ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 30, 2022
Father Richard Rohr, the wonderful Franciscan Friar, offered some challenging words that made me wonderfully uncomfortable. He wrote,
It is safe to say that there is confusion about what is needed for life and what is really important for life. The vast majority of American stores seem to be selling wants not needs. What we now call needs were formerly wants, and they have moved to such a level of sophistication that now luxuries are “necessities” for many of us.
In this season of Advent, we are provided an opportunity to reflect, reevaluate and rearrange our priorities. Jesus said to his followers, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33). Right now, I am thinking of what is communicated about the Kingdom of God when we declare God was born in the form of a child, born to a poor, unmarried couple in a country occupied by a powerful Empire. What is our takeaway in regard to God’s Kingdom that we are invited to seek with all of who we are? Where are our priorities skewed and in need of some realignment so as to reflect the Kingdom revealed in the powerless of an infant? Wrestle with that for a few days…
I seek to align who I am with your holy vision enfleshed in a child. God of the Universe, you have chosen to do more than come close; you have chosen to seek solidarity with us; you have chosen to reveal how you are for us and not against us. May I seek you in my daily life, seeking to represent who you are in the values and priorities of my life. Amen.
