Dear Friends,

Thirty-six of us gathered on the Margaret and Gerold Redig Family Farm yesterday for a mass to celebrate Mary of Magdala, woman prophet and priest and all of us women and men, but especially women and to call on our Church to act as our brother Jesus did,  uplifting the God-given gifts of women and finally, finally, ordain them!  

Our mass was followed by a sumptuous pot-luck supper. We had a beautiful afternoon and evening. We missed all of us who couldn’t be with us! Following is the homily–have a great week all–Pastor Kathy

The last few Sundays the Scriptures have challenged us around the call to prophecy—the call that is ours as baptized followers of our brother, Jesus.  Those of you who are regular readers of my homilies know that I am an admirer of Benedictine sister, Joan Chittister as I feel she has taken up the challenge to be that prophet that Jesus asks us all to be.

And again, let’s review the definition of a prophet.  It is basically one who speaks the truth given by the Spirit for the People of God.  It won’t necessarily always be an easy thing to do; we may not want to do it—put ourselves out there on the line, but just the same; we are called to the task, even if we have to stand alone.

Today we celebrate the feast day of Mary of Magdala (actual feast is tomorrow).  We can be grateful to Pope Francis for raising her traditional day of remembrance, July 22^nd to a “feast,” so in effect, making it equivalent to the feast days of the other apostles.  It is significant to remember that the Eastern church has always throughout its history, along with Thomas Aquinas referred to her as the Apostle to the Apostles and the Western church only recently has given her this title, because of her prophetic proclamation to these same apostles, hiding in the Upper Room, that Jesus had indeed risen!

Given that her day of remembrance has now been raised to a feast day equivalent to the other apostles, I found it strange and equally significant that her feast day doesn’t supersede the 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time as it would if it were for one of the male apostles such as John or Peter.  But, at least here; we have remedied the situation giving Mary her due.

Sr. Joan Chittister recognizes the importance of remembering this woman from the fishing town of Magdala by dedicating the entire month of July in her publication, The Monastic Way to Mary.  She names her as “insightful, effective, direct and committed.”  And she goes further, suggesting that all women should act more like her.

Now of course, the Church hierarchy wouldn’t be in favor of this because unfortunately, it chooses to see its women as docile servants whose words should merely parrot the men who are in charge of what we believe. If this were not so, women would hold significant places within our Church alongside the men, sharing the gifts of the Spirit given so richly to them as well as to the men.

We only have to look at the evidence in Scripture that shows that Jesus truly considered women very important to his ministry that was all about “turning things on their heads”—calling for a new way, a way that included everyone, especially women who were his financiers, supporters and faithful followers.  And this inclusion did not stop at the table of worship, but was carried over into everyday life unlike the place that women held in Jesus’ day.  Jesus was about raising up the goodness of all, calling each one by name—recognizing their goodness as individuals, and especially of women, not because they were someone’s mother, wife or sister, but for their own personal characteristics.

Mary of Magdala was one of these whom Jesus realized was most important to his ministry because, as Joan Chittister says, “She recognized, as the men did not, that Jesus was a very different kind of person. Someone with something important to say— someone whose message was different, life-changing, was imperative—[crucial, that is] and was greater than anything heard before within the confines of Galilee, Palestine, even of Rome.”

The chosen readings for today raise up the importance given to women in Jesus’ ministry and throughout his earthly life.   Paul carries on his tradition of recognizing women’s talents to lead house churches and to be of spiritual and material support. If Jesus didn’t believe women capable, trustworthy, competent, he never would have sent our sister from Magdala with the awesome news of the Resurrection to the brothers in the Upper Room.

If Mary of Magdala was unskilled as a minister; she wouldn’t be mentioned in Scripture 14 times, which Joan Chittister says, “Is pretty big press for a woman from Palestine 2000 years ago!”  In the male apostles’ heart of hearts, Joan seems to be saying; they too knew of her importance to Jesus’ ministry, whether they would ever give her credit or not, for she got his message long before they did.  Sr. Joan continues, and once she got that message, [which can be summed up in love, love for all,] she was steadfast in remaining by his side all the way to the cross.

So, my friends, today is not a day to say who are better ministers, followers, women, or men, but to raise up the goodness of all and to encourage the voices of especially, women in Church and society, judging the rightness of the ministry, the work of women by the fruits displayed.  Joan Chittister has said it before and I agree, it is time, it is time, for our brothers in the hierarchy of the Catholic church to remember and to truly hear the message of Jesus given so long ago, but ever fresh today, that the call to serve was never about gaining power over others, but about service, about love, and any thinking, compassionate, loving person, regardless of gender can do that!

Jesus demonstrated that in his own blessed life on this earth and wanted us to do the same.  And the reason for doing this was not just to make our places and times of prayer more inclusive, but our homes and towns and cities and countries—our world, more inclusive.  What we do in our houses of prayer will most assuredly spill over into our daily lives—if women are disregarded anywhere because of the way they happened to have been born; they will be disregarded everywhere! It’s as simple as that!

That is why we celebrate the feast day of Mary of Magdala each year friends and why it is more important than the 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We must say, in no uncertain terms that she was significant to his ministry as are all women, as are all men and it is time that our Church recognizes this as well and ordains women to the priesthood.

In the beginning I shared that Sr. Joan encourages all women to be more like Mary of Magdala and I would agree.  We can be silent no longer—we need to do this for our grandmothers, our mothers, and our sisters, who perhaps never knew their true voices or were able to be completely who God made them to be.  And for myself, I would say that all the men need to become more like Jesus and speak and act out the truth they know about the women in their lives so that their daughters can live in a Church and a world that truly looks first at who and what they are capable of, not their gender and proceed to discount them or at least try to tell them what they can aspire to.  The time is now for all of us friends—the time is now! Amen? Amen!

Dear Friends, 

I was away this Sunday and Pastor Dick Dahl stood in for me–he has given us a wonderful homily!  Thank you Dick! –Pastor Kathy

I want to speak with you about three interrelated issues. The first relates is what Pastor Kathy said last week. She spoke of our needing to have hope, but the reason for that hope is, in her words, “so that we can do what God is calling us to in our lives as Christians.”

So the first issue is do you have a sense of “being called”? It is common to think of a vocation, that is, being called to a way of life, when a person is young, a teenager or in their 20s. Do you think that a vocation, a calling, only happens when one is young? Or does the Spirit speak to us, call us, at different times in our life, in the differing circumstances in which we find ourselves—such as right now? It’s not necessarily something we want or choose. It is a calling of the Spirit that we become aware of, recognize, accept and respond to.

This week’s first reading describes a man named  Amos who lived in the 700s before Christ. Amos kept insisting he wasn’t called to be a prophet. He said he was just a man who cared for livestock and orchards. Nevertheless Yahweh called him to prophesy in the northern Kingdom of Israel. That was where the poorer classes of peasants suffered greatly under the unjust treatment of the ruling and elite classes who lived lives of leisure and luxury.

Amos responded to this dangerous and unpleasant calling—to speak truth to power. Five times Amos repeated Yahweh’s warning to the King. He so infuriated the authorities as he repeatedly pointed out how they would be punished for abusing the poor and helpless, that the priest at the holy site of Bethel, where Amos preached, kicked him out. Those in power never listened. The Assyrians came, conquered the land and scattered the people in exile.

The first theme: are we being called as Amos was, or does that seem preposterous?

The second theme today also stems from something Pastor Kathy said last week, namely, “In our present time,” she said, “I believe it is true to say that many of us feel disillusioned over where our country seems headed and ill-equipped to do what is needed to make the changes that will fix this dilemma.” Are we, perhaps like Amos, feeling powerless to bring about the changes that seem necessary?

Let’s reflect on what it means to feel or be powerless. Father Richard Rohr writes, “Christianity is a bit embarrassed by the powerless one, Jesus. We’ve made his obvious defeat into a glorious victory. Let’s face it, we feel more comfortable with power than with powerlessness and poverty. Who wants to be like Jesus on the cross? It just doesn’t look like … a way that’s going to make any difference in the world. We worship this naked, homeless, bleeding loser, crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, but we want to be winners . . ..”

Paul told the Christians at Corinth, “God chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” In another letter to them he described how he came to accept, “When I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.”

Now we have come to today’s third theme—politics. Separation of church and state is important to safeguard freedom of religion and ensure that governments are not dominated by a single religion’s interests. But Father Rohr insists that does not mean people of faith should not participate in politics. How, he asks,  can one read the Bible and stay out of politics? Again and again (approximately 2,000 times!) Scripture calls for justice for the poor. The Gospel is rather “socialist” in its emphasis on sharing resources and caring for those in need.

Father Rohr strong states that there is no such thing as being non-political. Everything we say or do either affirms or critiques the status quo. To say nothing is to say something — in other words that the status quo—even if it is massively unjust and deceitful—is apparently okay. The silence of many Christians is used to legitimize the United States’ obsession with weapons, its war against the poor, Israel’s clear abuse of Palestine, politicians who are “pro-life” on the issue of abortion but almost nothing else, the de facto slavery of mass incarceration, and on and on. As humans we can’t help but be political whether we recognize it or not—so let’s learn how to participate in the public forum as God’s image and likeness!

Like it or not, politics (civic engagement) is one of our primary means of addressing poverty and other justice issues. Our knowledge of the power wielded by big money can accelerate our retreat from politics, discouraging us from being the participants that democracy demands and reducing us to mere spectators of a political game being played exclusively by “them.”

Bill Moyers has said, “The antidote, the only antidote, to the power of organized money in Washington is the power of organized people.” We must bring as much passion to our cause as do those who call for building walls. But our job is to tear down walls and build bridges. We have the capacity to grow beyond ego and nationalism into a new identity, one that holds space for everyone to belong and be loved.”

However, this doesn’t mean partisan politics.  To be a faith leader is to connect the inner and outer worlds. In the United States’ not-so-distant-past, Christians were at the forefront of political and justice movements to abolish slavery, support women’s suffrage, protect civil rights.

Jesus and other great spiritual teachers emphasize that we must first seek transformation by the Spirit of love to use the gift of critical thinking without immersing ourselves in negativity and arrogance. We must learn to collaborate in a non-partisan way. We must avoid idolizing anything that preserves our own privilege and status quo, while neglecting to ask, “What effect is this having on others?”

The Apostles in today’s Gospel were called to put into action the powers and authority Jesus had given them. We are called to do the same.

My friends, our readings this week speak to us about hope.  We need to have hope so that we can do what God is calling us to in our lives as Christians. In our present time, I believe it is true to say that many of us feel disillusioned over where our country seems headed and ill-equipped to do what is needed to make the changes that will fix this dilemma.

The psalmist today seems to be saying that we have to keep our eyes on our loving God, and for us, that is Jesus, in order that we can know our path and what our life will mean as believers, as his followers.

We have the short, but very powerful reading from the prophet Ezekiel today that at first glance appears to tell us little, but upon a second look; we get the kernel of hope we so often need when trying to do God’s work among seemingly stubborn people, as Ezekiel encountered. God says, “Whether they listen or not—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”   A good question for us to consider this week might be—do I see myself as a prophet?

Sometimes I think many of us believe that being a prophet is a thing of the past—we think of a few “greats” like, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, Mary, his mother and Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles. But, truly friends, the Spirit is continually renewing the face of the earth and each of us is called to the prophet role by nature of our baptisms, to speak truth as we are given it for the good of all. Much in our present day needs the words of the prophet, in each of us, I think you would agree.  And with God’s grace, the prophet that is in us and others will be willing to share the Spirit’s message too!

The Spirit is always about wanting to assist us in speaking her truth. She may sneak up on us, giving us strength we didn’t know that we had. Think about this—have you ever been compelled to say something in the face of a present evil that no one was addressing, and once you said it, you wondered, how you were able to stand up and say what you did?  Well my friends, that was the Spirit!  We must come to humbly accept and appreciate the Spirit of Jesus wanting to renew the face of the earth through us! And if we don’t do our part, there will be a part missing!

I had several opportunities this week to do good in regard to others and I could simply look at these good things that I chose to do, and make nothing of them or I could see them as the prompting of Jesus, in his Spirit to do what he would have done. The ordinary, the everyday, my friends, that is how our God works the good into our lives, makes our lives meaningful and the life of the person we reached out to, meaningful as well!  And when we can make these connections, humbly, that God is working through us, we receive the hope we so need in times of trial.

We see Paul struggling with what it means to be a prophet too, even though he doesn’t claim this distinction for himself. He is simply trying to be a true follower of his brother, Jesus.  He lives with some sort of affliction that he prays God will take away only to hear, “my grace is sufficient for you.”  And as Paul lives out his call—his life in Christ, he comes to be able to proclaim, “When I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.”  We could well take up his thought in our daily trials as well.  “When I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.”

If life were always easy—no worries, no hardships; we might become arrogant or think as some do, that we did it all ourselves. Our sufferings, what seems to be part of our physical life here, help us to recognize what others bear with in their lives and enable us to empathize with them and show compassion.

This past week, David Brooks, who writes as a conservative, political commentator for the New York Times, gave a talk, that I heard on public radio, to a group I can’t remember, but for my purposes here, I simply give him credit for uplifting an idea much needed today.  He spoke of times past when the idea of “community” was much more prevalent in this country—that of knowing our neighbors, partaking in their lives and they in ours, rather than living separately and as individuals, or within our own little families.

It is this kind of individualism that raises suspicion of newcomers to this country and it is simply because we don’t care to know them or their stories.  If we did, as a nation, we would see them as part of ourselves, struggling as we are, or once did, for a better life.  All of us are part of the family of our good God—not something to be taken lightly.

I believe each of us can point to times in our lives when we did the right thing against all odds and felt strength beyond ourselves.  Likewise, we have all had experiences when we felt the task was more than we could do, but something compelled us just the same.

At these moments we should look to Jesus, our model, our brother, our friend, because even Jesus, God’s First Born was not without scorn—the people he would have thought he could have expected support from, turned away or at least didn’t understand—his neighbors and perhaps some of his family members.  His example is a great comfort to me in my times of rejection and I hope is to you as well.

It is perhaps a good meditation to think about and pray over, of just what it was like for Jesus to be rejected in his own home town.  His human nature had to have experienced the pain of that rejection.  On the one hand, “their lack of faith astounded Jesus,” the Scriptures tell us.  His thoughts might have ran something like—“Can you not look at the fruit—see that what I am doing is for the good of people? Can you not see that we must strive to see that all of God’s creatures have the good things of this earth—that all are free, accepted and loved for who they are?”   This train of thought is experienced often by me and other women priests—“check the fruits,” we find ourselves saying too, and then perhaps you won’t be so ready to condemn. For even Jesus said, “If they aren’t against us, then they are for us!

And on an even deeper level, he must have felt their rejection of him—of his person—of his truth and of the reason he laid his life out for them in the first place.  Because it wasn’t about his personal need to be the messiah or his desire for power, even though, in his humanity, those temptations were no doubt real as in our own lives. We have to struggle as did he with the right reasons for our decisions—is it about me or a greater good? And this kind of reflection is so very important so as to gain strength, like our brother, Jesus, to do the right thing now, in our time!

I think sometimes in remembering that Jesus was and is God, we forget or don’t give enough attention to the fact that he was also human, fully so.  This mystery of Jesus’ divine and human natures somehow existing in tandem, can be a bit to get our heads around, but we have these same natures too, that of humanity and of God, and when we are truly human— in our best selves, as God created us; we are most like God.

So, we come back to hope.  We see in the lives of the prophets, like Ezekiel this week, like Paul, like Jesus, and we think of others like Mary, his mother, Mary of Magdala, his friend—prophets all, taking on the tasks of priesthood, discipleship and servant hood—tasks that each of us are called to as well, by the simple fact that we name ourselves “Christian.”  How many of us miss the work of God all around us in the goodness of daily and random acts of kindness done for us, for others—the challenges we are called to—to do likewise?

Jesus found a lack of faith, a bit of mean-spiritedness even, an inability to believe the best—to see the miracle that love gives birth to. We should pray that our faith would be strong, with the clear knowledge that “God’s grace is sufficient” and therefore allow the miracles to unfold in our lives through the Spirit of Jesus for the People of God.

What will the miracles be?  Which ones will we become aware of?  May our eyes be open to all the good around us—miracles all!  Amen?  Amen!