Beautiful Feet

Last weekend I helped out at St. John Paul II Parish in Milwaukee. Since October 22 is his feast day, there were special readings for the weekend.   

The first reading was from Isaiah 52:7-10. The first sentence says: “How beautiful the feet…of those who bring good news.” It was an appropriate text for St. John Paul II, who brought good news to 129 countries and to many groups of people over the years of his Papacy. In that sense he had very beautiful feet. 

Do you have beautiful feet?

My friend, Carlos, is a great travel companion.  But sometimes I accuse him of having stinky feet. (That’s not really true…but I like to tease him.)  The truth is, he is a wonderful person who has a way of picking people up when their spirits are down.  When he visits people like that, he brings them good news.  So even his ‘stinky feet’ are beautiful!

Look at your feet. Where do they take you?  To the store or to work so you can buy food for your family? To the neighbor who lives alone? To church with canned goods for the poor? To your parents or children who need a hug?  How beautiful are your feet?

                                   Persistence, Monologue and the Rear View Mirror

Jesus tells us to pray always…and not grow weary. (Lk 18:1)  The idea is to be persistent in prayer.  Does that mean we should pester God for what we want?  I used to think so.  But now I think persistence is faithfully praying over the long haul of life.   

For years I spent my prayer time asking God for favors and forgiveness and saying an occasional ‘Thanks God’.  But three years ago my prayer took a sharp turn. I read an article reminding me that prayer is a conversation with God.  That stopped me in my tracks.  My prayer had always been a monologue.  I did all the talking.

I wondered what God would tell me if I tried to listen.  So I looked in the rear view mirror of my life and then I heard God’s voice. He said: “Ron, I’m your companion on the journey…I’m your good shepherd…and I’m your best friend.”  I’m so glad I finally listened.

Have you been persistent in prayer over the long haul of your life?  How has your prayer changed over the years?  Has your prayer been more of a monologue than a dialogue?  What has God been saying to you? 

                                                                    Shared Misery

Verna Holyhead writes about the 10 lepers who were cured.  She says: “Shared misery enables people to cross boundaries.” She notes that one of the 10 was a Samaritan…very bitter enemies of Jews. So the shared misery of leprosy freed him to cross religious boundaries.                        

Our tour group in China was small.  So we knew each other well.  Two people were strong evangelicals. They repeatedly warned us: “You can only be saved if you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior”. We Catholics see it differently.    

It was uncomfortable talking to them.  So we didn’t spend much time together. 

The last day we visited the Great Wall.  It was a long uphill climb.  I rested at the top.  And guess what?  Mike, one of the evangelicals, appeared.  He was winded. So I asked him to sit with me. For half an hour we talked about aging and what lies ahead for us.  Good conversation. No preaching. Our shared misery was…two pooped old men!

Remember: To cross the boundary from heaven to earth, Jesus shared our misery of sin and sorrow.

Can you think of a time when a shared misery enabled you to cross a boundary?

                                                                  The Debates

During our trip to China we visited a Buddhist Monastery in Lhasa Tibet. It has  600 monks!  We attended their weekly debate.  It took place in their courtyard.  Most of the monks were seated on mats under the shade of beautiful trees.  One of them presented a topic to 2 elders who sat in honored places and were clearly well regarded. 

The presenting monk quoted a variety of Buddhist masters on the subject.  Then, using interesting hand gestures, he asked the elders for their opinion. In response, the elders quoted other masters, which weren’t mentioned by the presenter.  This method of debating helps younger monks grow in knowledge and deepens the insights of the elders.      

How unlike our political debates! The monks have no desire to put each other down nor to win or lose. They simply want to better understand an issue and grow in wisdom.     

Makes me think about some conversations which become debates and then turn into arguments.  Arguments which I want to win!!  Does that happen to you?  Why does that happen?  Why is winning and losing so important to us?