30 Sept 2014 - high resolution

Job is almost ready to give up and who can blame him? Property stolen, family members dead, and afflicted with boils? Who wouldn't?

He feels like the psalmist, plunged into the bottom of the pit, "into the dark abyss".  The psalmist and Job both feel like God has forgotten them.  They feel "like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no longer and who are cut off from your care."

But Job continues to fight the battle within himself. He does not curse the LORD. He does not sin. The psalmist continues praying even though he feels abandoned.

They show glimpses of the determination that Jesus fully reveals.  He "resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem".  This is not a trivial thing. Jesus knows exactly what waits for him there. He already told his disciples twice in Luke that the "Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” He knows with crystal clear foresight that what awaits him is much worse than what the psalmist or even Job had to face.

And then, in the face of that knowledge, as he tries to pursue his mission, the Samaritan village refuses to welcome him. If Jesus insists on the cross perhaps he will at least obliterate all obstacles to it with "fire from heaven"? No, we are rebuked for thinking that. It isn't just the cross by any means necessary. It isn't the cross with no interruptions on the way. It is love from beginning to end. One fewer place for Jesus to rest? He continues anyway, because he is resolutely determined to fulfill his purpose. One fewer place for him to pour out his mercy and love? He won't force it on them.

Today Jesus offers us some resolute determination. He rebukes our desires to force things to fit into a certain mold. Even if with think we see the destination and purpose he has for us, if we see the cross to which we are called, we still have to embrace the whole path he has for us. He rebukes our desires for an easy way out. He rebukes our desires to burn down interruptions with fire from heaven.  He helps us not to curse God when things are difficult. He helps us to keep praying when we feel abandoned. This resolute determination has its source in the joy that is set before us.

For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.

After all, we are not a people of despair. We are able to face the hardships of life with a better kind of determination than Job or the psalmist. We see in Jesus the joy before us revealed.

We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song! - Saint John Paul the Great

Saint Jerome reminds that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. If we are ignornant of Christ we won't be able to face hardship with hope. We are called to embrace this saint's love of Scripture and his boldness without becoming 'porcupine saints' ourselves. Let us ask Jesus for resolute determination. Let us receive it through his presence in the Scriptures today.

 Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

29 Sept 2014 - archangels

And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jesus is the son of man surrounded by thousands upon thousands who minister to him.  Myriads upon myriads attend to him. Which is odd in a way. He doesn't need them. His power is limitless.

War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.

Jesus has the power to banish the dragon with a thought, a whim. Yet he allows this war to be fought for him by his angels. Why this restraint? Why does the throne of fire not simply consume all enemies?

He has reasons for this, of course. Everything he does manifests who he is. The archangels reveal the power and love of the one who created them. The vast numbers that surround his throne reveal a God who is greater than any number. That he allows them deal with the consequences of their own freedom reveals how much he respects that freedom.

Still, even among such great ones, we don't get lost in the crowd.

“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

We are invited before Jesus. But we do not come before him alone. We come before all of the angels and saints whenever we worship at his holy temple. Especially in the Mass we sing his praises in the sight of the angels.  

Yet all of heaven is a drop in the bucket next to the Ancient of Days. All the armies are as nought next to the LORD of hosts. But rather than overwhelming creation with such power he uses it to express his love, both for Nathanael and for us.

The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.

The archangels, representations of the very power of God, are in the same battle that we ourselves fight. They love us and we them as we fight against the principalities and powers, the world rulers of this prsenent darkness (cf. Eph. 6:12). We ourselves share in the victory which is ultimately won by the son of man. The Blood of the Lamb is poured out as the weapon by which we conquer the accuser of our brothers. The very words of our testimony to him are now imbued with his own power.

God loves us personally. Each one of us is his child. Yet together we form his family. We each reveal something of this heritage in ourselves. Today we rejoice in the help and revelation we receive from the archangels. United with them as family we reveal an even more perfect picture of the Ancient One.

“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.

Somehow God is using us to make his wisdom known to the angels (cf. Eph. 3:9). This is something which ought not happen. They are timeless, we time-bound. They are much greater and we much less. Clearly our own strength has nothing to do with this. The plan of God delights in such reversals. They reveal the centrality of love. We can't take any credit even as we give our all in testimony to the Blood of the Lamb. Let's just rejoice in the victory of our family. The powers of evil are no longer hold sway.

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD
when they hear the words of your mouth;
And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD
“Great is the glory of the LORD

28 Sept 2014 - kingdom focus

We all hear the Father call us to work in the vineyard today.

Most of us say yes. We are quite certain we say that yes loudly and with confidence. But do we go into the field? Are we like the Pharisees? Is our yes really to a different question? Are we saying, 'Yes, I see myself as a religious person. Yes, I see myself as one who does good things', and yet continuing our lives as before?

The call is meant to change us. It isn't about the stories we tell ourselves. The call isn't something we accept so that we can say that we accepted it and check it off of a list. It is instead a constant invitation. Do we recognize how much we need Jesus? The tax collectors and prostitutes do. Do we let him heal and transform us in each and every struggle with sin in our lives? We should see the fruits of the Spirit manifest in us. We should find ourselves actually about the Father's work in the vineyard. We don't earn anything thereby. But it does reveal over time that we are actually accepting the invitation of Jesus and letting it transform us.

We are to do "nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory" as Paul says. The secret is to be of one mind with him.  Instead of thinking about ourselves we focus on "encouragement in Christ", "solace in love", "participation in the Spirit" and "compassion and mercy". Our own pride and self-indulgence ultimately pale in comparison to the blessings of the kingdom. We must have kingdom priorities.  To do that we must apply our minds with kingdom focus. We must actively concentrate on these kingdom blessings. We need to follow the advice of Paul who reminds us:

Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (cf. Phi. 4:8).

When the good, the true, and the beautiful motivate us we become unstoppable. When these are our motivations we turn to God who is the source of them for our strength. This motivation has the power to unite the people of God whereas our selfishness and vainglory leads to dissension and factions.

God is rich in mercy.  His compassion and love are from old. He is more than willing to forgive and forget all the times when we say yes just in order to imagine ourselves as people who say yes. The invitation to join him in the field remains open. The encouragement, solace, compassion and mercy are always offered in abundance. He stands waiting to pour out more of his Spirit upon us. Are we not yet in the field? Selfishness won't get us out there. But the motivation, indeed the grace, to work in the field is what we are offered this morning.

Let us receive it.  It is not too late to turn from the wickedness of our past to do what is just and right. It isn't just that God is fair. It isn't just that he only holds us accountable for this. He preserves our life when we do what is right and just, as the first reading says. But he himself gives us the grace to do this where we otherwise surely fail.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice, 
and teaches the humble his way.

27 Sept 2014 - attention deficit

While they were all amazed at his every deed,

We should be amazed at the deeds of Jesus in our midst. Our lives without him don't have any meaning. It is so hard to keep moving when there is no purpose to any of it. When Jesus comes we perceive that at last there might be something bigger than what we are living for.

The trouble is that we are so busy losing ourselves in the day to day grind that we don't want to see this big picture. We want an easier life day to day. We don't want a new perspective. We don't want "wisdom of heart."

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

We are afraid to ask Jesus about this. We want to make him the king today so that he can multiply bread and fishes on demand. We want suffering eliminated rather than "merely" transformed. We don't want to know that his path is headed to the cross, much less our own.

This morning God wants to "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart." He wants to teach us to remember our creator even in the glad days of youth. He is teaching us that we have no lasting city here (cf. Heb. 13:14). He is teaching the obedience that will let the day to day be subordinated to the eternal by the power of the cross. He is teaching us to "pay attention" to what he is telling us so that we stop trying to lose ourselves in those things which can never satisfy us.

We distract ourselves with vanities. When Jesus amazes us we try to place him alongside these other vanities. Perhaps for us he is the greatest entertainment and distraction. But he insists on being more. He wants to be the LORD of our whole lives. He wants us to be his people and he our God. And so the vanities must be subjugated. They must often be sacrificed to Jesus.

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship (cf. Rom. 12:1)

If God does not eliminate all suffering immediately we must trust that it is because he has even better plans. We must learn to meet this suffering with trust and not to deny and flee from it so much as to lose site of the eternal. Accepting this truth, Jesus is truly first in our lives. When he is first everything else assumes its proper value. It can be enjoyed in proportion to its goodness. We don't try to make it an idol which cannot deliver the happiness it promises. Our joy moment to moment, day to day, is now in the LORD.

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!

The cross of Christ can even give meaning to the wilting and fading of the evening, to the breaking of the golden bowl and the shattering of the pitcher. For if the life breath truly returns to God who gave it we find ourselves in good hands. We find ourselves embraced in the arms of mercy. We can't learn this lesson when we are distracted. Let us hear Jesus tell us now, "pay attention to what I am telling you".  Give us ears, O LORD, to listen.

In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

26 Sept 2014 - times and seasons

There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.

The disciples learn this. They come to an exciting realization about Jesus, a revelation which they will eventually be called to share with the world. But it is not yet time.

Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

The time will come for them to proclaim exactly this.  Before Jesus ascends to the Father he promises:

But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (cf. Act. 1:8).

There is, in fact, an appointed time for nearly everything. But we are like the children in the marketplace who will not dance to the pipe or mourn to the dirge (Cf. Luk. 7:31-32). We are try to fast when the bridegroom is with us but feast is he is distant (cf. Mar. 2:19).

It is a tricky thing to figure out. It is not for us to know the times and seasons (cf. Act. 1:7). But he does place the timeless in our hearts. He does give us the Holy Spirit to guide us. We never discover "the work which God has done" in such a way that we can predict what he'll do next. We may not even discover why he is doing a certain thing at the present time. But Jesus does want to pour out "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better" (cf. Eph. 1:17).  It is the difference between figuring him out and knowing him better. We are called to the later.

The Holy Spirit gives us knowledge and wisdom. He gives it to us when we need it. When we are called to give testimony to Jesus it is the Spirit himself who speaks in us. Because of that we don't need to prepare what we are to say ahead of time.

Man may never discover, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. But that is because the Spirit blows where it wills. The times and seasons aren't predictable according to almanacs or actuarial tables. But these things, what "no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived ... God has revealed to us by his Spirit" (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9-10).  Only the Spirit searches even the deep things of God.

Let us listen, then. The invitation to mourn, weep, scatter, tear down, kill, uproot, to lose, to hate, and to war is only temporary. It is a passing shadow. The invitation to joy, to laughter, and to dancing endures forever.

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust.

25 Sept 2014 - new thing

Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.

Herod seems like the narrator in Ecclesiastes. He experiences a lot of vanity. He can't seem to find something worth doing. He can't find genuine profit from all the labor at which he toils under the sun. Nothing seems to change. He is bored, not satisfied with all of the entertainment which his position enables him to enjoy. "The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing." He really does give the impression that is captured so well in the Passion of one who seeks after every novel entertainment he can find. Herod is looking for something new under the sun. He is looking for something new when he enjoys listening to John the Baptist speak. He is looking for something new when he keeps trying to see Jesus. Finally Herod does get to see Jesus. He is hoping to see some sign, some miracle (cf. Luk 23:8). This miracle might finally challenge Herod's ideas about the world. Maybe if there is a miracle than what has been and what is now are not necessarily what must always be.

Maybe there is more to life than springing up like the grass in the morning and wilting and fading in the evening. Why doesn't Jesus grant him this desire?

Jesus himself is the new thing. His miracles are secondary. Miracles have happened throughout the history of Israel. They aren't the new thing. Even the dead have been raised before, albeit to die again.

In Jesus God and man are united once and for all. In Jesus death is destroyed once and for all. The miracle before Herod's eyes is the incarnation. And the miracle from which all of his desire for novelty blinds him is the cross and resurrection. These are new under the sun. They change everything.

The LORD makes a new day dawn for us (cf. Psa. 118). At daybreak he fills us with his kindness that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. He gives us a new song to sing (cf. Psa. 144:9). His mercies are made new every morning (cf. Lam. 3:23) because he says, "Behold, I make all things new" (cf. Rev. 21:5). That includes us.  We are a new creation in Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:17) and the old is gone.

Let's not get so distracted by our boredom and desire for novelty that we miss the one thing that is actually genuinely new. Boredom predisposes us to seek the superficial. Our desire for novelty prefers to be quickly quenched by entertainments. They may shake us up a little but they don't change us at our core.

Jesus invites beyond these patterns. It is less safe. It isn't safe at all. Our old self is on the chopping block. He is being crucified with Christ. But it is the one thing that is worthwhile.  What matters is "a new creation" (cf. Gal. 6:15). Jesus is the firstborn of this creation. And we are reborn as his brothers and sisters (cf. Rom. 8:29).

Finally, something new! Let us praise him who is our refuge in every age!

24 Sept 2014 - love lights the way

He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.

Jesus calls us to rely on him. He wants us to be motivated by the mission. He wants our drive to "proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere." He doesn't want us to think too much about our own comfort one way or the other. He may call us to go without walking stick, sack, food, money, or a second tunic, but not because he is unconcerned about us. He wants us to rely on him.

The one thing we do need to take with us is his word. It is a lamp for our feet. Without it all the walking sticks in the world won't help and with it we won't need them. We don't need to add anything to his words. They are more than enough.

When we are too comfortable we can forget how much we depend on the LORD. That is one reason he calls the disciples to go forth on their mission with just the clothes on their backs. But he does provide for them. He does want them to have enough so that they don't have to fall back on their own efforts and resources to provide for themselves.  They never reach the point of want where they steal "and profane the name of my God."

Jesus gives the twelve power to bring the kingdom into the world. He gives them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He gives that same power to all Christians:

These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover (cf. Mar. 16:17-18).

He isn't calling, necessarily to leave all we know and to go to strange missions in foreign lands. But he is calling all of us to proclaim the Good News. He is calling all of us to bring healing to a broken world. Only Jesus has authority over all the demons afflicting this world. And he shares this power with all Christians! We experience that power when use his word as a lamp for our feet. We then know that "he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." A lamp for our feet must be used moment to moment. We can't just shine it all the way to our destination, make a map, and then leave the lamp behind. We need to look down by it's light right now. We need to make sure our next step is in the right direction. We must make sure it is not toward "falsehood and lying; poverty nor riches".

Let us set out then, shining his word constantly on our paths to keep our feet from evil ways. Let us see which houses will welcome us. Jesus wants to give the world so much through us. It is something more precious than all of the provisions we leave behind. It is something more precious than the riches that can no longer motivate us.

The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

23 Sept 2014 - intimacy not image

Padre Pio

He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers 
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Thank you Jesus. You want to be so close to us that we share in the tender bond between mother and child. We can be your brothers and sisters. Your mother in the flesh shows us the way. She is doubly your mother. She is the mother of your mother in the flesh. But she is that because she first hears the word of God and acts on it. She holds you in her arms. She holds your word in her heart. She treasures you with unutterable tenderness.

We are called to let the word of God transform us. We are called to take care how we hear, as we read yesterday. The light naturally shines through us. We mustn't cover it. Mary is so open to God's word that he takes physical form within her. She is a model for all of us.

Mary embraces the word with profound humility. It is no boon to her reputation. It is quite the opposite. There are flashes of glory throughout her life. But she must also accept all of the ill-repute that comes from a virgin birth and the ill-repute that comes from being the mother of so controversial a figure as Jesus. She must accept the sword that pierces her own soul as well.

Our motives are never so pure as hers and so our acceptable is always more partial. There is always some pride mixed in with our acceptable. We always adapt it so we can have a particular self-image. Without realizing it we place conditions on our acceptable of the word. We say, in effect, that we will hear this word and act on us when it lets us think of ourselves in a certain way or appear before others in a certain way.

Image separated from reality is the necessary condition of hypocrisy.

All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the LORD who proves hearts.

Padre Pio is known for his ability to see through the facades of the people with whom he spoke. We may wish to have someone like him handy when we examine our consciences for confession. Or perhaps we don't wish that, if we are honest with ourselves. Nevertheless, we know we need it. But we are not completely at a loss. Mary teaches us that if we are humble and do not concern ourselves with our own image we are able to embrace the word in its entirety. Humility shields us from self-deception. It is not false humility that looks on oneself negatively. It is true humility that looks out toward other. It is the gaze fixed on Jesus.

Through Padre Pio's intercession we ask the LORD to guide us in the way of his commands. We need discernment and understanding to follow his laws. The grace that shields us from self-deception comes from him alone.  He will answer us because he has a plan for us just as he does for Mary. He gives us Mary as a model for embracing that plan perfectly and without self-deception. Then our hearts will be like the king's:

Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it.

22 Sept 2014 - taking ourselves lightly

The light is within us. Our part is to let it shine!

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.

But we are reluctant. If no one conceals a lamp why do we conceal the light of Jesus?

In his light our own faults are illuminated. In calling people to the kingdom we can't hide the fact that we ourselves do not measure up. We shy away, embarrassed. But this is all going to be out in the open eventually. The fact that there are broken people within the kingdom doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the kingdom itself. It means the LORD is rich in mercy! So let's stop the pride. We can't wait to be perfect to proclaim the kingdom. Let's make our peace with these eventualities and let our light shine!

For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.

The psalmist tells us that the just one shall live on God's holy mountain. It is the Lord's light that makes us just.  We are embarrassed when his light shines on our darkness. But it is only this light can cast out our darkness. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it (cf. Joh. 1:5).

We hear admonitions like...

Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim
when it is in your power to do it for him.
Say not to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give,” when you can give at once.

...and we run from the light rather than celebrating it. We still envy the lawless man because he seems to be secure and smug in his lawlessness. He seems untroubled in a way which is very appealing. How can we celebrate and take genuine joy in a light which calls all of us to account?

When dealing with the arrogant, he is stern,
but to the humble he shows kindness.

We humble ourselves before him. We acknowledge our complete dependence on him. If we rely on his light we will find that he always has more to give us. If we are proud and trust in ourselves we will find what little we have taken away.

21 Sept 2014 - work worth doing

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.

Even if it is noon, or three o'clock or even five the LORD can still be found. It isn't too late for us.

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The LORD is constantly checking the markets. He is near to us if we just call out to him to take advantage of his closeness. The LORD of the Harvest is always looking for laborers to send out into the vineyard. The harvest is abundant and the laborers. So who are all of these people standing around that hear the landowner say, "Why do you stand here idle all day?"

They are standing idle in the market. It seems like they are looking for work. Maybe they're still here because they are hoping for a better offer. The landowner already made the rounds once, after all. Or maybe that is just what they are telling themselves. Maybe they are reluctant to do any work at all. And as the day draws on all work seems less and less worth it because their is less and less to do and therefore less wages to earn. Or is there?

let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.

It isn't too late. We just need to opt-in before day's end. He's available. He is waiting for us. He is knocking at the door to our hearts.

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The LORD is generous. He offers eternal life to all, regardless of when they start. He offers deeply meaningful work in his own vineyard. He makes us his coworkers. The dignity of this work is such that every hour is valuable. It is so good and so important that Paul is willing to wait to cash out even though he knows the reward that awaits his labors.

I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better. 
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.

This isn't possible on a level of purely human motivation. But Paul knows what the psalmist knows:

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The LORD is calling Paul to continue in the vineyard. Because the LORD is near to him Paul can remain in the flesh for the benefit of his congregation. Perhaps it is just for another hour. Perhaps it is for many years. Either way the wages are the same. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (cf. Rom. 6:23). He is not just laboring for God as if to earn something. He is laboring as God's coworker (cf. 1 Cor. 3:9) for the sake of the kingdom. The LORD is near him and that is what gives him strength.

So if we are idle we need to get to work. It is good work with good pay. What do we do about those who we see remain idle even when we get down to business? We should be ready to encourage them! It isn't too late for them either. The offer made to us is available to them. Eternal life! We shouldn't envy them even if they are like the good thief on the cross. He accepts the offer only at the last minute. This isn't something to envy. It is something to celebrate.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.

God is generous! We can't earn this. But we can accept it. He is constantly near us with the invitation. In turn, we ought to get excited about a God who is so generous. We should tell everyone who is still idle that there is something worth doing and that they can still make the only wage that ultimately means anything.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

20 Sept 2014 - sow what?

Grains of wheat

We are the seed that get to choose our soil.

We are the grain of wheat (or some other kind) that is sown corruptible. Unless we fall to the ground and die we will remain a single seed. We are called to sow our whole lives for others, culminating when we sow these corruptible bodies in death. When we do we produce many seeds (cf. Joh. 12:24).

Every choice we make is a choice for the kind of soil we desire.

If we dwell too close to the surface the enemy can steel the word from us. He can uproot us. We need to plant the word deeply in ourselves that we may in turn be planted deeply. To do this we must simply saturate ourselves with the word at every opportunity. We must read it, listen to it, speak it, and sing it. We must make it our home.

Once we find soil that is deep it is still ours to put down roots. We can't run hither and thither seeking the next trend, the next novelty. Wherever we find fertile ground, the word, prayer, the sacraments, or wherever else, it is our responsible to put down roots in those places. We are called to service and love of others. We are called to do this deeply. We are called beyond superficiality. We are called to be deeply rooted in the word and everything to which it calls us. Only with roots will there be fruit.

We need to sow ourselves away from the anxieties and riches and pleasures of the world. These are thorns that prevent us from thriving. They have flowers that seem nice to us. Entertainment, comfort, and pleasure are always appealing. But when we try to hold them too closely we prick our hands on the thorns. We realize that they can't satisfy in the way that the word planted in good soil can satisfy. 

The word is meant to fall on rich soil. It is meant to bear fruit in us that we can not only hold tightly but which can nourish us and our brothers and sisters.

May the LORD give us a generous and good heart to embrace the word, to plant it deeply in good soil, and to let its roots grow in us, to grow through us into the soil of his love, persevering until we bear fruit a hundredfold for the kingdom.

We are sowing our very lives for the kingdom. We need not be afraid of anything.

Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?

19 Sept 2014 - last things first

St. Francis Mary of Camporosso

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.

With the Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna we accompany Jesus and the Twelve on their journey. Like these women we too have are set free from the grasp of evil spirits by the power of our baptism. Like them, we are made firm by the power of Jesus. Our infirmities are healed as he strengthens us in our inner being with power through his power (cf. Eph. 3:16).

With them we are called to provide for the hierarchy out of our resources, our time, talent, and treasure. We do this not out of obligation but to help Jesus to preach and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God.

If we aren't motivated to help with this mission maybe it is because we forget just how good the good news is. Maybe we let it be watered down to the vaguely practical and pragmatic. The Kingdom of God isn't just about how to be nice to one another. It isn't just about what to do with our money or how we should volunteer at soup kitchens. It is all that. But all of the things it is on a natural level are sustained by what it is on a supernatural level. It is the resurrection that gives meaning to everything.  Paul tells us that "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins." He insists that "we are the most pitiable people of all" if we take all of the other aspects of Christianity but miss the key point. Yet we don't see miracles everyday. We begin to think of the Kingdom only in the familiar terms of our daily lives. We begin to hope "for this life only" because of how insistently this life demands our attention.

We need to walk with Jesus more consciously. As we walk with Jesus he wants to reveal himself to us as the risen LORD.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

We are given grace to "Think of what is above" when we take this hope to heart.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory (cf. Col. 3:2-4)

We learn to keep "our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of our faith." We certainly see all of the kindness and charity to which we aspire embodied in him. But we also see the Spirit working mighty deeds through him. We gaze upon him on his cross in the times when there are no obvious miracles. We gaze and continue to gaze until in three days he is raised from the dead. When we don't look away, dropping our gaze and our hope, we are given the power to hope and act in spite of apparent futility. Jesus endures the cross because "of the joy that lay before him" (cf. Heb. 12:2) and now so do we.

When we walk with him he is close enough for us to fix our eyes upon him. When we do this we are actually able to cast our cares upon him and trust that he really does care for us (1 Pet. 5:7). We make our intentions known to him and his peace really does guard our hearts (cf. Phi. 4:6-7).

I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; 
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee 
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings,
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.

18 Sept 2014 - close, for comfort

“If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner.”

But he does know. Our frame holds no secrets from him. Before us and behind us he encircles us (cf. Psa. 139). He knows that we are sinners. He knows what sort of men and women we are. Yet he welcomes and invites our love. His forgiveness replaces our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh (cf. Eze. 36:26). After this he does not shy away from the response of love on our part which this ought to elicit.

Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.

This is way too intimate for our taste. We get really uncomfortable long before this. We prefer a wider personal gap between ourselves and nearly everyone. We may expect Jesus to insist on this personal space as well. He is, in one sense, wholly other from ourselves. He is holy. But still he welcomes our love. He wants our love. He forgives us so that we can run to him and embrace him, not so that we can go about business as usual with one less thing on the negative side of our balance sheet.

Jesus shows great humility in welcoming the sinful woman. We too must be embrace humility so that love can bridge the gap between ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Without humility we won't express our own love and we won't welcome the love of others. Without humility a hermetically sealed barrier will always remain between God's people. And we can see from how close Jesus comes to us that does not want that barrier to exist.

A lack of humility not only separates us from one another but can cause us to keep others from Jesus. We need to place Jesus first in our hearts rather than caring what people think of us. We need to see that Jesus wants share an intimacy with others that is greater than we can share with them and not envy that intimacy, insisting on the importance of our own role in it. We should be able to say with Paul, "Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed." Even if it means that people don't see our own love for them, as long as they see the love which Jesus has for them that should be enough for us. 

The Risen Christ wants to make himself known to everyone. He wants us to embrace him in the love that forgiveness brings. In return he wants to embrace us and teach us to embrace one another. And the most profound way we can offer embrace to others is by bringing them to the embrace of Jesus himself. Let's love them and Jesus enough not to get in the way of that. The love that Jesus himself gives us is more than enough. In his resurrection Jesus strikes with power destroying the veil and with it all barriers can now be broken.

“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you.

17 Sept 2014 - not the same old song and dance

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.

There is a right way and a wrong way to be like a child. We know that it is to children that the kingdom belongs (cf. Luk. 18:16). We know that we must become like children to enter it (cf. Mat. 18:3).

We are called to be ready to dance when the flute is playing and ready to weep when we hear a dirge sung. But we tend to focus on the partial. We have an experience of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and then use that to exclude all of the other ways in which love manifests in us. We enjoy works of service and things that make the world more humane but use that to exclude more immediately spiritual things. We are all guilty of focusing on one piece to the exclusion of another.

It's a liability of being human. There is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done, as the song goes. We prioritize based on habit and comfort rather than on the moment to moment revelation of the living God to us. It's hard, sometimes, to remember that just because we are doing something now it doesn't mean that we should keep doing it forever. But in our prayer we should always bring our priorities to God for him to evaluate.

God is love. When he sets the pieces in order they fit. He makes all things work together for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28). Love never fails. Nothing is impossible for God. We see in part, indistinctly, as in a mirror. Let us trust the one who sees all, the one for whom "Darkness is not dark" and for whom "night shines as the day."

He alone can heal us of our pompous rudeness, our self-seeking, our tempers, and our brooding. All of this stems from priorities which are out of order. When our priorities are dictated by the God who loves us we finally experience the fulfillment of being able to bear, believe, hope, and endure all things. In this we become children again. We become too simple to elevate a part over the whole. We trust God completely. We bear and endure the trials of life trusting in him. We no longer want to hope in things which we ought not hope. We no longer want to believe partial lies. We are children in the best sense. 

Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.

16 Sept 2014 - dead man talking

When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”

His pity is for the mother. He has compassion for her great loss. He knows how hard the life of a widow can be. He sees a little bit of his own mother in every mother who suffers. In every widow he can't help but think of how he is to be taken from his own mother. His mother becomes Our Lady of Sorrows not because he delights in sorrows. This mother suffers not because Jesus takes pleasure in it. God does not delight in death.

We tend to take the world as it is and assume that God must be OK with it. We assume that an all-powerful God will change any aspect of reality that displeases him. There is no way that our imagination can hold in tension the idea of God's ferocious compassion and love, the pain of the world, and his power. No way, that is, except to fix our eyes on Jesus. When we look at Jesus this morning we see the compassion of God revealed. In Jesus we see God's restraint. His love and compassion don't allow him to make the quick fix or to take the easy way out. We see that his restraint in allowing evil is caused by a love that insists on the greatest possible good.

This mother does experience the loss of her son. Jesus does not prevent it. As with Lazarus, she can say that if Jesus had been there he would not have died. Yet as Jesus said to the disciples about Lazarus, "I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him."  Jesus says to the widow's son, “Young man, I tell you, arise!" and the dead man sits and speaks. Jesus reveals his power and his love. Those who see this are amazed. They see a God who is both powerful and compassionate.

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst,”
and “God has visited his people.”

But still we are plagued with doubt.  Would not it have been better for this man to not die at all? In a way. But in a world where pain and death are impossible so too is choice.  So too, therefore, is love. Jesus solves the problems inherent in choice rather than creating a world of automatons. Automatons may never deviate from the will of God. They won't create any pain for that reason. But they will not love. Jesus prefers a world where love is possible. And the ultimate destiny of that world is greater than any perfection a world without freedom can possess. This is because the destiny of this world does not stop at the pain and death. It stops in the risen life of heaven where our exulted freedom is finally fully committed to God.

The grace this morning is to know God's compassion even in a world where there is suffering. We are meant to read this gospel and see in his glance at the mother a compassion profound and all-encompassing. Doubts that suffering causes are meant to dissolve like mist in the light of that gaze of love.

It is love that makes sense of all the disparate pieces of goodness we see in the world. Love orders them. Love unifies them. This is what Paul is getting at when he talks about the one body with many parts. We need each part of the body of Christ. If all are mouths there is only shouting and no conversation. But unified in the love of Christ we can be ears when we need to listen, mouths when we need to speak, and hands when we need to help and heal. We cannot fully embrace this unity when we harbor doubts about its very source.

Let us therefore drink of the one Spirit. May we lay aside all doubt and drink deeply.

For he is good, the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations. 

15 Sept 2014 - our lady of sorrows

Yesterday we celebrated the exultation of the cross. Today we celebrate the one who exults it par excellence.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag'dalene.

We see the suffering of the cross, the suffering of sin, and we look away. We prefer to block out suffering and ignore it, especially when it is suffering for which we are in part responsible. Mary sees suffering and she cannot look away. This bond of mother and Son is stronger than the revulsion of suffering. And she bears no guilt or shame to drive her off.

"Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered".  Jesus is without sin or guilt and yet he suffers. Even though he is the Son of God he still embodies perfect obedience in a way that can only be expressed in the face of suffering. And Mary, as his mother, shares in his suffering. She is so closely bound to him in love that she feels every pain as if it is her own. She too "learns obedience" even though she is already full of grace. Jesus and Mary both reveal what perfect obedience is like. It is manifest in different ways based on their different callings but it is one and the same obedience. Unlike them, we are not already perfect. We are not without sin or guilt.  But through grace we are called to share the relationship of Jesus to Mary.

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

In turn, we are taught by Mary to share the sorrows of Jesus in this most perfect way. She teaches us that we must not run from the cross. We must not look away from suffering. Mary teaches us to gaze upon the cross with her own maternal affection for her only Son. She herself does this even though it is this resolute and determined gaze that makes a sword pierce her own heart (cf. Luk. 2:35). Mary's compassion can overcome even our greatest indifference. She can warm even the coldest hearts. As we gaze with her upon the cross we are set free just as the ancient Isarelities are set free as they gaze at the sarapah serpent on the pole. Her obedience, sharing in the obedience of Jesus, gradually becomes our own obedience. Her love gradually becomes our own.

Mary watches Jesus say "Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God." Her heart is torn as Jesus dies. Yet she echoes these words as Jesus says them.  Once more she speaks her fiat, the meaning thereof now fully disclosed. And as she speaks them she teaches us the love that allows us to finally speak them as well. 

Today let us gaze upon the exulted cross. We can do this through meditative prayer. We can do this every time we encounter suffering in the world. When we are tempted to look away let us ask Mary to cover us with her mantle and to share with us her perfect love for Jesus.

It does not end in sorrow. Mary's gaze is resolute because her hope is steadfast! The only reason that she can face down the darkness of the cross is the trust and hope she has. She wants to share that with all of her children.

O how abundant is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for those who fear thee, and wrought for those who take refuge in thee, in the sight of the sons of men!

14 Sept 2014 - crossed in

We are called to fix our gaze on the cross of Christ this morning. But that only sounds like a good idea until we think about it. Our natural response to the cross is not to gaze upon it. Instead, this is a supernatural grace which we are offered.

Do we really want to see the consequences of our sinfulness? When we mess up like the Israelites and bring upon ourselves saraph serpents in all their many forms we turn to God for forgiveness. But wouldn't we prefer to never see these serpents again?

Yet God lifts high the consequences of our sin. The cross embodies all of the pain our sin causes. It embodies death as our ultimate punishment. He has planned this for a long time. He said that we "will look upon me, on him whom they have pierced and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child" (cf. Zec. 12:10). Why does he not permit us to just sweep this all under a rug? Why does he insist that we come to terms with the full gravity and severity of sin? Is it because he wants to condemn us?

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. 

He wants us to be saved! And we can't do that if we don't really know what is going on. If we don't see clearly the pit from which we are pulled we wander back into it without thinking. Indeed, we are only ever out of the pit incidentally. He wants us to remain free intentionally, though not through our own strength. He wants us to make a genuine choice for the freedom he offers.

And so the serpent is lifted on the pole. We must gaze upon it if we are too be healed. But that in itself too abstract. We still don't quite get it. So he escalates the issue. It is not merely the consequences of our sin on which we gaze. It is their effect on the very one who deserves them least of all endured out of love for us.

Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.

Because God is so good he will not force us to see our sin or the consequences thereof without at that very time revealing his love for us. Even as he shows us the ugliness and severity of sin he dwarfs that revelation with the fact that "God so loved the world".

So let's "not forget the works of the Lord!" He is more than merciful and more than simply forgiving. He turns his anger back and does not destroy us.  It is not done begrudgingly. He loves us! He loves us unto death! As God reveals this love to us he enables us to gaze upon the the ugliness of the cross and receive it as a blessing. He empowers us to enthrone him in our hearts.

that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

13 Sept 2014 - river roots

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.

We are called to produce good fruit. Many of us are self-styled fruit trees. We imagine apples, pears, oranges, and other fruit. We delight in thinking of the fragrance. We delight in imagining the taste. Yet our branches remain barren. No fruit actually grows. 

If we want to be apple trees we need to grow apples. If we want to be fruit trees, the fruits of the Holy Spirit must manifest in our lives including, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (cf. Gal. 5:22-23). They can't be abstractions. These fruits are meant to be so tangible as to feed the world.

But often our roots don't go deep enough to bear fruit. We spiritually dehydrated, barely able to think or move. Yet we lose ourselves in wistful visions of the sweet fruits we want to produce. We need to dig deeper. We need stronger foundations. There is a river that is meant to nourish us and give us the abundant life we need to bear fruit.

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. (cf. Eze. 47:12)

It isn't so much that we need to work harder digging or spend more effort building. We just need to plant ourselves in the right spot. We need to build on the foundations which the LORD gives us (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11).

But we try to straddle the sand and the rock. In a lot of ways that can be even worse than just being on the sand. It stresses us in such a way that we might just split in two. There is one bread, one cup, one Body only. Yet we try drink the cups of demons and the cups of the LORD. We imagine ourselves to be fruit trees yet produce thorns and brambles. We are called to integrity. We are called to be consistent from the inside out. We must be built on rock only. Our roots must only drink of the river of God. The solution is offered by the psalmist. It is the cup of salvation that the LORD himself supplies. May we set aside the cups of demons in delight in the cup of salvation alone.

How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

12 Sept 2014 - pit-iful

Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

This is a passage we often read as saying something other than what it says. Our calling is to remove the splinter from our brother's eye. We act as if this is something which we want to do that is discouraged. But really, helping a brother to remove a splinter is a highly personal thing which is unlikely to be fun for the person doing it.  Though it is more fun, it seems, than dealing with our own issues. Rather than helping our brother out of love we use him as a distraction from our own shortsightedness!

But we are being trained as disciples. We are supposed to become like our teacher. There are millions falling in the pits of sin all around us and we cannot help because we don't see much better than them.

Rather than talk about splinters that only serve as distractions from our own hearts we need to be more like Paul. He is always an example of what he preaches.

No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified.

More than almost anyone his life shows a one to one correspondence between his preaching and his living. How does he do it? Single-pointed focus on the goal:

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,
but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.

Because Paul knows his purpose he is willing to surrender some of his own rights in order to pursue it. He knows how it important it is that he preach the gospel. He isn't doing it pridefully, as if he is earning God's love.

If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!

If it was an ego-thing Paul would be blind to the needs of his congregation. But as it is Paul does it because his goal is the kingdom. His heart is filled with God's priorities, with the roads of pilgrimage. The splinter is gone from his own eye. He genuinely cares that the people he serves also have their eyes healed.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.

May God be our first priority. May we want to see him more than anything. And as we grow in that vision may he use us to share it with others.

My soul yearns and pines 
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.

11 Sept 2014 - lay down your weapons

Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.

Knowledge is the sort of thing that takes facts like "there is no God but one" and "there is no idol in the world" and uses those facts in a way that is abusive to our brothers and sisters. What if there is a brother who all too recently turned from idols to the living God (cf. 1 The. 1:9)? Do we want keep him in close contact with the ideology which he believed until just recently? Do we want to force him to exert his will to deny the existence of these idols? Do we want to force upon him what can only be considered a temptation? This is how knowledge uses facts. This is what the demons do. They believe that God is one and tremble (cf. Jam. 2:19). They are constantly shouting out the identity of Jesus to passers-by. Yet Jesus silences them because their knowledge is less than useless. It causes genuine harm.

Love builds up. Love is love even toward ones enemies. Knowledge needn't be. Even truth can be weaponized when we dealing with our enemies. If we accuse someone of sin we may risk alienating the person rather than winning them. If we, in other words, judge them, without love for them we do great disservice. Instead of revealing the truth about their sin we instead reveal a truth about our lack of love for them. We disregard that they are a person with whom God's wants to spend eternity and is is passionately in love. And disregarding this, the person may extrapolate that God may not love his enemies either. It is easy to infer that the God of a hateful person is a hateful God. But our God died for us while we were yet sinners (cf. Rom. 5:8). Rather than condemning the servant who owes the huge debt is shows leniency.  Rather than insisting on the truth he instead offers mercy. He then insists that we do the same for our fellow servants.

This gets harder when our enemies are behaving like genuine enemies. When they strike us, take our cloak, or ask more of us than they have a right to ask are we still able to put love first? Or do we weaponize our knowledge in order to defend ourselves? Do we insist on our "rights" in a way that subverts the kingdom of God by preventing us from loving others? We abuse Jesus in all these same ways that our enemies abuse us. And we all need to rely on his mercy in spite of our failings.

Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

The LORD probes us and knows the our hearts. He knows if our thoughts our crooked. He wants us to have knowledge. But he wants us to use it at the service of love. So let us ask, "See if my way is crooked, and lead me in the way of old." Grace is offered to us this morning. The LORD will penetrate our pretense and reveal our hearts to us. He will clear away the clouds of self-delusion. Let us use these words as our prayer today to open ourselves to that grace.

Even when he reveals mixed motives within us he also reveals his love for us that precedes anything we do or earn. He does not weaponize his knowledge of us. He uses his knowledge of us to build us up, to transform us, and to free us to love one another.

Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.

10 Sept 2014 - on that day

Jesus promises us that no matter how bad things seem now if we stick with him they will one day be made right. He makes all things work together for our good. It is hard to accept when we are hungry, thirsting, sad, hated, insulted, and mistreated. Yet, the grace he gives us this morning is to "Rejoice and leap for joy on that day", the very day on which we suffer, because of the hope that makes it meaningful. This hope isn't like earthly wishful thinking. It brings the victory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ into the present moment through faith. It is joy and peace from the resurrection life that Jesus shares with us that can even pervade moments of deep pain. It is a hope that makes the resurrection real to us here and now and draws us onward and upward and upward thereby.

The other option is to be so busy trying to escape this suffering that we don't have time to hope. We spend our time clutching temporary riches, consolations, food, and good experiences. Even though they don't last long we spend so much of our attention on them that we can't see past them. We prevent ourselves from really knowing that "the world in its present form is passing away." And this is something we have to know and internalize if we want to really rejoice in the hope that Jesus gives us. We have to stop seeking solace in these things if we want the peace that only Jesus gives.

But he does not just give this joy in heaven. He comes that his joy may be in us and our joy may be complete (cf. Joh. 15:11). He wants us to have life in abundance (cf. Joh. 10:10). The Holy Spirit gives life even now to our mortal bodies (cf. Rom. 8:11). Love, joy, and peace, are the fruits on the Spirit in our lives even now (cf. Gal. 5:22). God already bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens (cf. Eph. 1:3). Is this not our experience? Have we been content to put it off, telling ourselves that we'll wait for heaven for it? If so, we're probably filling the void with earthly things that are passing away.

Let's not be content with that which is passing away. Jesus doesn't want us to wait. He wants us to receive these blessings here and now. But we must be willing to do as the daughter in the psalm.  We must forgot our people and our father's house. In other words, we must let go of our past ways and the comforts of familiarity. We must instead decide to find all of our fulfillment in the king.  He desires our beauty. He is our lord, and we must worship him!

We surrender that which know for something that lasts.

They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.

9 Sept 2014 - on the level

Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.

We are meant to be the body of Jesus. Power is meant to come forth from us to heal the culture. Why do we feel so impotent before the problems of the world? Why does poverty, violence, and sickness only seem to increase?

Are we too busy pursuing self-interest like the Corinthians. Are we willing to go to such great lengths to protect our own rights that we wind up cheating others? Maybe the lengths don't even seem that great. Maybe for us it is mere indifference that deprives others of what is justly theirs.

Look at the difference between Jesus and ourselves. We read Paul tell us, "Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?" and we can think of a few reasons to give him. Yet Jesus is the example par excellence of one who does let himself be cheated. He welcomes even disciples whom he knows will betray him. He loves us even though we ourselves betray and cheat him. He even welcomes Judas into his company. He embraces all of this as a part of his mission. It is through these betrayals that he brings salvation to the world.

And that is how we know if we are doing what we are called to do or if we are just being doormats. There is a difference. When we allow ourselves to be cheated and put up with injustice for the sake of the kingdom we are following the master. But when we allow injustices because we don't think we deserve better we aren't doing anyone any favors. When we have self-hatred because we don't know who we are as sons and daughters of God and surrender our rights because of that we end up giving away the dignity which we are never meant to surrender.

The Lord takes delight in us. He wants us to take delight in him and his love for us. It is this love which enables us to lay down the things to which we can lay legitimate claim. We don't lay them down to punish ourselves because we don't deserve them. We lay them down for the kingdom because we have something better which cannot be taken away.

Before Jesus chooses these disciples he spends the night in prayer. It is his bond to the Father, a bond he shares with us, that allows him to fully and selflessly embrace the cross. He comes down from that mountain able to stand not below or above the crowds.  He does not stand in the pit of self-pity or remain on the mountain of entitlement. He stands on level ground with them. He is able to meet them where they are. But the time on the mountain is essential or the crowds can be overwhelming. The knowledge of imminent betrayal and injustice can be overwhelming. But Jesus brings his connection with the Father with him into the crowd. United to the Father he is unbreakable. And so are we.

Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.

8 Sept 2014 - nativity of mary

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;

You Mary, too small to be noticed by the world, are set apart by God to bring forth a strong shepherd for the flock of Israel. Not from human strength or glory does our salvation come. Only when you who are to give birth do so does his greatness "reach to the ends of the earth."  We are given him who stands in the strength of the LORD through one who seems to be without strength. We are given peace by one who seems powerless. The world is perplexed.

You are not, O Mary, what you seem to the world.  You are found to be with child and even Joseph, a righteous man, readies to divorce you quietly. But you are not what you seem O Mary. We interpret your weakness after the pattern of our weakness. Our weakness enslaves us, mother, but your weakness brings freedom to the world. Your weakness allows God to ensure "that all things work for good" in you. Our weakness subjugates us to the principalities and powers, the world rulers of this present darkness. We experience our weakness when we try to stand firm on our own. In your weakness you surrender everything to God by your fiat. And you are not abandoned. In your weakness the strength of God most manifest. An angel comes to Joseph to ensure you are protected. You bear a son and name him our savior. Through your weakness comes the one who will save us from our weakness.

It is not because you earn anything, Mary. You are made Queen by a gift. You are exulted as the new tabernacle and temple by the Divine Architect. You are made fit to give birth to Emmanuel, God with us, simply by allowing yourself to receive the grace of surrender from the Holy Spirit.

Teach us then, O Mother, not to be strong apart from the Strong One of Israel. Teach us to embrace the weakness in which God is strong. Let us allow ourselves to be earthen vessels so that we can clearly show from whom the surpassing power comes (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7). Then we will surely join you and the psalmist:

But I trust in your mercy.
Grant my heart joy in your salvation,
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has dealt bountifully with me!

7 Sept 2014 - elevating relationships

This morning God is calling us to unity.  He wants us to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace (cf. Eph. 4:3). He is telling us practically how to live that out.

We are no longer strangers or sojourners (cf. Eph. 2:19). We are brothers and sisters with a Father in heaven from whom every earthly father receives his identity (cf. Eph. 3:14). We have the same Father in heaven as Jesus (cf. Joh. 20:17) and so we are all one family. That is what Church really means. It is the covenant people of God. It is the spiritual Israel (cf. Gal. 6:16). Israel starts off as just a nuclear family and grows to a tribe, and then a nation. Finally, in Jesus, the family becomes international in the Catholic Church.

But we know practically speaking that family doesn't mean that our relationships are any easier. They become more important to us which, if anything, makes them even more challenging. We must be our brother's keeper, not turning a blind eye when we see him heading toward destruction.

If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die, ”
and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt,
but I will hold you responsible for his death.

If we do something to wrong a brother or sister we can't leave it that way. We have to go to them and try to make things right again (cf. Mat. 5:3). We have to ask his or her forgiveness and try to reestablish the relationship if we can. It can be even more challenging if the brother sins against us rather than we against them. We might prefer to leave well enough alone. But we are still called to try to win over our brother. When our motives might be in question because we are involved it is often necessary to bring in others to help us.  An intervention of several people carries more weight than just our own warning, which might otherwise be dismissed. It isn't enough just be get back to neutral, if we can help it. At the very least, "Love does no evil to the neighbor". That is enough to fulfill civil law and ensure harmonious societies.  But we are meant to be family.  So, "let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth" (cf. 1 Joh. 3:1).

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? (cf. Jam. 2:16).

And the Church is always there to present to us the standard by which make these judgments. She binds and looses that we might have assurance enough to know sins when we see them. She wants us to have sufficient confidence in her to bring her wisdom into our relationships.

In family we are often tempted to harden our hearts. But "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” That is why unity is essential. We need this unity because the world needs Jesus here. It needs the floodgates of the Father's blessings opened. And they are opened we agree. They are opened when we come together with one accord like the disciples at Pentecost. There can be no renewed Pentecost apart from renewed unity. The secret then and now is to gather around the Blessed Virgin. Let unite with her in praise to the LORD most high.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

6 Sept 2014 - king me

We are invited once again to become fools for Jesus. We see that the Corinthians are inflated with pride. They have become satisfied and grown rich in the wrong ways. It isn't just that they have a preference for one preacher over another. There is nothing wrong with that. They are taking pride in themselves because of whom they choose. They think, look at how great my preferences are.  They even let that pride create division with those who chose something else.

We don't succumb to this when we embrace the foolishness of the kingdom.  We embrace this foolishness when we remember that we have nothing we do not receive. Boasting as if we have not received, as if we have earned, lays the foundations for strife and division.

The Corinthians become kings without Paul. They believe they earn that kingship. Paul does has a path for them to become kings. Yet it is a path that first appears to be foolish. What kind of throne requires that one first experience weakness, disrepute, hunger, and thirst, rough treatment, homelessness, and toil? Isn't the whole point of being king the power to be free from ridicule, persecution, and slander? And then after enduring all, Paul still says that we earn nothing and that all is a gift. It is just too much.

Yet this is precisely the kingship of Jesus. He offers to share it with us. And we are right to recoil, right to count the cost. That means we are taking him seriously. He is calling us to be so willing to seek first the kingdom of God that we appear to be fools from an earthly perspective. The world has no way to distinguish between the times when we must abstain and times when we may indulge. The world could understand it if we always chose one way or the other. But as it is, kingdom criteria is not so rigid and legalistic.

“Have you not read what David did

when he and those who were with him were hungry?

How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,

which only the priests could lawfully eat,

ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”

He isn't calling us toward self-hatred. He isn't calling us to willfully inflict as much hunger and thirst on ourselves as we can. Instead, he tells us to put earthly needs in their proper perspective. Hence, as the they walk through fields, the disciples are allowed to pick grain and enjoy it. Jesus sticks up for them. He defends their right to be satiated. They are on mission and they need fuel for that mission. Since these gifts are being put in the service of the true king they are not a problem.

“The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

Foolishness, it seems, is all a matter of perspective about priority. Let's make sure that Jesus is our number one priority. Let us strive to become kings in the way that Paul does rather than the way the Corinthians do. He says that he will become a king along with the Corinthians when they become kings. But that will happen when they become kings for real and not just in their own estimation. Paul wants this for them because the LORD wants it for them.

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,

he hears their cry and saves them.

The LORD keeps all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.