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Baptism of the Lord

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Matthew 3:13-17

 John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River when Jesus showed up and asked John to baptize him.  John objected and said: “I should be baptized by you!”  A friendly argument ensued when Jesus said, “just allow it for now.”  Don’t forget, John and Jesus were related and were about the same age.  They grew up together and played together, so they were familiar with each other.

“But when Jesus came up from the water, the heavens were opened for him and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Jesus.  And a voice came from the heavens saying, ‘This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.’”

I can personally relate to this affirmation of Jesus by his Father.  When I was 12 years old, I was in my cellar quietly painting our furnace and listening to the Red Sox.  (The furnace was supposed to be painted two shades of green and I painted it gray and black.  That’s when I found out I was color blind.).  From the cellar window I could see my father’s legs along with our neighbor’s, Val.  They were sitting on the front steps of our porch.  I turned off the Red Sox game to better eavesdrop on their conversation.  They were planning a fishing trip to a local lake.  The neighbor asked my dad, “Are you planning to bring your oldest son?”  “Yes,” he said.  “Are you?”  “No,” Val answered, “My son doesn’t like fishing and he can be a pain in the neck.  Maybe we could just go the two of us?”  “No,” replied my father “my son is coming.  He loves fishing and he’s helpful around the house and he has good grades in school.”  (I loved being with my dad more than I loved fishing, but my dad didn’t know that.)  My father was proud of me and he was bragging about me.  I never forgot it.  His words to our neighbor now sound like “this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”

We all have moments in our lives when we’re not sure of ourselves.  At one time or another we all need to be reassured.  I hope that you’ve experienced moments when someone in your life cycle affirmed you like, “I couldn’t ask for a better daughter.” “I couldn’t ask for a better son!”  “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”  This statement sounds very much like:

“I am so proud of you!” when you graduated from high school or college.
“I’m so happy for you” when you got married.
“Wow a new grandchild.  Thanks so much.”
“You’re the best friend I could ever have.”
“What would I do without you?”
“Thank God you’re around.” 

My son and my daughter are adults now and on their own.  But every conversation we have, in person or on the phone, is always punctuated with, “Bye Dad, I love you!”  I never take it for granted and I’d be very disappointed if I didn’t hear it! 

When God can’t be everywhere at once, He created mothers and fathers and best friends and siblings and children and grandchildren and special aunts and uncles who are not even related to us.  All these special people can remind us of how special we are to someone. 

Much of our work in healthcare is focused on helping patients through serious illnesses.  That’s called “curing.”  But our personal attention to patients can make them feel special and worthy.  That’s called “healing.”  Curing is not always guaranteed, but healing is always in our power and somehow patients instinctively feel that. 

The next time someone affirms you, please pay attention to the comment, accept it, appreciate it, and especially don’t forget it.  I never forgot when my dad included me in his fishing plans (that was 63 years ago).  I’ll bet that Jesus never forgot “this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Matthew 3:1-12

The prophet Isaiah had announced him, John the Baptist: “A voice of one crying in the desert… Prepare the Way of the Lord! Make straight his paths. Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

At best, John the Baptist was an original character. At worst, he was a weirdo. It is said of him: “He wore clothing of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts (bugs) and wild honey.” And yet he was effective as he preached “the coming of the Kingdom.” He got people’s attention. Even the religious leaders, the Saducees and the Pharisees, sought his guidance. But John was tough on them. “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. It isn’t enough to have Abraham as your ancestor. You will be judged according to the good fruit you produce!”

“Good fruit?” What is John talking about? It isn’t very complicated. We’re all called to produce good fruit, like kindness, giving people hope, helping others, raising children, being good to our pets, caring for family members, being a willing taxi driver for our kids and their friends, etc. Producing good fruit is the ordinary, everyday response to our personal, professional, and family responsibilities. We don’t think much about it, but we usually give it our best. When we do our best with generous love, the fruit we produce is really sweet.

On November 1, 2010, we celebrated All Saints Day, which is the official recognition of day by day good fruits, the celebration of good people doing what we’re supposed to do. Nothing in the spiritual life is automatic. The Saducees and Pharisees thought, “all I need to do is to be baptized and I’ll be all set!” No one is ever once and for all “all set.”

As life develops and as we get older our circumstances change, but we still are called to produce good fruit. Once it was toward our children, now it’s our grandchildren and helping out our grown children. Our own children never outgrow the need for parents; in fact, many grow to bear good fruit themselves as they now help and assist their own parents meet their aging needs with diminished capabilities. It’s called life cycle. It’s called full circle living.

We work in a healthcare facility. We all have different jobs to do. We produce “good fruit” when we do our jobs well. We can be trained to be housekeepers or nurses or aides or doctors or case managers or secretaries or chaplains or food specialists or material managers or department heads. We produce good fruit when we perform our jobs with competence and when we live our lives according to our personalized spiritual convictions.

In Advent, we prepare the “way of the Lord” inside us. Jesus is already born and has been for 2000 years. During this Advent, we are celebrating Jesus being born in us. Together we can indeed bear very sweet fruit. 

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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Week of All Saints Day: November 1

Friday, November 5th, 2010

October 31, 2010

Matthew 5:1-12 (Beatitudes)

This week we celebrate my favorite feast: “All Saints Day!” On this day, we recognize all anonymous saints – all uncanonized and uncanonizeable good people. People who are part of our lives…the good people we know. On “All Saints Day”, I spend my day wishing good people “Happy Feast Day!” I get weird stares but this good wish is for real. Holiness is very familiar with diapers, dust, laundry, cooking, yard work, picnics, jobs, and vacations. Holiness is not necessarily found in church but in everyday activities.

I remember one time in a sermon I asked: “What is the opposite of a saint?” I waited for answers. The most frequent answer was “the opposite of a saint is a sinner.” “Nope,” I said, “Every saint is a forgiven sinner. For me, the opposite of a saint is a FLOP…someone who fails living. Someone whose life seems to amount to a hill of beans. Sounds like a flop to me!”

“What about me?” said a stay-at-home mom. Raising children is the opposite of a flop. You know what it takes to bring up children…how it never ends when they grow up and leave home. We still worry about them. We wish to help them. We welcome our grandchildren. Our children always remain the center of our caring. The act of raising children is the frequent cause of our holiness. It demands total other-centeredness. But when we are a parent being other-centered comes from our love of our kids. Other-centeredness is part of parenthood. Because it is so widespread doesn’t make it less heroic or less holy.

When we are born, we are born in God’s image. We already have God inside us. Growing up hopefully consists in becoming more aware of our basic goodness. In my spiritual journey, I was often encouraged to “open” myself up and let God in. Thereby, I could more conscientiously become a man of God. I often wondered why this directive never worked. Was it because “I didn’t get it?” Was it because I was so immature and distracted that I couldn’t stay still long enough to let God in? Oh, I believed that if I wasn’t a better person it was my fault. At this point in my life, I no longer think that. My spiritual mentors had it all backwards. I was not supposed to be still and let God in. I was supposed to be in contact with God in me to let God out! What a different point of view! God is already in me. I am the beloved of Abba. I have God’s life inside me. I am made in my Abba’s image. How can I be still and let God in when God is already in? Our lives would be more exciting and stimulating if we used our energies to let God out!

All Saints Day was Monday, November 1, 2010. From this All Saints Day on, take the resolution to spell God with two “o” so that you have before you and inside you the presence of Good to make you see in your children, your spouse, and you, the presence of Good. Take pleasure and dare to get excited that Good is alive and well in you and your family.

And in your work, in our health care facilities, make a point of letting God out to touch patients and to give them hope. That, to me, is the pure opposite of a FLOP.

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

Luke 16

September 26, 2010

Once upon a time, there was a rich man who dressed in very expensive clothes and lived a life of great luxury.  He was not mean or nasty, but he was rich and his riches bought him anything he wanted, including “leave-me-alone” peace! 

Once upon the same time, there was a poor man named Lazarus who was content to have leftovers from the rich man’s table.  The rich man did not seem to mind the presence of the poor man, Lazarus, but he clearly did not want to be bothered.  While the rich man ate alone, the poor man let the neighborhood dogs come and eat with him and lick his wounds.  The rich man liked and could pay for his privacy, while Lazarus could not afford privacy and interacted with the dogs.

The poor man died and the rich man died.  The poor man went to heaven where he was happy and not poor anymore.  The rich man went to “Hades” where he was in great pain.  The chasm between the rich man and the poor man remained between them after death.    The rich man finally got what he had always wanted “to be left alone!”

I am reminded of a book written by a Dutch priest, Fr. Henri Nouwen.  The title of the book is  “Gracias!” or “Thanks!”  Spending a year in South America, Fr. Nouwen stayed mostly with the poorest of the poor.  They were poor yet they were the happiest people he had ever met.  They gladly shared their meager belongings and it was clear to Fr. Henri that they had nothing but themselves and they clearly did not want to be “left alone.”  They were each others’ strength and companions in their journey through life.  They were so grateful for the little they had and could share — hence the title of his book, “Gracias,”  “Thanks.”  They changed Fr. Henri for good.

In today’s story of the rich man/poor man, the issue is not rich versus poor.  The issue is more about what you do with what you have.  The rich man could have bought and shared anything he wanted, but he preferred to invest in “leave-me-alone” peace.  The poor man had leftovers and crumbs, but he shared them with his friends, the dogs.  (I can under-stand the poor man…there are days that I prefer dogs to people too!)

We work in a healthcare facility, not because we want to be left alone, but because we wish to be of help to people who are sick and vulnerable.  We don’t share our riches.  We share ourselves, which is more valuable than bank accounts.  We might be poor financially, but we are rich in our persons and are caring in our services to others.

So the moral of this gospel is two-fold.

1.         Be careful what you wish for, you might get it!
2.         Be patient and hang in there…our good works towards others are seeds of a rich harvest which we will reap!

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

August 22, 2010

Luke 13:22-30

Today’s gospel reading focuses on the Kingdom of God and how to access it through the narrow door. We need to know, however, that the narrow door version is only one of several parables used to speak about the Kingdom. Here are a few more.

- Your riches are in heaven and your heart is where your riches are.
- Be watchful and always be ready because the Son of Man will come when you least expect him.
- A man gives a great feast but the invited guests are finding excuses not to come. So the host of this feast invites everyone available and the feast is a success.
- If you notice that you have a sheep missing from your flock, you go and look for it until you finally find it. Then you rejoice at having found it.
- A woman has lost some coins and will sweep the entire house until she finds the coins. Only then will there be rejoicing.
- Finally, there is the parable of the Prodigal Son . . . who leaves home to party and have a good time. When his money is all gone he realizes that he was much better off with his dad. So, he swallows his pride and comes back  
   home . . . limping. When his Abba sees him limping it’s the Abba who runs to great him. “It is you! I thought you were dead! But you’re alive and limping. Limping can be fixed but you’re alive and here!” The dad is so happy to
   see him that he throws a 3-day welcome home party. Notice the details here. It’s the father who does the running to greet his son and he never asks questions about where he’s been or what he’s done!

All these parables on the Kingdom show that the Kingdom happens when the son who was lost is found…and the Abba’s joy is high.

Somewhere, sometime in the past, we were taught that when we sin God turns His back on us until we repent. It’s as if we’re not good enough for God’s love. God’s love does not depend on us; it depends on God. God loves us, warts and sins and all! God’s sorrow lies in our refusal to approach Him when we have sinned or failed. Henri Nouwen said: “The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or too much money. But the greatest trap is self-rejection. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us “Beloved!” Did you ever think of yourself as Abba’s delight? When will we ever believe that when we are forgiven we are well forgiven and all is forgotten?

Think of our own children. Do we love them less when they get in trouble? Or do we get upset that they didn’t come to us in the first place for help? Where do you think we got this model of parenting? Straight from God, our Abba!

God not only forgives and forgets our sins but turns their darkness into light. In love’s service, only wounded soldiers can serve. We tend to deny the reality of our sins; in a futile attempt to erase our past, we cling to our bad feelings and beat ourselves with the past when what we should do is to “let go!” Guilt is an “idol” that we seem to cherish. But when we dare to live as forgiven men and women, we join the wounded healers and draw close to our Abba!

The whole life of Jesus is focused on His Abba and doing the will of His Abba. It was not always easy but He did it! Jesus’ strength was that He never doubted that He was beloved of His Abba. Man! What a formula! It is now our turn to dare to be loved and to claim to be Abba’s beloved, not because we are pure and perfect, but because we are frail and weak and we need to be someone’s beloved! We need to believe in God but let’s not forget that God believes in us! He claims us as His beloved!

So whether we are healthy or sick or when we are in the hospital, it is important that we think of ourselves as “Beloved.” Even beloveds get sick and go to the hospital and die. But being beloved of God makes me feel alive in God’s heart, and if I die feeling this way I will be dying alive instead of dying dead. Given the choice, I want to die alive!

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Luke 11:1-13

For years, Israel was taught to view God as the “All Holy,” “The Omnipotent,” “The One and Only” whose name was so sacred that out of respect and reverence, God’s name was never completely written. YAHWEH was written as YAH… as in Allelu-jah. Even when our own Rabbi in Lewiston/Auburn writes in our newspapers, he refers to God as G— out of respect and reverence for His name.

Now try to imagine the shock value of Jesus’ words when He was asked: “Teach us how to pray!” He answered: “When you pray say: Father (Abba), hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us when we need it.” Calling God “Abba” was so radical and close to outrageous. How can Jesus be so familiar and so intimate with God? How can He refer to the Almighty as Abba? Who is this guy?

God as Abba was completely opposite of what Israel had been taught for centuries. And to make sure that those who heard him got it straight, Jesus adds: “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?” (Luke 11:1-13) Jesus goes on to explain what human fathers do and how they relate to their children.

I am a father myself and when my son and daughter were little, there was no joy more intense than to go for a ride and go for custard. The kids got excited and anticipated their treat. They were even happier to know that the dog would get a custard too. As a father, seeing my kids happy made me happy too.

We might be religious and faithful churchgoers, but do we ever think of God as being excited and happy about us? We muster serious energy to face difficult challenges…to remain virtuous and good. But when God is presented as our Abba, then this changes all our inner relationships. Abba is clearly on our side. He roots for us! He rejoices in having us as his children. If we belong to our Abba, then He belongs to us. We are not called to be shy with our Abba. Jesus goes on to say: “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. If then, you, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Abba in heaven give you the gifts you ask for?” The referral to God as Abba was so radical, it is no wonder that many of Jesus’ contemporaries could not swallow his beliefs.

Children who are loved and cared for by their moms and dads have no problem believing that God is our Abba. It is the most natural feeling in the world. The Kingdom of God always belongs to little children.

When will we get it?

We must love God the way children do, with total abandon and total trust…complete playfulness and spontaneity. When kids love someone a lot, they stretch out their arms as wide as they can and say: “I love you this much — as much as the whole world!”

Wait until you’re alone and make sure that no one sees you, then extend your arms as wide as you can and say to God – Abba “I love you as much as the whole world!” You’ll never want to say it differently…ever!

P.S. I’ve been working in this hospital for 33 years as a chaplain. When patients face difficult times, I like to remind them that Jesus taught us just one prayer. He stuck to that one prayer because He couldn’t improve on “Our Abba”. I think of it often…when it is my turn to face God as I die, what a comfort to anticipate God as Abba! My Abba will receive me with open arms, forgive what needs to be forgiven and lead me to His Kingdom where I will be received as Abba’s child or probably as Abba’s spoiled child. We’re all going to giggle and laugh for eternity.

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Sunday, June 20

Luke 9:18-24

In the Gospel this week, Jesus asks his closest friends “Who do you say I am?”  Everyone’s identity is important, even sacred.  It might be helpful to ponder this question in prayer.

Because today is Father’s Day, I wish to share with you one of the most personal reflections I have ever done regarding my own father . . . who died when he was only 54 years old, but who remains to this day the most important man in my life.

Happy Father’s Day!

When I was a child my father was my god. 

He knew all the answers to my questions.
He could solve problems and fix toys.
He was strong and could hold me up over his head with one hand.
He tickled well too and knew when to stop.
When I was a child my father was my god.

When I was a growing boy my father was my god. 

He taught me how to ride a bike,
Pitch a baseball and swing my bat evenly.
He asked me to help him around the house
And even let me use his tools.

He even sneaked me up some food once when I was sent to bed without supper.
When I was a growing boy my father was my god.

When I was twelve my father was my god. 

He taught me how to pitch horseshoes and play cribbage . . .
And he never let me win on purpose.
We climbed a mountain together and mowed the lawn.
We helped neighbors and old uncle Babe with his home fixing chores.
He watched me play hockey and baseball
And cheered my mediocre abilities.
When I was twelve my father was my god.

When I was a teenager my father was my god. 

I discovered his faults for he wore them on his outer surface,
Like everything else he ever wore.
He was short on temper,
Loud on voice
And long on sermons.
We went to church as naturally as we visited grandparents and relatives.
More than once we waited in line together for confession.
Once I overheard him brag about me with pride.
When I was a teenager my father was my god.

When I was a young man, my father was still my god. 

I saw him hide his tender feelings
When he was moved with joy.
His efforts to hide his tears
Were more visible to me than his tears would have been.
He loved mom gently and could not hide from us
How pleasing and beautiful he thought she was.
The greatest gift he ever gave us
Was the way he loved her . . . and showed it.
When I was a young man, my father was still my god.

When I was an adult my father was still my god.

There was never a doubt that he loved us all.
Cut and dry…black and white.
You love or you don’t love.
There was no wishy-washy fidgeting with him on anything.
When I was an adult my father was still my god.

He died…45 years ago. 

Now that I’m a father myself, my father is no longer my god.
But how easy it’s been to believe that God is my Father.

Kenn Rancourt

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Feast of Pentecost

Friday, May 28th, 2010

May 23, 2010

John 20:19-23

There is a detail in Sunday’s Gospel reading that I wish to reflect on. After His resurrection, the first time Jesus visited with His apostle friends, He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In Hebrew, the word Spirit and breath are the same, “RUAH.”

We first encounter “RUAH” in the Bible story of creation. The creator is portrayed as a sculptor, Gen:1-7 “God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then He breathed into his face a breath of life (RUAH) and the man became a living being. God created man in the image of Himself. Male and female He created them. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’ And God saw that all He made was very good!”

Now think about this. How does one breathe into the face of a clay statue and share His breath so deeply that the statue becomes alive?

- Does He blow his breath the way we extinguish candles on a cake?

- Does He give puffs of breath the way we breathe on dying embers to revive the flames?

- Does He softly cloud the shiny metal with the dampness of His breath the way we polish a silver tray?

In my imagination, none of these breathing methods seem to be adequate to “jump start” the figure of a human.

It seems that the Master Potter kissed life into the statue and it became alive with the Potter’s RUAH! Imagine that! The first book of the Bible records the first “soul kiss!”

I was reminded of this unexpectedly when my one-year old granddaughter, Sophia, came at me for a goodbye kiss with mouth wide open. We all laughed, including her, and I went on to explain the sharing of breath from the Bible point of view. Her parents were really taken aback when I explained that Sophia was instinctively kissing me the way God first kissed us. I couldn’t help thinking: “That’s why the Kingdom of God belongs to little children!”

When we are created, we are infused with God’s RUAH! We are jump started…and we take our first breath with cries of life and liberation.

Now on Pentecost, Jesus comes around and deliberately breathes on His disciples-friends. They were aware of the RUAH with which they were alive. But on Pentecost, they received a “double dose”…to give them energy and conviction to be fully alive.

As I grow older, my faith (hopefully) becomes more mature. My God has become my “Breather.” In fact, everything that lives and breathes is the direct sharer of the “RUAH YAHWEH.” In today’s biology, even plants are said to breathe. The whole universe pulsates with God’s RUAH! No wonder we can feel God’s presence everywhere!

At Pentecost, we celebrate being breathed upon by God. As healthcare workers, we are all helping people, ultimately, to prolong their breathing because breathing is not only necessary for life, it is also one of the most sacred things we do. Our individual lives are marked by our own breathing, a sharing of the one and only RUAH of God. So when we die our breath does not die with us. Our breath returns to its source…because nothing from God ever dies!

Kenn Rancourt, M.Th.

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Second Sunday of Easter

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

John 9:19-31

When I read and re-read familiar Gospel passages, I tend to pay attention to small details that others never seem to notice. In the current Gospel reading of the 2nd Sunday of Easter, the following detail caught my attention.

Jesus is now resurrected. He’s got a resurrected body and it appears He’s not used to it. A resurrected body is no longer limited by time and space. Jesus visits his disciples – friends who are in a locked room because they’re afraid. The doors were locked and suddenly, without knocking, He is in their midst. He can now go through locked doors and He seems to be enjoying this. In fact, in this short Sunday gospel reading, Jesus goes through locked doors twice. He seems to really enjoy this new way of entering.

Now think of this. When stories of the empty tomb first went around through Mary Magdalene, nobody is said to have been glad. In fact, it is said that they were afraid. That’s why the doors where they were gathered were locked. Don’t forget that all his followers had betrayed Him. Peter had even sworn that he did not know Him! The others had run away.

Now that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, what was He going to do? What was He going to do? Then Jesus started to visit His friends, to talk with them and to be friendly with them. (Always, it seems, through locked doors.) It is only then that it is reported that they could not believe their eyes . . . They could not believe their ears. What startled them was how friendly Jesus was . . . as if they had not betrayed Him. The resurrected Jesus seemed to have completely forgotten. “Shalom Alechem”! He said “Peace be with you!” Then He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive will be forgiven.” After that the apostles were said to have been filled with joy so great they could not believe it. The resurrection was terrific, but being forgiven and accepted was really personal and so important to each one of them.

And then, there is the detail of doubting Thomas. When Thomas was finally satisfied that the risen Jesus was for real, Jesus said to him: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and believe!” Now, that’s about you and me. We believe but we have not seen. So we are blessed!?

Here are a few ways that I’ve been blessed.

  • All my sins have been forgiven.
  • I’ve had 2 heart attacks, 20 years apart, and both took place inside a hospital building. I’ve “flat-lined” twice and twice was revived. Oh yeah, I’ve been blessed!
  • In October of 2008, I had 2 strokes, again inside a hospital building. The swelling in my brain was in the back and the front . . . so I had no left side nor right side weaknesses or paralysis. I’ve really been blessed because I can still work full-time.
  • My son and my daughter are adults now and we are very close to each other. Our love is mutual and frequently expressed. I have two lovely granddaughters. Oh yeah, I’ve been blessed.

Many of you who read this, “believe and have not seen”. . . You’ve been blessed too. Try to reflect how you’ve been blessed. Try a “blessing diary”. Every day you are challenged to name at least one blessing. If you are faithful to that diary, at the end of only one year, you will have become actively aware of 365 blessings that are uniquely yours. Sounds like a plan to me!

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care at St. Mary’s Health System

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