3rd Lent-A’17
“Stop - Drop - Pray”
Fr. Jeff Nicolas
“Communication is the key.” How often do we hear this? Communication is the key, but truth be told most of us are not terribly great at it. No wonder there are so many communication self-help books on the shelves.
Did you know for example that in one-on-one conversations between people only 7% of what is communicated is actually the words that are said? 38% of the message is communicated by the tone used, and 55% of the message communicated is shared by body language! It’s a wonder we can communicate with one another at all.
Miscommunications surround us. Take these bloopers that have appeared in church bulletins:
“Thursday at 5pm there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be a Little Mother please meet the pastor in his study.”
“Tonight’s sermon: What is hell? Come early and listen to our choir practice.”
On a church kiosk: “Don’t let worry kill you off, let the church help.”
Miscommunications abound today just as they always have, even in Jesus’ day. This story of Jesus meeting the woman at Jacob’s well is chock full of miscommunications. Jesus says one thing and those talking with him hear another.
Jesus mentions living water and the woman thinks he talking about a creek.
Jesus mentions to the disciples having the food of doing the Father’s will and they think he’s talking about some takeout he got while they were away.
Miscommunications, our Gospel is full of them. The folks Jesus talks to just don’t get it; can’t get it. You see, he has yet to go to his cross, has yet to rise from the dead. Those folks don’t get it. But not so with us, we understand, and this is where things come to a head for anyone listening to this homily today.
Unlike the Samaritan woman and the disciples in today’s Gospel, we know how this story ends. We know Christ dies, rises from the dead, and will come again. We profess it each weekend… “When we eat this bread, and drink this cup, we proclaim your death O Lord, until you come again.”
We know Jesus Christ is the Messiah. We know Jesus offers us the living waters of a relationship with him. We know Jesus calls us to worship in spirit and in truth. We know all of this, yet, how do we live? Does our knowing this in our heads effect the way we are living our lives?
We hear today of the ancient Israelites who complain about God. Here they are, just set free from slavery by Yahweh, and yet almost immediately they turn their collective back on Him. Almost immediately their faith is shaken. Now, we can think to ourselves, “What is wrong with those people? How can they have forgotten God so quickly?” But are we much better?
Came across a St. Patrick’s Day story that may speak to this. Seems there was an accident at an Irish brewery over the weekend…
——————————————————————————————————————
Brenda O’Malley was at home as usual, making dinner, when Tim Finnegan arrived at her door.
“Brenda, may I come in?” he asks. “I’ve somethin’ to tell ya.”
“Of course you can come in, you’re always welcome, Tim, but where’s me husband, Seamus?” “That’s what I’m here to be tellin’ ya, Brenda. There was an accident down at the Guiness brewery…”
“O God, no!” cries Brenda. “Please don’t tell me…” “I must, Brenda. Seamus is dead and gone, I’m sorry.”
Brenda reached a hand out to her side, found the arm of the rocking chair by the fireplace, pulled the chair to herself and collapsed into it. She wept for many minutes. Finally she looked up at Tim, “Tell me, how did it happen Tim?”
“T’was terrible, Brenda. He fell into a vat of Guiness Stout and drowned.”
“O dear Jesus! But you must tell me true, Tim, did he at least go quickly?”
“Well, no Brenda. I’m sorry too say, it wasn’t quick at all.”
“Oh dear Lord,” said Brenda, “me poor Seamus!”
“Aye,” said Tim, “fact is he got out three times to pee.”
——————————————————————————————————————
It’s a funny story, but are we not just like it? Christ in his mercy plucks us out of our vat of sin time and time again; yet we keep climbing back in! Why?
There is only one reason I can think of, our desire for God is not as great as our desire for the sin. On the scale of things, in the immediacy of the moment, our desire for whatever pleasure or advantage any given sin promises outweighs the desire we have for God.
Want to change that? Want to stay our of the vat? Want to really turn away from sin this Lent and be faithful to the Gospel? Then try this… STOP - DROP - and PRAY.
STOP circling around your prayer as if it is just one in a thousand bullets on a loaded to-do list. Make praying your one thing necessary.
DROP the justifications and excuses that get held up in defense of putting off seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord today. Make now the time to go deep.
and PRAY!! Don’t just think about God. Don’t just rattle off a shopping list of wishes, hopes, or demands. Be with God. Ask to know His will for you. Waste time simply listening for Him.
This afternoon at 3 o’clock, at St. Albert the Great parish, several of our area priests will be gathered to forgive sins, myself included. What a wonderful opportunity to put into practice our STOP - DROP - and PRAY.
STOP circling around your need to hear out-loud the words of Christ, “I absolve you of these and all your sins, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
DROP the justifications and excuses that have kept you away from this sacramental gift of mercy.
And PRAY that this time we will each really hear Jesus’ words in the depth of our hearts, “I Love You!” (Not the “you” you present to the world; not the “you” you wish you could be; but the real YOU I created and died to save.)
Then we can experience what St. Paul wrote to the Romans… “our hope will not disappoint for the love of God will be poured out into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free