Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy: The Three Wise Men (named Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar). Detail from: “Mary and Child, surrounded by angels”, mosaic of a Ravennate italian-byzantine workshop, completed within 526 AD by the so-called Master of Sant’Apollinare
By Nina-no (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons
[The magi] saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Matthew 2:11
![Jan Luyken (1649-1712) Bowyer Bible, Bolton, England By Phillip Mehurst (Photo by Harry Kossuth) [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons](https://maryannmcsweeny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/teachings_of_jesus_22_of_40-_works_of_mercy-_taking_in_the_stranger-_jan_luyken_etching-_bowyer_bible.gif?w=300&h=227)
Jan Luyken (1649-1712)
Welcome the Stranger
Bowyer Bible, Bolton, England
By Phillip Mehurst (Photo by Harry Kossuth) [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons
It’s not always convenient to be mindful of others, especially those who need my attention, help, energy, money, talents.
Convenience is not the calling of a follower of Jesus. Love is.
![JESUS MAFA. Parable of the Three Servants, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48297 [retrieved November 16, 2014].](https://maryannmcsweeny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/mafa028-large.jpg?w=343&h=229)
JESUS MAFA. Parable of the Three Servants, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48297 [retrieved November 16, 2014].
Today I will not bury myself in busy-ness out of fear of loneliness.
I will not surround myself with the noise of the world out of fear of the silence of God.
I will not let fear, indifference, or fatigue prevent me from growing rich in kindness, compassion, and encouragement, peace, and love.
The Shepherd’s Love, 2010
Opera di Pirografia su legno di pioppo
By StefyMante (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
When I am in doubt about how to act, how to speak, how to relate to people, all people, my family, friends, colleagues, strangers, foreigners, people who look different from me, who think differently, who believe differently, let Love be my prompter.
When I am in doubt about who I am and what I am doing here, let Love open my heart to the Truth that I am the beloved of God, that you are the beloved of God, that we are the reflection of God’s love to each other and to the whole world.
When I hover between the choice to love or not to love, let Love remind me I was made in love and for love. I am entwined with the One who loved me into being.
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Good Samaritan, ca.1655-1660
pen and brown ink and white paint on paper
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
via Wikimedia Commons
[Jesus] said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
Matthew 22:21
As I move through today, let me repay to God forgiveness. I will make a conscious effort to let go of resentment and hard feelings, and to accept others as they are without wishing them to be different.
Let me repay to God healing. I will make a conscious effort to speak and act respectfully, to offer encouragement to others, and to admit when I am wrong.
Let me repay to God generosity. I will make a conscious effort to help someone in material, physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual need.
Let me repay to God nonviolence. I will make a conscious effort to choose peace over conflict, deep within my being and in all my interactions with others.
Let me repay to God compassion. I will make a conscious effort to offer my prayers and support to those who are suffering from the effects of war and life-threatening illness.
Let me repay to God love. I will make a conscious effort to live without fear, to refuse to be a victim, to reject self-pity, to welcome all people as my sisters and brothers in God, and to bring the hope of God’s vision of unconditional, all-encompassing love wherever I go.
JESUS MAFA. The poor invited to the feast,
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library,
Nashville, TN.
[retrieved October 12, 2014].
Each day God invites me to the marriage of
peace and nonviolence
acceptance and nonjudgment
mercy and forgiveness
love and compassion
joy and gratitude.
Sometimes I think I am too busy to attend. Just for today, however, I will accept God’s invitation with a thankful heart.
Speculum Humanae Salvationis, Westfalen oder Köln, um 1360 Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable…
Finally, [the landowner] sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.'” Matthew 21:37
What kind of God keeps on sending gifts into our lives?
A God who expects us to accept the gift of love and love others. A God who expects us to accept the gift of forgiveness and forgive others. A God who expects us to accept the gift of compassion and give comfort to those who are suffering. A God who expects us to accept the gift of nonviolence and find peaceful solutions to conflict.
A God who trusts us.
![JESUS MAFA. The Late-arriving Workers, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48296 [retrieved September 21, 2014].](https://maryannmcsweeny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mafa027-medium.jpg?w=320&h=212)
JESUS MAFA. The Late-arriving Workers, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48296 [retrieved September 21, 2014].
This is the only expectation that won’t disappoint me:
God will love and welcome me whenever I show up—early or late.
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
Christ and Nicodemus
pen and wash, between 1621 and 1669
via Wikimedia Commons
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
[Jesus said to his disciples:] “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20
I owe you nothing except to extend to you the love of Jesus—the compassion, forgiveness, and comfort of God. I owe you nothing except to respect you and treat you the way I would like to be treated. I owe you nothing except to accept you just as you are in this moment and show you kindness and courtesy.
If I bring Jesus with me wherever I go, I am with you in Love and we are in the presence of Love.
Matthew 16:21-27
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
[Jesus] turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Matthew 16:23
When my thoughts flurry and squall, I hope God thinks calmly, without hurry, in an orderly and harmonious fashion.
When my thoughts descend into despair about the heartaches and violence in our world, I hope God thinks healing into the grief and peace into the unrest.
When my thoughts dwell on what’s wrong with me, I hope God thinks I’m loveable and precious and right where I’m supposed to be.
Mary Ann McSweeny 
