that we live for Him in our daily lives through giving of our time, talent and treasure on His behalf.

- Erin Jones is the youth minister at St. Bartholomew’s Church (East Brunswick, NJ).

Advent Reflection for Monday, November 29th

Click here for today's readings.

A few days ago, I was walking through the mall and I saw a guy wearing a plain black T-shirt that said, “Stereotypes are a real time saver.” As someone who can easily laugh at his own cultural foibles, my initial response was to smile. 

No matter how evolved and righteous we may think we have become, who among us at some point in time hasn’t sought to label another? Stereotyping is part of our DNA. While there are positive stereotypes – for example, we teach small children that policemen are good – all too often we engage in the not-so-kind classification of people. For some of us, it’s skin color, cultural heritage or age, while for others it may be social status, the car that they drive, the length or color of their hair, body piercing, tattoos or sexual orientation. Even our business culture pounds this into our subconscious through not-so-subliminal advertising. “Buy this DVD and You Too Can Have Buns of Steel!” As if people with “buns of steel” are better than the rest of us.

Jesus, being both fully human and fully divine, all too well understood the folly of humanity. He immediately acknowledged the faith of the Roman soldier, a person outside the normal circle of His followers. He remarked to those following him (from Israel), “In no one in Israel have I found such faith.” In other words, “It’s not all about you guys … all people of faith are welcome at my table.” That means everybody!

In these early days of Advent, as we prepare ourselves for His coming, I see this as a well-timed opportunity to mindfully shed negative stereotypes. This is a time when, as people of faith, we should embrace our diversity, knowing that God welcomes all the faithful to His table. It is up to each and every one of us to be the Body of Christ, now and throughout the coming year.

-Rocky Balsamo is a member of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees

Advent Reflection for Sunday, November 28th

Click here for today's readings.

Therefore, stay awake!

For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. 

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night 

when the thief was coming,

 he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. 

So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. 

 Mt 27:42-44

I don’t like waiting, and I seem to have a lot of company.  We are a society that wants everything now: fast food, instant messaging, express lanes. In short, we hate to wait. Yet, in the words of the Rev. Dr. P.C. Enniss, “Our lives are inevitably shaped by those for whom we wait.”

The most profound experience of waiting I’ve ever had was the 9 months I carried my first child inside my womb. At first the days sped by, but by the third trimester, the progress of days and centimeters slowed to an excruciating pace. I was uncomfortable and a little afraid of labor, but more than anything, I was anxious to become a mother. I longed to hold my child, feed her, bathe her, sing to her. Yet in the months of carrying her inside me, I had already begun to nurture and protect her, choosing healthy foods and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. I had already grown to love her deeply. In the 9 months of waiting for this child to be born, before I ever held her or saw her face, I had already become her mother.

In Advent, as we await the coming of Jesus Christ, we long for the Kingdom of God.  Isaiah tells us that “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” In our world so filled with the suffering of innocent victims of war, disease, poverty, discrimination, and slavery, we long for Christ to come again and restore our world to balance and all people to wholeness. Yet, our lives are inevitably shaped by those for whom we wait. The theologian Paul Tillich wrote, "Although waiting is not having, it is also having. The fact that we wait for something shows that in some way we already possess it." As we await the coming of the Christ and long for His return, we become the Kingdom of God on earth.

- Mary Vanderhoof is a member of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees.

Advent 2010 - Daily Reflections

On behalf of the staff and board of the Center for FaithJustice, welcome to our Advent Reflection Guide! We have asked a number of wonderful people to offer a brief reflection on the daily readings. I must admit, I am both impressed and inspired by the reflections to follow over the coming weeks. I think you will be too! My hope is that we, as an extended community, might take a few minutes each day of Advent to pray with the readings and meditate on the reflection. In doing so, together preparing for the Incarnation, we share an experience that binds us as a community of faith.

It is true that the Center for FaithJustice requires the support of a great many people to continue our work. There is, however, a deeper reality, rooted in our mission. More than any programming goals, we seek to build a broad community marked by love and friendship, a “place” where all are welcome, to foster a commitment to a faith that strives for justice and serves those in need. CFJ is comprised of people from diverse walks of life, but we believe that God is calling each and every one of us.

As we journey together this Advent, let us open our arms to those for whom this time of year is marked by loneliness or despair. Likewise, let us open our hearts to those who, in this season of overconsumption, lack even the most basic of needs (much less the means for elaborate gifts). This guide is dedicated to all those who support CFJ through their time, talent and treasure. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do. Be assured you are remembered in our weekly prayer and that our door is always open to you, your family, and to anyone those seeking a community of faith that does justice. Your support is appreciated, your friendship sustains us. You are, for us, a sign of hope, a revelation of God at work in the world. For that, we are eternally grateful.


Peace on your journey,
Sean Patrick Sanford
Executive Director

FaithJustice & Fellowship - 28 October 2009

The most recent gathering of FaithJustice & Fellowship took place on 10/28/09. Our fellowship started with a delicious soup, courtesy of friend and CFJ "adjunct staff member", Stephanie Harris (and her friend Tom). We then moved into the Chapel for Evening Prayer with our prayer leader, Martha Dudich. Our prayer started with this introduction and reading:

"Listen to the Word of God from the gospel of Matthew.

The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is distorted, your whole body will be full of darkness. . . . Why do you look at the speck in the eye of your neighbor, but do not notice the plank that is in your own?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take that speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own?  Do not be a hypocrite.  First take the plank from your own eye.  Then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor. . . . The prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says The heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn to me.  But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear."

Martha then offered the following reflection:

"OK, so sometimes I don’t need to look at a calendar or a headline to connect God’s story with my story.  Yes, last week it was helpful to consider what was going on in the world and how that shapes the way I operate in the world.  This week I pretty much just had to be awake.  And that can be a lot harder than it sounds.  Whether it’s work or relationships or faith, too many times we can “phone it in” –  not so much indifferent as unconscious – and yet we still manage to get things done, still manage to hold onto our friends, still qualify as daughters and sons of God.  Just think of the last time you got to your destination and really couldn’t remember the drive.  Dangerous on so many levels.  Therefore I tend to keep my operating principles simple, particularly when it comes to the spiritual journey:  STAY AWAKE and STAY OUT OF THE WAY (and because there will undoubtedly be a few detours, BRING A BOOK AND A SNACK.)

Last weekend I attended a play at McCarter Theater.  Actually it was in the smaller Berlind Theater, where there really isn’t a bad seat in the house.  Good thing, as I was in the last row.  What caught my attention was in the first row.  Eight seats across, all of them filled, as was the entire theater.  And everyone in the front row was blind.  I thought well, maybe it’s about the energies transmitted from the actors from such close proximity.  Of course this play only had 2 characters, both women over 100 years old, who rarely moved from a pair of arm chairs center stage.   So here was arguably the best view, for those who couldn’t appear to benefit from it. 

This Sunday we heard the gospel account of Jesus and Bartimaeus, a blind beggar. Having relayed my experience at the theater several times in the intervening days, I immediately smiled at the coincidence and wondered how the homilist would unpack the story.  Alas, he had other topics to discuss, which then compelled me to look at the scriptures again and make my own connections.  But not before I brought several other people to mind.  Susan, one of my housemates in college, a marvelous soprano, still singing with the Santa Fe Opera Company, who had lost her sight as a premature infant in need of an oxygen tent.  Other college friends, Dan and Dave – twin brothers, identical from their virtuosity as organists, composers and poets, to their wicked laughter and sparkling brown, blind eyes.  My dear friend Eric, a singer and songwriter, father of five 16-year-olds, whose advancing ALS confines his body to a wheelchair, his breath to a machine.  I have witnessed and sadly participated in those moments when the white cane, the wheelchair, even sweet Molly the guide dog have become barriers – preventing connections, inducing awkward conversations – objects that stand in for the person we do not see.  When I’m awake and out of the way, I can see tenacity and wit, beauty and bravery, joy and risk and wisdom and imagination: the strong foundation of ordinary lives that has helped support extraordinary circumstances. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked Bartimaeus. Wasn’t it obvious?  The man was blind – why would Jesus even have to ask?  Of course he wanted his sight back.  What else would he want?

But Jesus doesn’t assume that.  Yes, the man had a disability, but he was still a force to be reckoned with, capable of defying anxious friends, who just wanted him to sit down and shut up already.  Capable of “springing up,” tossing his cloak aside and making his way toward the healer.  Try “springing up” with your eyes closed sometime; moving around in darkness is a scary business for most of us.

So yes, he was blind and a beggar.  But he still had a life in his community, and he still had spirit and initiative.  He could have wanted to talk to Jesus about any number of things.  Jesus interacted with the whole person, not just the handicap.

None of us can be fully understood in terms of only one of our attributes.  We are all more than even our most visible weakness, just as we are all less than the sum of our strengths.  And our fellowship with one another is as whole people, not as walking maladies.  When I am awake and out of the way, I recognize that Bartimaeus hints at a life of the mind and spirit we know nothing about.  He already knows who Jesus is.  “My teacher,” he calls Jesus, whom – presumably – he has never met, as if he were already part of his band.  He’s a seasoned traveler on the path to fulfillment while many of us have relegated him to begging at the side of the road.

"What did you go out to see?" Jesus asked the crowds in another gospel narrative, in reference to a popular desert pilgrimage to John the Baptist. They expected a monarch, but God sent a monk.  Jesus’ disciples had to be taught how to see.  They saw a prostitute groveling at Jesus’ feet; Jesus saw a servant preparing his body for burial.  They saw threatening alien forces teaching in Jesus’ name; Jesus saw more hands for the harvest. Jesus saw a woman giving two coins, illustrating the mysterious generosity of Kingdom economics; the disciples would not have seen anything at all if Jesus had not pointed her out. 

What do you want me to do for you?  Jesus asks me, asks you.  Perhaps our answer echoes Bartimaeus: “My teacher, I want to regain my sight.”  We need to learn to see the unexpected and unlearn our compulsion to see the expectable, reducing people and possibilities to our limited view.  I go to the theater.  You call a friend.  We come to this place. What do we go out to see?  Are we awake and out of the way to all that our loving God will reveal?"

After prayer, we gathered for coffee and conversation!

Please consider joining us next week, Wednesday, November 4th in our effort to build a community of faith and justice. We welcome you and your friends. Dinner is at 6:30 PM, prayer at 7:15 PM.

If you'd like to be on the weekly email, please contact us at mail@faithjustice.org. Simply include your name and email address and you'll be all set. Hope to see you soon!