Called to Remove Our Sandals
Dear Friend,
Last Saturday morning at our parish Synod gathering, the conversations were very lively as we discussed the topics and issues in response to the questions of where we are now as Church and where the Spirit is calling us. Donna and Michael Rubio, along with Madeline Sten, put in many hours of preparation and I am ever grateful to them for their work. Fran Miller and Daniela Daoud coordinated hospitality and what a great gift that was!
In terms of this week’s Gospel, I see the Synod project as an act of hope, comparable to planting and nurturing a fig tree in the midst of challenging circumstances and a severe climate. Our Lenten readings for this Sunday make it clear that the disturbing backdrop for the planting touch with our vulnerability.
In a reflection this week, our Dominican brother, Father Jude Siciliano, gets right to it as he highlights Moses’ call and the famous words from God to Moses in the Book of Exodus:
“I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering…”
He points to the suffering of the people of Ukraine now in the grip of horrendous violence and writes:
“The Moses story tells us that God is not an idle spectator to so much suffering….God may be the very source behind humanitarian aid rushing to the refugees…
“We are like Moses. We have been about our usual jobs and daily tasks. Then God has called us to ‘remove our sandals’…God has a word to say to us as individuals and as a church. What are we, our clergy, the bishops, and our Pope hearing?” On our Synod journey can we hear the cry of the poor and the oppressed?
Gratefully,
Fr. Dan