31 Oct 2014 - cistern with the proud

Today, we are challenged to let our love "increase more and more".

We are called to love courageously. Jesus sees this man with dropsy and decides to heal him. But he knows that there are people watching who will judge him for this act of love. It is the sabbath and they prefer to keep strictly to the law rather than letting compassion guide them. They need "knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value". They value the letter of the law but miss the spirit behind it.

Jesus wants to help them (and us) see what has the most value in God's eyes. They are unable to recognize the value of this man with dropsy so Jesus puts it in other terms that they do understand:

“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,
would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” 

The Pharisees and scholars of law imagine that Jesus can wait a day to heal this man without any harm. But Jesus teaches them that his compassion is too great to wait. He loves this man like a son whom he won't suffer to wait a day in a cistern of darkness, suffering, and despair.

Jesus gets in the face of the Pharisees and scholars. His love is bold. It is fearless. He confronts them about their issue with sabbath before they even mention it this time.  It isn't just this time though.  His insistent love is always challenging. His intolerance for excuses and lesser goods is challenging. We aren't often as good at this as the Philippians. We aren't even consistent in our love during the good times. On the other hand are the Philippians who, Paul says "are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel." When Paul is in a cistern of imprisonment the Philippians continue to show their love.  They don't make excuses.

So we are called to let love be our overriding priority. We are called to not make excuses or choose lesser goods. This love is already at work in us. It does express itself, even heroically at times. Yet at other times we know we fail. If we aren't quite to the level of the Philipians yet, we don't need to worry. It is a process.

I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.

This is happening inside of us because God began to work in us. He is the one that provokes the desire to love in us. He won't stop working unless we force him to stop. And he won't ever be happy about stopping. He is raising us out of the cisterns of sin and suffering. He does so because we are his sons and daughters through Jesus by virtue of our baptism. He wants us to be filled with all the fruit that should entail.

so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.

We are made for the praise of his glory (cf. Eph. 1:6). He wants to hallow his name in our hearts. He wants to remove from us any reluctance we have in praising him, any doubt as to his goodness. The cistern that doubts God's love is dark indeed. Yet we all fall into this trap occasionally. But as we are experience his own unconditional love, and as this love manifests in our own lives through the choices we make, the doubts fall away and we are left with only praise.

Hallelujah!
I will praise the LORD with all my heart
in the assembled congregation of the upright.
Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.

30 October 2014 - missions specifics

“Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.

But in spite of these strong words Jesus is does not turn aside from his mission to confront with Herod. He knows that his battle is not with him. His "struggle is not with flesh and blood" and he knows it. He draws his "strength from the Lord and from his mighty power" so he doesn't have to prove himself to Herod or anyone. Herod does not distract him from his mission. He is undeterred. He knows his purpose and he knows the real enemy who opposes that purpose.

Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’

Jesus comes for more than healings which are just for "today and tomorrow". He is ultimately here for what he accomplishes on the third day. His mission is specific. When crowds try to kill him he escapes from their midst because it is not yet his time. When Herod tries to kill him he continues on his way because this is not his time. The mission is terribly specific in what it asks of Jesus. The display of God's love to which Jesus is called is foretold for centuries. It is a sacrificial sin offering which can only be made in Jerusalem. It is the culmination of all of the prophets of former times. They are sent by the owner of the vineyard to give him his harvest in due season but they are killed by the unfaithful tenants of the vineyard.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,

The owner of this vineyard finally sends Jesus.  "Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him" (cf. Luk. 20:13).

Jesus has a mission which is specific. It is a culmination of all of God's work with his people. At first glance we might think to ourselves, 'Well, as long as he dies for us, what does it matter who does it or when?' And from a human perspective, it might seem reasonable to go and deal with Herod, the sly fox. If Jesus really does harbor any sort of animosity for Herod he might choose to die at his hands rather than Pilot's as an act of what we can almost imagine to be revenge.  If Jesus gives Herod special agency in his death it makes him liable to special judgment, after all. See how subtly our motivations can be twisted? But Jesus knows his purpose. He knows his true enemy. Herod may be a sly fox, but he is not a distraction for Jesus.

Jesus is always fully equipped with the armor of God that allows him to resist any impulse to deviate from the mission. It allows him to hold his ground and to stand fast when his commitment is tested.

In him we see the fullness of all that composes the armor: truth, righteousness, and readiness for the Gospel of peace. His faith in the Father does not waver.  He himself is the word of God. He himself is our salvation. By looking to him we learn how to don this armor ourselves. 

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.

This armor is the strength of God that allows us to remain focused on our purpose. We wear it because we know our enemy. Just as the Father has a very specific purpose for Jesus so to does he have for us. Turning aside in even small ways can result in something much less than God intends. And what does he intend? He is talking about everyone when he says, "how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings".  So let's not be "unwilling".

Instead, let's embrace our part of the mission.  Let us "pray at every opportunity in the Spirit" with "all perseverance and supplication" just as Paul asks the Ephesians to do for him. When we show ourselves willing in this way he gathers us in the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace. And since we know that he is faithful let us praise him.

O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.

29 Oct 2014 - door number one

Strive to enter through the narrow gate,

The narrow gate is Jesus himself.  He says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture" (cf. Joh. 10:9).

He desires that all be saved and come to knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4). The psalmist is confident of this.

The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

If his love is so broad, why the apparent limit? If he is a gate, why is he narrow?

many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.

Many people are trying to force the door open with their own strength. We need to rely on the one, Jesus, who is in us. He is greater than the one who is in the world (cf. 1 Joh. 4:4). The enemy once had this gate sealed shut.  But Jesus is "someone stronger" who "attacks and overpowers him" (cf. Luk. 11:21). It is sealed no longer!

It is not about our own strength. We don't need strength when we choose the correct door. Jesus is the gate which will open to us. We often insist on spending on strength in futile attempts to force open any other door but him.

He gives us the strength, for instance, to give due respect to those in authority.

be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling,
in sincerity of heart, as to Christ,
not only when being watched, as currying favor,

If we enter the narrow gate of Jesus we will serve "as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not men, knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free." Can we hear hints of the banquet of the kingdom in this statement? Do we begin to taste it even in our service?  It is possible. But we would prefer a door where such humility and service is not even necessary. We smash into the door of trying to do it on our own. We smash into the door of trying to do it for our pride and self-image.  We keep smashing into these doors trying to make them work but they never do.

"Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations." But this door does not remain open forever. Once it is shut, it is too late.

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’

The LORD will not force us to choose himself. But a decision is required of us because eventually the heavenly feast must begin. Will we enter this narrow gate? Will we recline at table in the Kingdom of God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with the prophets, with people from north and south, east and west? Or will we let our stubbornness keep us on the outside looking in? It doesn't seems that while the gate is narrow there are actually quite a few people inside. Let us be among them.

This invitation is for the end of time, to be sure. If there were no firm deadline then there would be a third option, choosing neither to love nor not to love, choosing neither to enter the gate, nor to remain outside. But this is not an option. It doesn't make sense and so it is not a choice we have.

This invitation is one we receive each day. Will we enter into our lives through this gate? Will we enter into service of parents, children, masters, and slaves through this gate? When we do, we find that we begin to partake in the banquet of the Kingdom of God even now. Will we enter into Mass and the Sacraments through this gate? It is the only way to enter. Let us strive to enter by this gate. When we do, the glory of the Kingdom fills us. We can't stop talking about the might of the one who opens his Kingdom to us.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

28 Oct 2014 - do this one thing before you evangelize

When day came, he called his disciples to himself,

Jesus is calling us to himself this morning.

He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" (cf. Rev. 3:20). He is at the threshold of our hearts inviting us. He knocks with the persistence of the man who needs to borrow bread at midnight. Yet he is the one who has bread of finest wheat for us (cf. Psa. 81:16).

He says, "Follow me" to us just as he does to Andrew and his companion (cf. Joh. 1:43)

We stand idle in the markets. But we are not forgotten. Jesus says to us "You also go and work in my vineyard" (cf. Mat. 20:7). He has a purpose for us.

This invitation echoes through creation and through the Church: "Their message goes out through all the earth." It must echo ceaselessly because the world is starved for truth.

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost" (cf. Isa. 55:1).

We must echo it tirelessly because the world is so weary.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (cf. Mat. 11:28).

We all experience the sense that something is missing from time to time.  But now, "in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." God in us- this is the missing piece! This is the hope of glory! If we respond to the invitation Jesus offers with love "My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them" (cf. Joh 14:23).

We are being built into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit so let us respond:

Lift up your heads, O gates;
be lifted, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter (cf. Psa. 24:7).

This invitation is for the whole world. And the whole world together is meant to be built into this "temple sacred in the Lord". We are no longer forgotten, no longer strangers and sojourners, all because Jesus invites us to be a part of this. We ourselves are to be living stones in his temple (1 Pet. 2:4-6). And since we don't want to see any gaping holes we too must repeat this invitation.

Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.

Let the chorus of this message swell! Jesus shows us the way to do this the most effectively. He spends the whole night beforehand in prayer on the mountain. And he is Jesus! How much more must we entrust all of our efforts to the Father. Yet when we do, we can be sure that all things will work together for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28).

27 Oct 2014 - got a light?

Be imitators of God

Because "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all" (cf. 1 Joh. 1:5). He is, in fact, "the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change."

For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light. 

We can imitate him because Jesus "delivered us from the power of darkness" and made us fit "to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light". It is a transformation that we have to continue to embrace.  That is why Paul tells says, "Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light" (cf. Rom. 13:12).

No more immorality, impurity, or greed! These are the selfish choices we make when we don't put God first. They are idolatry. Instead, let us "put on love" (cf. Col. 3:14) which binds all of the virtues together in perfect unity.

Jesus shows us the way.  Because of his love for us he "handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma." He shows us the greatest possible love. If we imitate him we won't risk being called "Hypocrites!" as we use lesser disciplines as excuses not to love. If God is calling us to bring healing into a situation we use the rules of religion to justify our lack of compassion. Wearing the armor of light like Jesus does gives us the power to give our lives as fragrant offerings to God. We put first things first. We treat the Sabbath rest with due reverence. Yet we realize that even on the Sabbath God may want to set someone free "whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now". We are no longer susceptible to empty arguments. They are revealed as obvious excuses to indulge in selfishness. Instead, our roots go deep.  The LORD is able to fill us with light and life.

He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.

And when we are filled with life all those nearby share in the fruit. All see it have one more opportunity to glorify the goodness of God.  When Jesus heals the woman "the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him." They continue to rejoice if we embrace our call to live as children of the light.

26 Oct 2014 - this one weird trick

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

There is so much to the law. It seems like it is impossible to distill it all down to any one thing. It seems like trying to do so might render it unrecognizable. The scholar is asking to test him. He might not even believe an answer is possible. He might be trying to silence Jesus the same way Jesus silenced the Sadducees.

But as it turns out there is an answer. It is deceptively simple:

He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

It all boils down to love. All of the sacraments, symbols, liturgies, canon law, music, and indeed all the aspects of the Church are about love at the core. They exist so that we can be filled with love for God and love for our neighbor. They exist so that we can live out that love. Yet even though it is simple to say, it is difficult to put into concrete practice. The LORD is insistent that if neglect the widow, the orphan, or our poor neighbors then something fundamental is missing:

If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? (cf. 1 Joh. 3:17).

We are called to love not in word or speech but in deed and truth (cf. 1 Joh. 3:18). We are called to be doers of the word and not hearers only (cf. Jam. 1:22). The disadvantaged have a claim on our excess (yikes) and "If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."

We know that we don't love as we ought. Difficult to put into concrete practice? For man this is impossible, but not for God (cf. Mat. 19:26). We are reluctant. We give up things that don't matter, things that are not asked of us.  We cling to our desires even when God is calling us to let them go for others. We won't let go of these things because what would we even be without them? We define ourselves with them. We find that we are still at the center of our own lives and that God is at the peripheries. We need transformation. 

It turns out that love of God must precede love of neighbor. And his love for us always precedes our love for him. We express the love of God whom we cannot see by loving the neighbor whom we can see. But we do not have the power to do this until we are transformed by God's own love and initiative.  We need to receive "the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit". The word needs to penetrate us deeply. It can't be superficial. It needs to cut us to the heart so that we can become a model for all believers just like the Thessalonians. Let's be honest, talking about the claim the disadvantaged have on us doesn't inspire joy on a natural level. So what are we to do? Where does this transformation come from?

We have this transformation first in baptism. But from then on we need to let it define us. We need to continue to let God by first, to let his anointing guide us.

"As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him" (Cf. 1 Joh. 2:27).  There is nothing to fear, "For everyone born of God overcomes the world" (cf. 1. Joh. 5:4). This is baptism. In it we first overcome the world. But ultimate victory means living from that anointing, living our faith, because "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (cf. 1 Joh. 5:4).

The anointing allows us to realize that, after all, "all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world" and all of that is passing away (cf. 1 Joh. 2:16-17). God's love for us and his anointing allow us to realize the truth of this. It makes us free to love him and love our neighbor the way we should.

I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

25 Oct 2014 - living the truth in love

We are the fig tree that is slow to bear fruit. Jesus is the gardener that cultivates the ground and fertilizes it so that "it may bear fruit in the future". He doesn't want to see us cut down. There is an urgency to this because "if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" It isn't only the especially bad that need to worry about this. We all have this same call. No matter how much time each of us has we are the same in that it is a limited amount. We don't want to perish like the people at the Siloam or the Galileans that Herod kills. We may meet tragedy as they do. But we should meet it with hearts that are ready, hearts that have repented. We need to grow into fig trees that bear fruit.

until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood
to the extent of the full stature of Christ,

If we allow ourselves to be "tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming" this might not happen.

With have to be firmly rooted in the truth. Then, "living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head". And since he is the vine and we are the branches we can't bear fruit in any other way (cf. Joh. 15:5).

Jesus himself tends the soil in which we grow.   He "gave gifts" to ensure that his fig trees are able to bear fruit. What are these gifts? He "gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers". These facets of his Church ensure we have access to truth in our soil. The truth makes us strong, so that we aren't blown about by winds of teaching arising from human trickery. We can then bear the fruit we are meant to bear. And what is this fruit? It equips us "for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ". It empowers us to walk in unity with each other, a union that has its source in Jesus himself.

We are called to take advantage of all Jesus does to give us his truth. It is the truth which sets us free (cf. Joh. 8:32). Jesus himself is this truth (cf. Joh. 14:6). If we feel blown too and fro this morning it may be strange doctrine that is causing it. We may be foregoing the truth which can make us strong. This makes us vulnerable. So let's go to the place where the soil is tended by the master gardener. Let us grow, relying on the gifts he gives.

I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

24 Oct 2014 - urgency

Mamertine Prison - Traditional site of the imprisonment of Saints Peter and Paul

I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,

Listen to Paul. There is urgency that we live up to this calling. Why?

You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

We need to read these signs correctly. We need to take advantage of the invitation the LORD while there is still time. It is counter-intuitive, but the urgency of our calling allows us to be patient prisoners for the LORD like Paul is. It allow us to endure with humility, gentleness, and patience. When we read these signs we number our days because we know that life is short.  It is a passing shadow, grass that springs up in the morning but fades in the evening (cf. Psa. 90:6). Paul is untroubled by this "light momentary affliction" (cf. 2 Cor 4:17).  He is unfazed by it. The urgency of eternity puts the concerns of the present in their proper place.

Eternity requires holiness (cf. Heb. 12:14). We do well to embrace it that rather than to begrudgingly accept it.

the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

If we are to be prisoners, let us be like Paul.  Let us be prisoners for the LORD. If holiness is required of us, let us undergo the transformation now. If we embrace this transformation and acquiesce to God's work in us we experience humility, gentleness, and patience. If we don't embrace it, it might be less enjoyable. It might feel like it is being torn from us until the last penny is paid. This is the urgency of the call to holiness. 

We are called to one hope. When we realize this we will push through all the distractions that offer us lesser hopes.

you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

When we have this as the priority of our hearts we do so in union with all the followers of Jesus. We can preserve the bond of peace as one Body because we are united in the one Spirit who himself is the only cause of holiness in anyone.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

We long to see your face, LORD. Teach us to see the urgency of the signs of the times and to respond to that urgency. In response, we ask you to have your way in us. We ask you to unite us and make us holy by your Spirit in us.

23 Oct 2014 - the most dangerous name

I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!

Jesus comes to give us the dangerous gift of his love. He comes to pour out the fiery presence of the Holy Spirit into our hearts.

John the Baptist warns us, "He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire" (cf. Luk. 3:16). The Holy Spirit is a great gift indeed. But he is not safe. He has the power to unite us all in the bond of peace (cf. Eph. 4:3) but we are free to reject him. Jesus wants to save everyone. His desire is to unite all people, Jews, Gentiles, women, men, slaves, and free to form one new creation (cf. Gal 3:28, 6:15). But, like it or not, he is the perfect gentleman. He will not force us. We are allowed to opt-out.

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.

We might expect those who don't accept the invitation of Jesus to just be indifferent. Why do we often find that those who are not for him are actively opposed to him (cf. Luk. 11:23)? What is it about his claim that people can't just ignore? Whatever it is, it results in what Jesus calls "a baptism with which I must be baptized". It results in the cross itself.

Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit and power (cf. Act. 10:38). He is anointed to proclaim the good news (cf. Luk. 4:18). But the good news he preaches is himself. He himself is the way the truth and the life (cf. Joh. 14:6). He himself is the resurrection and the life (cf. Joh. 11:25). There is no other name given under heaven by which we may be saved (cf. Act. 4:12). The Holy Spirit is dangerous precisely because he enjoys this truth. He will not censor it. He magnifies and reechoes it. He refuses to truncate it. For instance, he won't omit the fact that "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it" (cf. Mat. 10:39). He won't neglect to preach our need for repentance (cf. Mar. 1:15).  Different audiences need to hear it differently, but the truth that is given is one and the same, because the person being proclaimed is the same.

The Holy Spirit has the effect in Jesus himself, making it impossible to ignore his preaching. But the danger is amplified because if we listen to Jesus we too receive the Holy Spirit. And he has the same effect in us that he does in Jesus. He is no more content to keep quiet in us than he his in Jesus. We may even find ourselves asking to drink the cup Jesus drinks and be baptized with the same baptism we mentioned above. After all, if this is what it means for the fire of Jesus to catch throughout the world we should want it too. We may find the Spirit asking these things in us before we even really know what they mean. And we may hear, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized". He inspires the zeal and even though we ourselves are not ready he gives the strength we need.

It's a big deal. It isn't value neutral. It is almost impossible to ignore. But ultimately, it is so good that nothing can compare. To even comprehend this we need to be stronger. And here is another element of danger. The strength we need only comes as we accept the invitation. This is because, by definition, we can't have this knowledge through our own strength. We are called to "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge". To know it, we must "be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self".  This is, after all, no ordinary knowledge.  It allows us to "be filled with all the fullness of God."

Fortunately we don't need to understand everything. We never will, anyway.  Not completely. Even more than that, we need trust, trust in the goodness and love of God.  "The earth is full" of his goodness.

Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine,
by the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

If we're nervous about letting the Holy Spirit have his way in us let us try to trust more in the goodness of God. The Holy Spirit himself will help us. As we lift praise to God the Holy Spirit moves inside our hearts and transforms us, filling us with faith.

Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

22 Oct 2014 - kingdom impossible

"The secret ingredient is: water!"

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (ef. Ecc. 1:9).

As humans we tend to crave a certain amount of novelty. Even those of us that take comfort in routine long for something new now and again. Everyone gets bored from time to time. And so we search. We end up finding the same old things repackaged in new ways. Often this is enough to distract us. But we never find something that is genuinely new. Until we find the one thing that is: Jesus himself.

He is the mystery "which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit". God's plan for us in Jesus is hidden from past ages. But now it is revealed as the inscrutable riches of Christ and the manifold wisdom of God. There have been so few spoilers that even the principalities and authorities in heaven have to learn about this plan "through the Church".

Now that this plan has been revealed it cannot remain a secret. We need to have the same confidence and boldness of speech that Paul has "in Christ Jesus our Lord". It is now the "proper time" to "distribute the food allowance". We must not leave the menservants and the maidservants hungry while we gorge ourselves, "to eat and drink and get drunk".  But the menservants and the maidservants need food. They are hungry. If we don't share this great allowance of food, this divine revelation, with them they will be starved. We are beating them down even by what we omit. In their souls they are moving toward the food we have. Let us welcome them. Let us not push them aside in our own hearts. Let them come to receive this allowance of food.  This feast is meant to be shared.

If we dwell on our perception that the master is far away...

‘My master is delayed in coming,’

...we begin to focus on ourselves in excess. We know our master's will. He reveals it to us today. He longs for his benefits to be shared with all his children. This is one reason what it is a big deal to know that "the Gentiles are coheirs". God does not exclude anyone so neither can we! But it is even more than that. It is simply inspiring to see how God's heart is big enough for the whole world. Our hearts are not like that by their nature. But they are meant to become thus by God's grace.

God is in the midst of his kingdom even when he seems "delayed in coming" He is here like the host of some Restaurant Impossible type show.  Let's call it Kingdom Impossible. He wants to see us act with generosity toward others whether or not we think he is watching. We'll get more than a chewing out if we don't.

That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;

But he's fair. He only holds us accountable for what we know. It's only so extreme because it is so important that the world get fed. It is his love that makes him discipline us. We are not meant to be motivated by fear. That is the whole point of the show.

This Kingdom will succeed even though it sometimes seems quite impossible. Sometimes the clientele seem impenetrable, the staff seem incompetent, and the resources of the business insufficient. But we have a secret ingredient that the world does not. And everyone wants it.

You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

We have some amazing Top Chefs like Saint John Paul the Great that show us how to put this ingredient the best possible use. So let's get cooking. Let us market this thing by joining in the praise of the psalmist:

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!

21 Oct 2014 - be prepared

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.

Are we ready? The LORD may seem distant to us at times. He may seem like he is away celebrating in some other place far from us. At such times it is easy to start doing our own thing. We not only neglect the armor of God we don't even take the time to cover our loins.

What does it mean to gird our loins?

So stand fast with your loins girded in truth (cf. Eph. 6:14)

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 1:13).

Girding our loins means to be grounded in the truth. We must constantly cover ourselves with this truth as the most basic protection we have against the culture. We must gird our loins whether the master is near or whether he is at a party far away. It is the prerequisite to rest of the armor of God. Without it we strike an indecent appearance, not suitable to venture forth from our homes.

And what does it mean to light our lamps?

It means that we must fulfill our call to be lights for the world. We must, once properly dressed, let this light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (cf. Mat. 5:14-16). But for these lamps to burn we need the oil that the wise virgins remember and the foolish forget (cf. Mat. 25:1-13). What is this oil? It is the "oil of gladness" with which we are anointed (cf. Heb 1:9). It is the oil with which Samuel anoints David.  We read that he "took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward" (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13). This oil is the Holy Spirit.

When we have the Holy Spirit we are no longer "without hope and without God in the world."  We are no longer "like the rest of mankind, who have no hope" (cf. 1 The. 4:13). It is ultimately this hope which gives us the strength we need to be ready to meet the master when he returns. We have the fuel to burn brightly for God.

If the LORD is away until the second or the third watch we should not despair. Jesus doesn't leave us for long. If we listen we will hear him speaking of the peace for which we long. Let us listen to Jesus who "preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near".  Let us listen as "The Lord speaks of peace to his people." 

If our loins are girded in truth we will meet his kindness, for "Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss." We can take this to the bank. If he finds us ready he meets us with blessings far beyond what we deserve.  He "will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them."   Even at this moment,  Jesus is uniting us in truth and in the Holy Spirit.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

We are called to be prepared. But we are given all we need to do so.

20 Oct 2014 - don't let the money make you

“Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”

This is kind of what we're working so hard for isn't it? Wouldn't it be nice to finally get all the work done so that we can just sit back and enjoy it? No need to fret about expenses or anything like that. We've taken care of all that.

But "one’s life does not consist of possessions". We don't just work for the sake of working. Yet we don't just work for the proximate gains of possessions and security. We don't want to be "the one who stores up treasure for himself".

It is hard to see our work as an effort toward something greater. It is hard to see our taxes as an offering to God. But these spheres can't function independently from him. We must do all things for the LORD. We must work so that we can be "rich in what matters to God."

Jesus shows us "the immeasurable riches of his grace" and these are the riches that matter to God. Yet they are not from works. If they aren't from works but we have to keep working anyway, what is to prevent us from isolating that aspect of our lives from God, from making it purely secular, and ultimately selfish?

For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.

The riches that God gives us prepare and equip us for good works. We no longer live to store up treasure for ourselves. Our time, our talent, and our treasures, are now at the service of love. There is now more to life than the drudgery of the daily grind. But it isn't just a vacation home in Florida. It is the fulfillment that we only find when we make ourselves a gift to others and to God. This is true wealth. We don't need to worry about what will happen to riches of this kind.

So we keep working, but no longer "following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient." We keep working, but not for "the wishes of flesh". There is something greater on the horizon now because God has "brought us to life in Christ and seated us with him in the heavens." The view is good from up here. We don't need to work for fading earthly splendor. And when we're tempted we remember that there is more "in the ages to come" when God will "show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."

"The Lord made us, we belong to him", sings the psalmist. But we have twice the reason to sing, remade in Christ, "created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."

Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.

19 Oct 2014 - taxing question

He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" 
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."

This doesn't mean that we have two categories, one secular, and one spiritual. We might be tempted to use this as an excuse to separate our politics from our religion. We might wish to privately oppose something but publicly support it. Yet what does not belong to God? Indeed even Caesar is made in God's image and inscribed with his likeness. There is nothing, strictly speaking, that just belongs to Caesar.

But that doesn't mean we don't have to pay taxes. Somehow we are called to render to Caesar what is his even while at the very same time rendering it to the God who owns all things. Caesar only owns anything in a partial and temporary way. We are allowed and indeed commanded to participate in that sphere of life to the degree that our offerings in it are also offerings for God. God values a well-ordered society. He is able to use even bad rulers to his purpose, "making kings run in his service".

"I have called you by your name,
giving you a title though you knew me not."

The LORD can work even where he is not known. He can work even where he is misunderstood. He can work to bring order to society through Caesar. He can bring deliverance to Israel through Cyrus. There authority is from him. Before anyone else the "LORD is king, he governs the peoples with equity." And so there is a sense in which even all the tax we pay is an offering to God. This only seems extreme too us because we are too used to dividing our lives between the sacred and the secular. These areas which are not explicitly given to the LORD are still under his rule. Yet the LORD prefers to be known. He delights to work through the hearts of those that are open to him. Blessings are poured out in greater abundance and there is more peace when we cooperate with him.

And so he reveals himself to Cyrus:

I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.

He chooses leaders so that the world can be a place where people can come to know him. But he also chooses each one of us individually so that our hearts can be places where he is known. 

For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Order in the world allows a more undivided attention on God. As does conviction in our hearts. This morning we celebrate that we are chosen in power and the Holy Spirit. We are given not just faith but much conviction. With the conviction in our hearts we become seeds of peace even in the places of the world where God is not known. When we have this conviction our lives and our words do make him known.

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

18 Oct 2014 - Lucan out for our brothers

Luke the Evangelist

Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

That includes us! He calls us friends:

I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father (cf. Joh. 15:15).

That means we need to start making known the good news which Jesus tells us. We worry that we aren't qualified but we emphatically do not need to wait until we feel ready to get out into the fields. On our own we'll keep stockpiling money, sacks, and sandals, and never actually leave.

behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;

It doesn't depend on our resources. The important stuff isn't complicated. God loves us. He died so that we can be with him forever. He wants to give us the power to live the lives we are meant to live by his Holy Spirit.

The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.

Jesus wants us to have a genuine concern that all of the crop be harvested. None should go to waste because of a labor shortage. The glorious splendor of the Kingdom is so glorious that it hurts Jesus to see crops wither without that light. His own precious blood is such nourishment for the harvest that it causes him grief to see a drought that need not be.

He calls us to focus. He calls this mission to be such a priority that we don't look to the left or the right but keep our faces set forward toward

 greet no one along the way.

Yet even though we are facing forward it is still important that there are those who walk with us side-by-side.

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.

The support that Luke provides to Paul when he feels abandoned is an example of how important this can be. Whenever possible, we are meant to depend on brothers and sisters who are on the same mission we are.

Luke is the only one with me.

Because they are both focused on the mission they are committed enough to be there for one another. Because they are there for one another they are more able to enter into mission.

The glorious splendor of the Kingdom is the task at hand. It deserves our full attention.

cure the sick in it and say to them,
‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

Let us rely on those God sends alongside us and let us in turn be faithful friends to them. We are empowered to do this because he first calls us friends and sends us out.

17 Oct 2014 - afraid not

Do not be afraid.

But wait, what about "the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna"? Aren't we supposed to "be afraid of that one"?

No. Jesus tells us, "Do not be afraid" even though there is plenty that is worthy of fear. We do not fear, not because there is nothing worthy of fear, but instead because nothing escapes the notice of God. We do not fear because the one who is in us is stronger than the one who is in the world (cf. 1 Joh. 4:4). He sees every single detail, every bird of the field, and every hair of our heads. And it is an attention which is not indifferent. He doesn't just watch as we struggle. He chooses us, specifically.  He chooses each one of us individually. He has a destiny for each one of us, and that destiny is "in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will". Nothing can stop him from fulfilling his will for us. All things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (cf. Rom. 8:28). We are called!

This morning, God says to us, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

And yet, when we meet challenges and sufferings we start to worry.  We worry, whether we put it in these terms or not, that his purpose for us might not be fulfilled. We become fearful and question if the LORD is really watching. If he is watching, we think, whence these apparent setbacks? 

He assures us that he is not missing anything. No detail escapes his notice. the hairs of our heads are counted, and we are worth more than many sparrows. We can take comfort in knowing that he "accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will". None of these apparent setbacks can stop him. In fact, he makes even them work for his purposes.

This is why Ignatius of Antioch is not "afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more". He knows that he is worth more than many sparrows. He knows that even the apparent setback of death can't stop the God who accomplishes all things from accomplishing his plan for Ignatius. Because of this, Ignatius is able to write:

The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being.

We are blessed because the LORD has chosen us to be his own. He has a destiny for us that cannot be subverted by any force except ourselves. And what is that destiny? It is to "exist for the praise of his glory". Notice, we are not just to exist and praise his glory. We are to exist for the purpose of praising his glory, indeed as monuments of praise to his name.

Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.

16 Oct 2014 - now you know

“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets 
whom your fathers killed.

It doesn't sound so bad on the surface. Isn't it good to honor the prophets? Even if our fathers were involved in killing the prophets isn't this memorial building a step in the right direction? Isn't it honoring them rather than killing them?

Not here. Building a memorial to the prophets could be a great thing. But here the motivation is the same that caused the killing in the first place.

Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.

The motivation seems to be that the scribes and Pharisees want to be in the spotlight themselves. They ultimately have no room for the prophets. They kill them when they can. When it is too late, when the prophets are already known to be prophets, they appropriate them to their own ends. They build memorials so that everyone will have to think about the prophets through the lens of their own accomplishments.

In fact, we are much the same. We don't give God the room he deserves. We're content to have a memorial to his work. We are content to have him as decor. But we don't like it when he starts to rearrange and redirect our lives. We are happy to have a statue of him on his glorious throne upon the cherubim. We are much more reluctant to give him the throne of our own lives.

When this motivation dominates the key of knowledge of taken away from those who genuinely want to find it. Seekers only see us and not God at work within us. We ourselves do not enter the kingdom and we become stumbling blocks to those trying to enter. We see this motivation climax at the crucifixion of Jesus. It is as if the whole hostility toward God throughout history is joined together in one terrible deed.

in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,

But God is bigger and stronger than our hostility against him. He accepts this hostility and uses it to bring us redemption, the forgiveness of transgressions.

In Christ we have redemption by his Blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.

The keys to knowledge are no longer held inert by our selfishness. In his selfless love Jesus makes known what the scholars of the law and Pharisees will not tell, what they in fact cannot tell.

In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

Just as our selfishness prevents us and the world from obtaining saving knowledge of God's will and unites us in bloodshed and hostility so does the selfless love of Jesus make known the saving knowledge "of the mystery of his will" and unites us in love, summing up all things in Christ.

Sing a new song to the LORD,
for he has done marvelous deeds.
His right hand and holy arm
have won the victory.
The LORD has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,

The grace offered to us this morning is a grace to know the greatness of God's love for us and to be united in his plan.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,

Every blessing? Yes, every blessing.

as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.

We are blessed and we are chosen. We are given wisdom. We are united in Christ. There is nothing else we need.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

15 Oct 2014 - bearing fruit, not burdens

You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.

This is not what Jesus does.

But it might seem like it. We hear him tell us, "but I say to you".  We hear him say that if we look at a woman with lust we are guilty of adultery. He tells us that if we are angry with our brother we are liable to judgment. He goes on to teach about divorce, oath-taking, revenge, and love of enemies in a way that makes it clear that "unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven."  We have to be perfect "just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (cf. Mat. 5:20-48).

Is Jesus imposing a burden on us that is hard to carry?

No, "his commandments are not burdensome" (cf. 1 Joh.).  Say it with me, "not burdensome".

How can they not be? He is basically asking the impossible.

"For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible" (cf. Mat. 19:26).

OK, fair enough. But we aren't God. And yet these commands are addressed to us. John tells us that the commands are not burdensome. But he also tells us why they aren't, "for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith." For God all things are possible. And we are "begotten" by God so that we can share this power.

We are given this life by the Spirit. We must also choose to follow the Spirit.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. 

It is all too possible to fall back into a burdensome Christian life. We begin to rely on ourselves imperceptibly, without even realizing it. But when we do we see the works of the flesh manifest in our lives.  They are "obvious" signs that we are not trusting in God:

immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.

On the other hand, if we live as God's children, relying on the life he gives us we see the fruits of the Spirit. They too begin imperceptibly. But eventually they do mark our lives in a recognizable way. There can be a painful transition, because "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires." The cross is the only way that our old self can be extinguished so that the new life God gives has room inside our hearts. But the cross too is a gift. For humans it is impossible, but not for God. 

Now we learn why the man who "delights in the law of the LORD" is blessed. He doesn't feel like he is trying to lift burdens impossible to carry. Jesus never gives commands without lifting a finger to help us. He does more than lift a finger. He provides all the strength we need by his Spirit. Let us follow his Spirit and not our flesh. This is true blessedness.

He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.

14 Oct 2014 - not all washed up

Jesus sets us free so that we can be free. It sounds obvious. But we are more inclined to wear our freedom as a badge. We are more concerned with outward signs and symbols. What does that reveal about us? When we are concerned to appear a certain way before others it reveals insecurity within. We have something to prove. We are trying to add value to the intrinsic worth we have from God. When we start down this path we will never achieve it to our satisfaction.

Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised
that he is bound to observe the entire law.
You are separated from Christ,
you who are trying to be justified by law;
you have fallen from grace.

This is why Jesus himself is so insistent on integrity and so opposed to hypocrisy.

Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

He wants everything to be clean for us, inside and out. He sets us free so that we can stand in freedom. If our inside is not clean we will always obsess over the externals, whether circumcision, ritual washing or their modern equivalents which let us be seen as religious people in the eyes of others. Maybe if we can convince them we can convince ourselves? It isn't going to work. He is the one that makes us free. It only happens with his grace.

But when the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior (cf. Tit. 3:4-6)

So if that is true, what is this business about giving alms? Are we falling back into earning something? Are we trying to prove ourselves again? No, we are now called to be who we are. We are made free by Jesus.  He now calls us to stand in this freedom. We are a new creation. Now we need to act like it. And even this is only possible through grace. We have to rely on him or we will keep falling back into proving ourselves. We won't be satisfied with who we are and we won't have peace. Giving alms is hard enough. But we are called to do it without reference to the superficial reward to our self-image. This is humanly impossible. But this morning we are given the grace to stand in freedom.

His law is a beautiful thing when we he is the one which empowers us to keep it. With his word of truth his ordinances are changed from condemnation to hope.

Let your mercy come to me, O LORD,
your salvation according to your promise.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your ordinances is my hope.
And I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.

13 Oct 2014 - not a finger pointing to the moon

Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.

There is a break here. It is an interruption in the continuity that has been unchanged since the fall. Humanity is barren. We long for life but cannot really bring it forth. The life we do bring forth is subjected to slavery. It isn't the fullness of life. It doesn't have the freedom it is meant for. We are "those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life" (cf. Heb 2:15). As humans, we know a lot about the frustration that life in this world brings.

But the life for which we long does indeed come, though not through human effort. It does appear, though not through the same old things we've been trying again and again throughout history. It comes not by way of effort but rather as a gift.

Humanity is first prepared. The barren woman eventually receives its most perfect form in the Virgin. She is cleansed from sin and made free. In this freedom she does not even attempt to give birth on her own. She is made to be entirely receptive to the gift that is to be given. She is given grace to be perfectly open to the gift and speak her fiat to it.

The gift she is given cannot be overstated. It is "something greater than Solomon"
and "something greater than Jonah". All other signs that are ever given in history point to this gift. This gift cannot be subverted to point to something else. No looking past it as if some other sign could be more significant than the thing itself will be tolerated.

Jesus is not a finger pointing to the moon. He is the moon. The healings he does, the gifts he gives, these are signs pointing to him. If we fixate on them we miss the point. He himself is the gift. In him we have freedom. When we let our gaze be drawn by his special effects we are submitting to slavery in small ways. We are given the old order of the world a power over us that it shouldn't have.

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

When we meet Jesus we are set free. We are free indeed. But we know that we all must still taste death. The freedom he gives doesn't (usually) change that. It is something even more significant. It is freedom, not from death, but from the futility of death. It is freedom to truly live and embrace the full will of God for each one of us. Sickness, suffering, and death are now subverted to God's purpose for each of us. Which is not to say that he doesn't often show his power over those things. But he does this so that his preeminence may be revealed. He displays in these actions the truth of his position at the top of the metaphysical hiearchy. These actions are not salvation, though. They cannot be. He isn't just going to do a patch job on the old order. He has a whole new wineskin (cf. Mat. 9:17).

From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
who looks upon the heavens and the earth below? 

What frustrates us today? What seems futile? We are given the grace to stand firm in the freedom of Christ. These things may continue, but Jesus frees us from the power they have over us.  Blessed be his name forever!

12 Oct 2014 - free to feast

Jesus is inviting us to the feast, "a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines."

But isn't it true that we find 'better' things to do? Don't we ignore the invitation and go away, "one to his farm, another to his business"? Isn't it true that we are so protective of our time that we become almost violent to defend our right to spend it how we please? In that way we are like the rest who "laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them." It seems extreme until we realize how aggressively we defend our prerogative of scheduling our own lives.

Somehow we insist on choosing much less enjoyable things than feasts. We insist on the daily grind. We can't let ourselves celebrate, rejoice, or rest, because of this ever present drudgery that demands our attention. We feel as though we must be ever vigilant or everything will fall apart. Therefore it is to those who know that life is beyond their control that these invitations go.

Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come. 
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests. 

Paul has the freedom to come to the feast. He is an example for us. He knows how to live in whatever circumstances life deals him, be they humble or abundant. He doesn't trust in himself to pad his own life with abundance. He "can do all things in him who strengthens" him. He knows that "God will fully supply" whatever is necessary. His grip on his life is loose enough to accept God's invitation to the feast.

The LORD is spreading a table before all of us this morning, the good and the bad, before friends and even in the sight of enemies. All are invited to the feast of the Eucharist. We need to set aside our need to carefully regulate everything, just for a moment. We need to just be open to the goodness and kindness the LORD wants to show us.

The LORD is inviting us to this table in order to wipe away tears. He is inviting us, ultimately, to destroy death forever. He clothes us in robes of purest white and calls us to rejoice and be glad with him.

On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

Today is that day! Let us not be too busy to receive it.

11 Oct 2014 - all the things

He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”

But we can't observe it, not completely. "Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law" (cf. Gal. 3:10).  We do some of the things, but never all of them. This should make us ask, "Who then can be saved?" (cf. Luk. 18:26).

Yet in spite of these barriers, in spite of this apparent impossibility, we know that the womb that carried Jesus and the breasts at which he nursed are indeed blessed (cf. Luk. 1:42). We despair of our ability to keep God's word. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Mary has to hear the same thing. She has to hear the angel say, "nothing will be impossible with God" (cf. Luk. 1:37). The only reason she can hear the word of God and give her fiat is because she is given the grace by God himself. This is why the angel calls her "full of grace".

Jesus elevates our minds from the fleshly and merely natural. Blessings don't simply come from genetics or bloodlines. He elevates our minds even from the realm of our own effort and will, still bound by the limits of nature. He reveals that true blessing is supernatural. True blessing is the grace to receive the word of God as Mary does. 

It is this grace that allows Mary to trust in God. This grace allows her to have faith. It is this faith that unites her to Jesus more than just flesh and blood. The power of the Holy Spirit comes upon her and covers her with his shadow because she has the faith to believe that God's promise to her will be fulfilled. That is why Elizabeth says, "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" (cf. Luk. 1:45).

Jesus elevates our minds to this grace because "through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus." This same faith that makes Mary the mother of Jesus unites us as her children, children of the one Father, and brothers and sisters of Jesus. 

If blessedness was about bloodlines we would have no entry into it. If it was about our own effort we would fail. But it is a gift. It is freely and generously given in baptism. We are united and clothed with Christ. It is grace!

He is faithful to us. He never forgets us. Not even for a moment. Because of this we receive the grace to respond in faith.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!

10 Oct 2014 - finger of god

Without Jesus, the world is in the possession of the enemy. It is in the possession of principalities and powers, the world rulers of this present darkness (cf. Eph. 6:12). Jesus transfers us from kingdom of darkness to his own kingdom (cf. Col. 1:13)? Wait, what? We're in the kingdom of darkness? Yes, that is where we find ourselves on our own.  "All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest" (cf. Eph 2:3).But we need not fear or despair.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.

Finally "one stronger" has arrived. The enemies possessions are no longer safe. The dominion of the world, the flesh, and the devil is no longer safe.

“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” - CS Lewis

This stronger one is no blunt instrument. He arrives to heal and cast out demons with a delicate and artistic precision. It is by the finger of God that this is done.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

As we read in Galatians earlier this week, the one who does mighty deeds among us does not do them by works of the law. We see that this kingdom has a supernatural power source. We can't give it any more power than it has even by our best efforts. What we can do, indeed what we must do, is to open ourselves to this kingdom through faith.

that the blessing of Abraham might be extended
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

What is it that tempts us to say, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons”? Why are we sometimes willing to write off God's power at work in our midst? Often times we prefer power which we control, which we regulate, which corresponds precisely to our efforts. Power that is not so easily controlled can be scary. It brings radical freedom, transformation, and healing. Faith is the gateway to this power. But once it is unleashed there is no predicting it or regulating it.

Once  we embrace the life of the Spirit through faith we must be careful to remain open. If we close ourselves to the Spirit and end in the flesh we find ourselves easy picking for the enemy. We come to rely on a supernatural strength to resist temptation. When we forget about that strength we resist, perhaps, even less than we did when we were trying to do it through simply natural strength. If we live by the Spirit we need to walk by the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:25) lest the "last condition of that man" be "worse than the first".

The LORD does not forget us. He will give us the grace to remember him, too. He wants to give us all of the blessings that the enemy holds back. He genuinely desires to bless us. Therefore we shall not fear. Therefore we shall trust in him and not our flesh.

He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.

9 Oct 2014 - knocked in

I want to learn only this from you:
did you receive the Spirit from works of the law,
or from faith in what you heard?

Do we earn our salvation? We know that the answer is no on an intellectual level. Jesus Christ crucified is obviously something we cannot earn. We begin with the Spirit that pours from the wounded side of Jesus. We experience many things. We see mighty deeds that only God can do. When we bother to notice we realize that there is no way that these are deeds which we can earn and boast about. We are made worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. We are rescued from the powers of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (cf. Col 1:12-13). The Spirit teaches us to call cry out to God as "Abba! Father!" (cf. Rom 8:15) It should be obvious that we can't earn that.

Yet over time we all become somewhat "bewitched" just like the "stupid Galatians". The thing is that we need persistence.

I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

It is the one who endures to the end who shall be saved (cf. Mat. 24:13). It starts to sound a lot like work. It starts to sound a lot like we are in fact trying to earn something. But when the man goes to his friend at midnight to borrow bread his persistence does not pay for the bread even though it is necessary to receive it. What is happening here? In fact, we are being trained.

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (cf. Rom. 5:4-5).

All of this is only possible because of the Holy Spirit. Our endurance in suffering is made possible by the Holy Spirit. Only he transforms suffering into something which does not disappoint us. That is why Paul gets so frustrated with the Galatians. Once they start trying to earn their salvation they are neglecting the one hope which does not disappoint in favor of their own efforts.

The Father wants to bless us. We close ourselves to his blessings when we start to try to earn them for ourselves. It helps to hear him say, "ask and you will receive".  We need to deeply know "how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" We need to realize that even the persistence he asks of us is his gift. 

When we know his goodness and his faithfulness our spirits are free to worship. We are able to praise him from the depths of our being, with all sincerity. We worship in Spirit and truth, no longer held bound by fear.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.