I hear you, Jesus, and I’m all in!
BY JOCELYN SIDECO | July 31, 2017
Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Sunday’s Readings
[Editor’s note: As Lent wound down in April of this year, ISN began hearing from subscribers to our Lenten series, Rise Up: A Lenten Call to Solidarity. Some were personally lamenting the end of the series, some shared that their intentional or religious communities had used the series as a guide for their shared prayer throughout Lent.
Voices continued to chime in that the reflections on “rising up” to injustice were something greatly needed year-round in the Jesuit network and beyond, particularly in light of the turbulent realities of our present world. The Ignatian Solidarity Network is responding—beginning today, on the Feast of St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), reflections on each Sunday’s readings will be delivered via email and social media each Monday morning—inviting readers to ask at the beginning of the week: how do we rise up to address injustice?
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“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”
Scribes were well versed in the law and often knew it inside and out. Maybe Jesus is talking to us not just as disciples but as people “well-versed” in faith and justice.
So, listen up folks! We have been instructed in the kingdom of heaven. Now, we are to be like the head of a household who brings from her storeroom both the new and the old.
The life of St. Ignatius, Holy Trinity Church in Johannesburg, South Africa
On this Feast of St. Ignatius I find myself in Cape Town, South Africa finishing a long-desired visit with friends.
My Ignatian pride got the best of me: “I know this about Apartheid, I know that about Mandela” I kept chanting as my friends kindly listened to me drone on and on about their experience. Even my questions came laced with American context that invaded the reality of South African life that blurred what I heard from with what I wanted or expected to hear.
So I took a step back and found the simple strategy of listening to get me back to the present. There was much joy when I sat, listened to my friends’ experiences and listened to their perspectives.
This is our invitation: to grow in wisdom as people of faith in one another and find the joy of the treasure that God has buried in one another. When we find that joy, we must be like the head of the household and bring both the new experience and the old desire together so that God’s kin-dom will be right here, right now with our help.
Jocelyn A. Sideco is a retreat leader, spiritual director and innovative minister who specializes in mission-centered ministry. She directs the Community Service and Social Justice office at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, Calif., prays at St. Agnes Church, blogs for NCRonline.org, and consults with organizations like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Visit her online ecumenical ministry, In Good Company, at ingoodcompany.net.co or email her at [email protected].
I am reflecting on the differences between being “well-versed” vs. being “well-immersed.” Well versed to me rings as a very cerebral state, having attained a bulk of knowledge that sits somewhere in side until a moment presents for sharing. I wonder if we are not called further to be “well-immersed.” In the kingdom, well-immersed in the present, well-immersed in the experience of the who, when and where of any moment.
Yes, step back and make space for others and their expierences. Thank you for this sharing and reminding.
Too many listen only to respond and fail to listen to truly hear. It’s only in listening to hear will we hear God’s still small voice; both from God Himself, meeting Christ in one-another and discern the will of God through the Holy Spirit.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola – Pray for us.