Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I have worked in the world of private school admissions for over 10 years now, first at the college level and now in high school. The work is a combination of sales, marketing, communication, recruitment, event planning, and, in my current position, is driven by faith and mission. When I worked in college admissions, I managed a territory of high schools in the Chicago area, recruiting high school students to consider attending Monmouth College, a small, liberal arts school in rural, western Illinois. I was consistently challenged by the fact that I was working for a school that most high schoolers had likely never heard of and competing against thousands of other colleges and universities from all over the country. We were compelled to be creative and think outside the box. I had a colleague at Monmouth that worked in the Chicago area with me who had been working in college admissions for over 30 years. I still have this very vivid memory of the first time I met Peter. He looked at me and said, “Brandon, here’s how we make an impact and get results in our territory.” He put his hands together as if he were holding a giant ladle and sitting over a large cauldron over a fire and began to move his arms in a clockwise direction. “We stir the pot, get creative. Stir the pot and keep stirring.”
Why do I tell this story? Because it is one of the foundational memories that led to my growth and development in my career which began with a man who taught me how to push the envelope, think big, be confident, and be bold. I firmly believe in the mission and the work that I do at Chaminade Julienne and I am passionate about the formation and development of our students and the approach we take to elevating each student who enters our school community. Sometimes that requires us to stir the pot, think boldly, think differently, think radically. In the gospels, I get a kick out of Jesus’ consistent violation of the rules. Over and over, Jesus continues to stir the pot. Today, the Pharisees call out Jesus and his disciples for picking the heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath. Oh the humanity! What shame! Then he decides to take it a step further, declaring himself to be the “Lord of the sabbath.”
“The Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” Jesus is the centralizing figure of our faith--we merely need to look at the cross to see how to love; we bring Jesus into our lives through our prayer; we receive Jesus into our bodies through the Eucharist; we interact with Jesus through our relationships with neighbors, family, friends, and strangers. “Something greater than the temple is here”, Jesus, the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath. Our faith goes far beyond a set of rules, a building, and a book of prayers–stir the pot.
Life is a series of choices. We build our lives one choice at a time. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” At every turn, around every corner, on every television, in every community, on all social media feeds, we can easily find volatility, division, and hatred. There is also love, beauty, and kindness–The Son of Man is Lord. We are capable of going boldly forward, even in the midst of doubt or fear, because Jesus is in us. There is a lot of competition for our attention, many distractions attempting to deter us from our missionary call to discipleship. Let us allow Jesus to stir the pot in our hearts; may we love one another and live that love in our words and actions.
Peace,
Brandon Meyer