31 July 2015 - jumping in feast first

“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?

How do we avoid taking Jesus for granted? He is a regular presence in our lives. We see him at least weekly at mass. We hear about his power in the world but maybe we don't experience that often ourselves. We hear amazing words and profound promises. There is a real risk that, to the degree our lives don't change, we begin to disregard these promises. We begin to suspect that his mighty deeds are exaggerations from well meaning individuals who need "experience" more than strong people like ourselves. From there we begin to suspect that tales of mighty deeds are actually malicious and profit-driven. This is all because we are used to, not who Jesus is in himself, but the current distance in our relationship with him. We believe, because it repeats day after day, that how close Jesus is now is as close as he can come. We believe that the power we have seen him display is all the power he has.

Yet Jesus is never the limit. Our hearts use expectations from our past to stay safe and ignore the risk that coming closer to Jesus presents. To our egos, coming to Jesus is not just dangerous it is certain doom. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

To prevent our ego from using our memories and expectations against us the LORD establishes the festivals and feasts, the times and seasons of our liturgical calendar. They reveal that the presence of God in Jesus Christ is far more important than any sort of work we must perform. They reveal that everything that we are working for, whatever harvest we seek, is a distant second to God from whom, through whom, and for whom are all things (cf. Rom. 11:36). They help us to remember all God has done for us so far. We remember that he is the LORD who brought us out of Egypt. When we honor the Sabbath and these other special feasts we teach our hearts to take God seriously. We force our memories to be made with proper regard to Jesus, the King of kings. He is not just one among many experiences in our lives. He is the peak, the mountain top. He is the source and summit, the "fount and apex" of the whole Christian life (Lumen Gentium 11, CCC 1324). When we honor these feasts we are empowered to confess, together with Saint John Paul the Great "THE REDEEMER OF MAN, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history" (Redemptor Hominis 1).

Let us honor God in the rhythms of our time. Let us honor him by placing him above all in the way we use our resources. This is the antidote to the idolatry of consumerism and entertainment. This is how we experience that there are no limits to the power of Jesus in our lives.

Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel,
the pleasant harp and the lyre.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast.

30 July 2015 - surfing the net

The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.

God does not discriminate. He scatters the seed of his word generously. He casts his net broadly. He wants as big of a harvest and as big of a catch as possible. He desires all men to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4). It is because of this that "you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (cf. Eph. 2:19).

From the storeroom of the Old Testament we bring forth knowledge of the holiness of God. We realize how lovely God's dwelling place is. We realize how profound is the glory of God's presence as his cloud covers the meeting tent and even Moses cannot enter. We learn to long for and desire this presence which our eyes cannot yet see.

From the storeroom of the New we discover that we are now permitted to enter this presence. This is so much greater than anything we find in the Old and yet everything we find there is foundational. It is necessary and vital to understand the meaning of this gift. Only because of everything we find there can we say:

I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Let us learn to appreciate and desire the presence of the LORD as revealed in the pillar of fire and the shekinah glory cloud. Let us be grateful that he makes this presence so available to us.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assemblya of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (cf. Heb. 12:22-24).

This is the presence of God in the glory cloud into which even Moses cannot come. It is the very presence we find at the center of the clouds of incense in the Holy Mass. Moses teaches us not to take this lightly. Jesus invites us to come. 

Let us be as generous with others as Jesus is with us. Let us not discriminate about whom we invite to join us at the feast. Jesus wants us to fish and to take up the nets ourselves. We cannot let ourselves be content with only the old. We must desire to bring an ever new catch and harvest for the kingdom.

Let us be led by his presence. May we not try to bring the cloud and the pillar of fire with us. May we instead watch where he leads and follow him there. This is where we find all that the blessings which he longs to give us.

Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling,
the children of Israel would set out on their journey.
But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward;
only when it lifted did they go forward.

Even the small souls among us are welcomed to his dwelling. "Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest". Glory to him!

29 July 2015 - radiance therapy

Then the children of Israel would see
that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant;
so he would again put the veil over his face
until he went in to converse with the LORD.

The presence of God is amazing. His revelation to us changes us and makes us visibly different. It does so even more for us than it does for Moses.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? (cf. 2 Cor. 3:7)

After all, "the law came in to increase the trespass". Without grace it merely makes us more aware of the sin we commit without providing any remedy "but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (cf. Rom. 5:20).

Everyone at the time of Jesus is familiar with the letter of the law which brings death (cf. 2 Cor 3:6). Yet most don't realize the shortcomings of the letter of the law. They don't realize that it is missing the Spirit, the only one who can make real change happen in us. Most end up focusing on external stuff which they can easily control to make themselves feel OK. They ignore the depths of the heart where sin still lurks.

Saint Martha knows about the letter of the law. But she finds the one who has the words of Spirit and of life (cf. Joh. 6:63). She knows that the presence of this one is the difference between life and death.

Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”

The letter of the law is powerless in the face of death. But not Jesus. It is impossible that death to hold him (cf. Act. 2:24). The Spirit within him is the source of the righteousness which the law can define but which it can never give. He shares this righteousness with us, making us the very righteousness of God (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21) and invalidates deaths claim on us. 

If Moses shined when he received the law and spoke with God is it any wonder that he bears testimony to the infinitely greater light that shines from Jesus at his transfiguration (cf. Mat. 5:17). Jesus himself is the only source of life. He is the only hope of resurrection.

Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Since this is so let us spend our time listening at his feet and serving him in all things. The better part of listening does not make serving the LORD bad. Both, in fact, are vital. The LORD will give us time enough for both. But let us teach our hearts to long for the time when the one needful thing fills our entire vision, our entire life!

Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his footstool;
holy is he!

28 July 2015 - friendship in-tent

The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,
as one man speaks to another

In the times of Moses this was unique. He was the only one who experienced this level of intimacy with God. Everyone else would "rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses" because they wanted to participate as much as they could in this relationship. They wanted as much as they could get of the presence and intimacy of God. When the glory cloud descended they would rise and worship at their own tents. But they could not enter God's presence. That was for Moses alone to whom the LORD spoke face to face.

We are often all too content to worship at the entrance to our own tents. But God calls us to come closer. Just as with Moses he calls us friends (cf. Joh. 15:15). As the LORD gives Moses the covenant so too does Jesus tell us everything he learns from his Father. Even Moses can only remain in the glory cloud for so long. But we are called to abide in Jesus (cf. 15:4) so continually that we can "pray always" (cf. 1 Thes. 5:17, Eph. 6:18). He lifts us up and seats us with him in the heavenly places (cf. Eph. 2:6). Our life is hidden now where Christ is seated at the right hand of God in heaven (cf. Col. 3:3). This is how close we can come!

We are as stiff-necked a people as anyone. We don't just make golden calves. We mass produce them. Even those of us who have been blessed to know the Jesus and to have life in his name (cf. Joh. 20:31). But when we do draw near to God we find mercy even if mercy isn't exactly what we are looking for. Whenever people turn to Jesus for any reason he is ready to say, "Your sins are forgiven" if we are ready to listen.

“The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,
continuing his kindness for a thousand generations,
and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin

May we listen. If we hold on to our sins in the face of this generous offer we seal our own fate. If we spit in the face of the offer of intimacy with love himself there is nothing left for us but the "fiery furnace".

they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

We are stiff-necked, it is true. But we don't need to be afraid. God's mercy is greater. He can get us to the promised land.

yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own

His mercy is so great. Our sins are not just ignored they are removed from us so far that they no longer have anything to do with us. They are put as far from us "as the east is from the west". He does this because he is not a mere lawgiver or judge or king. He is a Father. He wants to father us. His Spirit makes us cry "Abba!" (cf. Rom. 8:15).

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Just as the face of Moses shines when he has been in the presence of the LORD so too will we shine if we let God come as close to us as he desires.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.

Let us fix our gaze on him!

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).

This is how we can answer the call to be lights of the world (cf. Mat. 5:14).

27 July 2015 - calf exorcizing

They said to me, ‘Make us a god to be our leader;
as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt,
we do not know what has happened to him.’

The children of Israel provide another cautionary tale. Moses is only gone for a short time. The people have only recently seen signs and wonders of deliverance from Egypt. They have only recently witnessed the glory of the LORD as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain (cf. Exo. 24:17). Yet how quickly they forget. How quickly we forget. How often the enemy is able to come and snatch the seeds off of the path.

When the LORD blesses us by revealing himself to us in amazing ways how do we keep these memories safe? How do we treasure them in our hearts (cf. Luk. 2:19) as Mary does so that they can't be taken from us? Most of us have had more revelations from God than we realize. We forget them because the enemy snatches them from us. The birds eat the seeds that fall on the path. We need to imitate Mary and treasure these things to keep them safe. But how? When we receive the word with understanding the enemy cannot steal it. When we don't understand God's revelation it becomes entertainment alongside other entertainment. We forget it just as we forget the latest movie. But when we receive it with understanding we are invited into a real relationship with one who we cannot forget.

A little bit goes a long way when it comes to this relationship. It is the mustard seed that grows into a large bush. It is the yeast which leavens the whole batch of dough. It is enough so that when God isn't supplying special effects we don't have to try to just change the channel spiritually and seek our satisfaction elsewhere.

Let the seeds of God's revelation grow into the bush of relationship with him. This bush can weather the storms and survive periods of dryness and aridity. When we treasure them we are able to leaven the bread that can satisfy us and those around us even in spite of hunger or famine.

But let us take an approach of mercy. We are all too likely to turn aside as soon as we think God is distant. May it make us sympathetic with all of those around us who have done so. May we not condemn or judge them in our hearts but instead take the example of Moses and stick up for them, to withstand God in the breach for them.

Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.

Let us plead for mercy for all of the idolatry of our world so that all together we may "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good." After all, if we're honest with ourselves, we know that golden calves will never satisfy anyone for long.

26 July 2015 - some left over

Our lack is resources often stop us from making efforts at building the kingdom. Maybe we only see twenty barley loaves to feed one hundred people. Or maybe there are only five loaves and two fish for five thousand. Either way, our resources aren't going to cut it. Yet it is precisely for these which we are asked.

Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do. 
Philip answered him,
Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.

But just as with Philip and just as with the man from Baal-shalishah it doesn't ultimately come down to our own resources. We are forced to confront our limits because we are called to bring forth our loves and fishes and spite of the fact that these are insufficient.

“How can I set this before a hundred people?” 
Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.” 
“For thus says the LORD,
‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” 

We bring what we have even though it is comically insufficient. And yet the LORD is able to take it and feed the multitude. His hand can take what we have and feed the multitudes. When our resources are in his hands they are sufficient for him to answer all our needs.

As we approach the Eucharist our ability to appreciate and understand what we receive is comically limited. Let us place that in his hands together with humble bread and wine. Let us trust that he can transform these earthly resources to give us that which he truly desires to give.

you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

When we give Jesus all that we are we receive so much more than we can ask or even imagine (cf. Eph. 3:20). There is no proportion between the offering and the blessing. Yet if the boy didn't tentatively offer his loaves and fishes the crowd would go hungry. If we don't offer Jesus our hearts we too will go spiritually hungry. 

We are invited to the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace which only Jesus can provide. It is unity with our brothers, with Jesus himself, and with the Father "who is over all and through all and in all." When we offer ourselves to him he unites us even more completely to him so that he might be all in all (cf. 1 Cor. 15:28).

When we feel overwhelmed let us remember how close he is to us.

The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.

When God calls us out into the deep and we feel we don't have enough strength or intelligence or skill to go let us hear him speak this word: "They shall eat and there shall be some left over."

25 July 2015 - work with us

You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”

Of course they have idea what this entails. They are self-confident and prideful. They are driven by their desire for reward. They do not realize that the chalice entails being perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. Even so, Jesus can work with them. He can redirect that zeal so that it can be used the way it is truly meant to be used for the kingdom.

He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,

The ten become of indignant. They are jealous of one another and compete with one another. But the LORD can work with that. He does not completely disregard this spirit of competition but instead redirects it.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

He says that if they want to be the best they should be the best servant. They should compete at taking the last place.

This transformation often involves weeping. We often go to sow in tears. But as we go and sow the word Jesus works with us. He redirects our misplaced impulses and desires. He helps us to lay down our lives and to embrace his chalice as it really is. When we embrace the chalice of Jesus we also embrace his resurrection.

we too believe and therefore speak, 
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.

These are the great things which the LORD does for us. Let us indeed be glad.

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves. 

24 July 2015 - god, who brought you out

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;

Do we find God's law refreshing? Or do we find it burdensome? He himself assures us that his commandments are not meant to be burdensome (cf. 1 Joh. 5:3).

Maybe we receive the word without understanding it and the Evil One comes and steals it from us and leaves in its place an imposter which is not refreshing. Maybe we need to understand that the law is made for our good. Even the parts that pertain specifically to the worship of God are designed so that we can be in right relationship with him and not because they offer God himself any benefit. The laws of God are guidelines for the good life. When we understand this it is harder for the Evil One to steal away the refreshment these laws are meant to provide.

If we don't understand his word let us seek to understand it. We need not be scholars to attain sufficient understanding to protect ourselves from the Evil One.

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

Maybe the law seemed refreshing once when we received it with joy but now we can't figure out where the joy has gone. Perhaps we only received the law in a superficial way. Perhaps we have no root.

If we don't have a root we need to go deeper. If we got distracted by initial consolations and good feelings we should realize that God is offering us something more than that. The offer is to move beyond the infatuation phase of a relationship to something more stable and sustainable. It remains experiential but becomes more other focused. It is able to love and be consistent even in the hard times, even in "tribulation or persecution".

If we have received the word of the LORD we bear fruit. If we are not bearing fruit we should look around. Have we let ourselves be surrounded by thorns, by "worldly anxiety and the lure of riches"? If so let us tear them up. Or better, let us burn them with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Let us plant the word of Jesus deeper in us than our superficial desire for pleasure. Let us guard it from the enemy by understanding it. Let us tear out any thorns of worldly concerns that compete with it in our lives and keep us from bearing fruit.

The whole context of the law, as Father Riccardo points out, is God setting his people free.

I, the LORD, am your God, 
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

The law is the sine qua non of maintaining this freedom. It prevents slipping back into the idolatrous behaviors of Egypt even for those living in the promised land.

If we can't see the law like this...

They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.

...let us turn and listen again and listen to the one who has the words of everlasting life. He is willing to punish us if we force him but his mercy is so much greater.

bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation 
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

23 July 2015 - no such limit

Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God,
and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke,
for the LORD came down upon it in fire. 

Let us go and meet the LORD. He wants to reveal himself to us. He calls us to the mountain of his presence because he wants to give us some sense of just how glorious he is. Yet the way he does it now is different from the way it was then. "For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest" (cf. Heb 12:18). We may sort of wish for special effects like that but the result at that time was fear. They created a barrier. It was thus far and no closer. "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned" (cf. Heb. 12:20). There no such limit for us.

But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it

Parables are a way Jesus allows us to know him more. They only make sense to the pure of heart. It is the pure of heart who are able to see God (cf. Mat. 5:8) and this is true in the parables specifically. The parables provide the offer of the presence of God while keeping it safe from the blasphemous abuse to which the gross of heart invariably subject it.

It isn't that Jesus is trying to keep himself a secret. Even though we read:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.

This isn't what he wants for them. But Jesus cannot and will not fully reveal himself to hearts that don't want and desire him. It is dangerous for them because they cannot respond in a way that respects the holiness of God. The parables keep them safe from that. And the invitation to repent and be converted and healed always remains.

The LORD is "praiseworthy and exalted above all forever". He wants us to know it. Blessed are we because he gives us more than he gave even to Moses to help us know just how exalted he is.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (cf. Heb. 12:22-24).

This new Mount Zion is the Church which descends from heaven in an invisible way at each mass.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal (cf. Rev. 21:10-11).

Blessed are we indeed. Glory and praise forever!

22 July 2015 - called by name

Do we have trouble recognizing the LORD?

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”

Mary Magdalene is in the middle of a dark night. Jesus is taken from her and now that he returns she isn't able to experience the consolation of his presence. She doesn't recognize it.

We often have trouble recognizing Jesus. Do we recognize him in the promise of Moses to the children of Israel?

In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread

The LORD gives us bread from heaven just as the psalmist sings. In this bread he gives us himself. Look how closely the promise of the flesh and the bread are connected in the promise of Moses even though it is just a prelude. To us he makes this explicit. He says, "the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (cf. Joh. 6:51). Yet we often have trouble recognizing his presence in this bread. He is as close to us as he is to Mary Magdalene but we don't recognize him. Just like the camp of Israel we do not understand what we are given.

In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, “What is this?”
for they did not know what it was.

Let us hear Moses, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat." And let us hear Jesus, "the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Do we still have trouble even knowing the truth? Even after meeting the LORD in the bread of the Eucharist do we still not encounter him? Are we still ships passing in the night, close but otherwise unchanged? How does Jesus help Mary Magdalene to recognize him?

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
“Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.

He calls her by name. He knows her individually. It is easy to let ourselves be lost in the crowd when are cares overwhelm us. The crowd is a place of safe anonymity. But Jesus insists on the encounter. Are we just one among many in the communion line? Or do we realize that Jesus is inviting each of us as individuals to come and to taste his banquet? This invitation to the marriage feast comes not to a group or a crowd or some unknown masses. It comes to each of us by name. As we approach him for Holy Communion let us engage our imagination and hear him calling us forward by name. When we let him speak this word to us we will surely proclaim "I have seen the Lord" together with Mary Magdalene.

This is the bread of heaven, the bread of angels, having all sweetness within it!

21 July 2015 - on dry land

For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Let us be the brothers and sisters and parents of Jesus. Let us do the will of his Father so that we can share this relationship with him. When we do the will of his Father we open ourselves to the very life of the Father which also the life of Jesus himself. It is no superficial resemblance that makes us family. It is his Spirit within us that both empowers us to do his will and makes us sons and daughters who can cry out "Abba!" to our heavenly Father (cf. Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:6). It is because of this Spirit that Jesus tells us that the Father is "my Father and your Father" (cf. Joh. 20:17). It is because of this Spirit making us holy that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters (cf. Heb. 2:11). Mary is the perfect embodiment of this. She alone among our entire race is entirely open to the Father's well. Only she can say, "May it be done unto me according to your word" (cf. Luk. 1:38) without reserve. The Spirit overshadows her and fills her with the life of God in the most profoundly perfect way.

The promised land is not merely a place. When we partake of the divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4), when we are filled with the fullness of God (cf. Eph. 3:19), we dwell in the promised land even now. The promised land is the very love of God. It is so real that we can live there. "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love" (cf. Joh. 15:10). If we aren't quite there yet we shouldn't beat ourselves up. The LORD is still working to bring us there. If we are still in some ways slaves in Egypt the LORD wants to set us free. It is often spectacular.

Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
and beheld the great power that the LORD

Here's the thing. To escape the Egyptians we need to be willing to follow the children of Israel who "marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left." We're used to hearing this but think about it. Wouldn't we be afraid that the waters might rush back upon us at any moment? Do we trust God enough to let him use his power to deliver us? If we try to do it the human way the Egyptians always catch up and overtake us. God has the power to deliver us. He can send our sins running in retreat "because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians."

Let's ask the LORD to fight for us today and watch as he covers himself in glory. Let him lead us through the waters into the promised land.

And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place where you made your seat, O LORD,
the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands established. 

20 July 2015 - the LORD himself will fight for you

Why did you do this to us?
Why did you bring us out of Egypt?

Do we recognize this complaint of the Israelites fleeing Egypt? We probably should. Most of us have experienced situations in life where initial success gives way to complications that make us despair. Setbacks make us wonder whether we should have started in the first place. We start out from Egypt but it isn't simply smooth sailing to the promised land. We start to complain.

Maybe some initial victory in the Christian life has given way to a lack of progress. Even if the initial victory over sin which God gives us is miraculous and amazing the Egyptians will still pursue us. This can cause us to lose heart. We realize that the initial victory is never going to replace a life of sanctification. Looking to the struggle ahead can sap our motivation. We are, if we realize, considering how this struggle would be if we did it under our own strength.

But we do not fight alone. 

The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.

He delivers us. And it makes us a difference. Our lives are much better having left Egypt even while we are still in the desert. We are no longer slaves to sin even if the full range of our freedom is limited. God's deliverance does not end when we leave Egypt. Every time we experience it in our lives we are forever changed. It isn't a hamster wheel of endless struggle. Progress is real by his power.

Fear not! Stand your ground,
and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.
These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.

Let us bid good riddance to the Egyptians who pursue us. Let us keep still and watch as the LORD himself fights for us.

If we are facing backward toward Egypt let us repent (that is, turn around) and face toward Jesus. He is greater than Moses through whom God led Israel. He is greater than Jonah. The journey on which he leads us is more than merely crossing through the Red Sea. It is more than three days and nights in the belly of a whale. He leads us through death to everlasting life. Let us follow him and listen to the wisdom which is greater even the Solomon. Only this wisdom can bring us safely through death to life without end. Only in Jesus can we find the victory for which we long and the rest that we seek.

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
He is my God, I praise him;
the God of my father, I extol him.

19 July 2015 - shepherd's heart

There is only one shepherd who can be all that God wants for us. Without him we are like sheep without a shepherd.

What a difference he makes. Others may try to shepherd us. Yet they end up driving us away. We find ourselves scattered. We find ourselves isolated. We fear and tremble because these shepherds don't really care for us enough that we can rely on them.

Jesus is the shepherd who does not scatter or drive away. He is the one shepherd inviting us all to his one flock (cf. Joh. 10:16). Only in him can all of the sheep find rest together.

For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,

The rest are too busy thinking of themselves. They can't be a source of peace which breaks down the barriers that keep us separated from one another.

Only Jesus can do this. He shepherds us with the heart and love of the Father who sends him. Only in Jesus do we sheep want for nothing. When other shepherds find themselves in dark valleys they flee for their lives and try to keep themselves safe. Only Jesus loves us enough to stay with us in the dark valleys. Such valleys are where flocks would normally scatter. But with our shepherd we remain united.

Israel can dwell secure at last with Jesus as our king. Let us come to the table he spreads before us. He does not put himself first even when he wants to rest. His heart is moved with pity for us. Let us approach the feast he prepares for us. Surely we will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

18 July 2015 - reeding between the lines

Jesus wants to free us from the ways in which we are held captive today. He wants to lead us out of the Egypts in which we find ourselves enslaved.

He invites us to take some time to withdraw from the places where he is persecuted. He invites us to follow him away from the Pharisees the plot his death. We need to spend time in places where his priorities are the highest.

He invites us to come away with him so that we can experience his power in our lives. He doesn't need to waste time contending with the Pharisees just now. He doesn't need to restructure Egypt into some sort of Utopia just yet. For now, he is content to call us away with him. The crowds that followed him experienced that "he cured them all". And he wants to cure all of us of the disease of sin today.

This is a gentle invitation. He is not here to change the world with force of power right now. He does not intend to break even the bruised reed or quench even the smoldering wick. But my goodness if Egypt sends its troops after us it won't go well for them.

Who split the Red Sea in twain,
for his mercy endures forever;
And led Israel through its midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures forever.

Jesus does not permit anything to prevent us from coming to him and knowing his healing power. When our sinful habits try to pull us back the waters of our baptisms have the power to wash them away.

So let us run from places of sin and slavery into the wide spaces of freedom to which Jesus invites us. Let us waste no time preparing for this journey for we can trust him to sustain us. Our way may lead us through the desert but it won't matter. God will be with us. He can turn deserts into pools of water and dry land into springs (cf. Isa. 41:18).

His mercy truly endures forever! The Spirit of the LORD is upon him. The victory of justice can come through him alone. The nations try to secure this victory by means of power. But Jesus brings it about by his gentle invitation.

And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

Let us hope in his name!

17 July 2015 - grain of truth

Jesus is the reason for any rules or laws which we have. They do not exist for the sake of mere arbitrary obedience. They point us toward God. They are individual opportunities to choose God over ourselves. We need to understand them properly or we risk being self-righteous like the Pharisees. We often try to strategically obey and check off of a list all of the laws which are easiest for us, which don't challenge us to true change, and which give us a sense of satisfied pride. When we understand that all law is meant to point us toward relationship this risk disappears. We discover a freedom which we didn't know before.

He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?

Our pride would prefer to see people remain hungry rather than eat this bread. But the bread can be eaten because the men are in the service of the king and also consecrated to God. They are on a mission. They are working toward a deeper relationship with God for themselves and for the people. Holy bread is actually appropriate to this purpose even though a surface reading of the rules might suggest otherwise.

As with the holy bread, the temple is sacred. It is so important that priests can be active for its sake even on the Sabbath. The importance of temple service takes precedence even over the command to keep holy the Sabbath. What would otherwise be excluded as work is necessary for a holy Sabbath because of the importance of the temple. The Sabbath is a time to give ourselves to deeper relationship with God. But the temple is the focal point of where this relationship is possible in the Old Testament. Without God's presence among his people the Sabbath can't have its full meaning.

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.

Jesus is God's presence among us. He gives meaning to our Sabbath rest. He is the reason why we may receive even the bread from heaven which no man has any business eating except by mercy.  Jesus himself is the lamb without blemish. The doorposts of our hearts are marked with his blood. The angel of death passes by and we are permitted to receive the very life of God. The Pharisees would be very frustrated with this idea, with this utter dependence on mercy. These are not mere boxes to be checked. This is a gift to be received. It cannot build selfish pride. This is what the whole law can be when read in the Spirit and not the flesh.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all (cf. Joh. 6:63).

We worry about transgressing. We worry about being too bold and overstepping proper limits. But if our desire is really relationship with Jesus he will keep us in bounds. Just as Moses is right to approach the bush but needs to be told where to stop and when to remove his sandals so too will Jesus keep us safe as long as we put him first with a childlike faith.

How can we respond to an invitation so generous as this? Only with the very things which we are first given.

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.

16 July 2015 - rest in him

We're all weary sometimes. We all deal with heavy burdens. Sometimes we are tempted to think that no one cares. But God cares:

I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt

Jesus cares:

Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.

The way out of the misery of Egypt is the promised land we find in Jesus. We can taste the milk and honey of this promised land even now. We taste it in our relationship with the God who tells us that his name is, "I am who am."

He is not one among many. He is the precondition necessary for anything else to exist. This world is contingent, entirely dependent on him. It is true that this world is wounded by the freedom which he allows us to have. But the solution to this wound is not found in contingent things. It is found in our relationship with the one who is. The stability of a relationship with the one who is contigent on nothing infuses and renews every experience and every relationship in our lives.

This is why we can have rest through Jesus when we come to him.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

When our yoke is based on our relationship with the God who is we find that it does not exhaust us. On the contrary, the strength of necessary being is the one place we can find rest. Past generations have found rest in the LORD. He is the God of our fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And because in the LORD there is no variance or shadow due to change (cf. Jam. 1:17) all future generations can count on him as well.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

All else is shifting sands.We owe it to the world to let them know where stability, safety, peace, and lasting joy can be found. Let us build our houses on the rock. Let us invite the whole world to join us. He was faithful in the past so we can know for sure he will be faithful again.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. 

We can trust his promise absolutely. Let us come to Jesus with all that we are. Let us cast our cares on the one who cares for us (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7).

15 July 2015 - kind and merciful, not kind of merciful

There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire
flaming out of a bush.

There were many possible responses Moses might have made to this appearance. He could have ignored something so far outside of the realm of his experience. Had he been too wise or learned he might have discounted the sight of something he believed to be impossible. He might have been so overwhelmed by the sight that he fled in fear.

But Moses approached the revelation of God in a way that was childlike. He said, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." We can hear Jesus saying:

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.

Moses was not so afraid that he would not approach God. That would not be a holy fear. God wanted Moses to approach. He responded when he approached him.

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

We worry about approaching God too boldly. Indeed, the childlike boldness of Moses is probably a little too bold. But God has that covered. He is happy to help Moses to approach him in the right way. 

God said, “Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.

How much more should we approach God with a childlike curiosity and confidence. Unlike Moses, in Jesus "we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him" (cf. Eph. 3:12). We know that we must strive for holiness without which no one will see God (cf. Heb. 12:14). God is a fire which consumes all that is not holy (cf. Heb. 12:29). But if we do not approach that fire we will remain as we are. We will not grow in holiness nor will we see the LORD.

He is a consuming fire but he is kind and merciful. Let us approach him with trust that he wants to reveal himself. Experiencing the fire of his love is how this revelation begins. This is how are iniquities are pardoned and our ills are healed.

He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.

As God reveals himself we too hear ourselves sent out on mission:

Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people,
the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

With Moses we think, 'Why me?' But the God who reveals himself to us promises to remain with us and bring his revelation to those to whom we are sent.

He answered, "I will be with you;
and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you:
when you bring my people out of Egypt,
you will worship God on this very mountain.""

14 July 2015 - mighty deeds

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

Interesting, isn't it, that the LORD bothers doing mighty deeds in these places even when they don't repent? To repent or not to repent is their choice but for his part Jesus does everything he can to inspire repentance in them. This means that we do not get off the hook even if someone seems really unlikely to repent. Even if we know for sure that they won't, we still owe them the invitation.

And what about us? We who follow the LORD hear of and experience mighty deeds regularly. Do we treat them as mere entertainment and then continue with business as usual? Or do we let them impel us onward to deeper holiness?

Baptism is far more impressive than the story of Moses being saved by being put into the river in a basket. The Church says of each of her children, "I drew him out of the water" of sin and death to a life that is both royal and prophetic.

And after all, the mightiest deed we ought ever hope to see is the Eucharist. The sacraments are all miraculous and mighty. Do we just watch as mere observers or do we let ourselves be changed? Do we acknowledge these mighty deeds? Or do we let their frequent occurance dull us to their importance?

Moses does not let the mighty deed that saves him go to waste. He doesn't let life in the royal court of pagans distract him, either. He knows that his loyalty must be to the Hebrew people. He must protect them as best he can and help them to live in harmony.

We have been saved for the sake of the people of God just as Moses was saved for the Hebrews. The Hebrews were a nation but the people of God transcends nations. All peoples are called to its membership. May we not let our lives in the royal courts of modern paganism distract us from our duty to this people. The same zeal that caused Moses to kill the Egyptian that struck a Hebrew should now motivate us to invite our contemporaries to join the people of God. The same zeal which caused him to try to moderate a dispute between his fellow Hebrews should motivate us to strengthen our relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters.

Just as Moses could not be useful to Egypt without the miraculous help of God so too must we rely on him. His mighty deeds are not only our initial motivation but also make possible our entire journey.

See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.

13 July 2015 - a new king, who knew nothing of joseph

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.

Jesus isn't so interested in peace that he'll let us have it at the expense of truth.

This is important for us who live in exile in Egypt. We are the children of Israel living in a land with foreign customers and foreign idols. It would be possible for us to take up these practices and worship these same idols and blend in. But we must not. We must remain true to who we are even if the Egyptians who surround us hate us for it and oppression and persecution to try to change us.

The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel
and reduced them to cruel slavery,
making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick
and all kinds of field work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.

Indeed, our identity in Jesus must mean more to us than even our own family. If it comes to a choice between father or mother and being true to who we are in Christ we must love Christ more. Hopefully such choices will not tear our families apart. But all of us will have to face a choice between this world and Jesus, between idols and the one true God.

whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

So let us give to prophets, righteous men, and the little ones of the LORD. In Egypt they truly need our support. They too are our family in Jesus Christ and so he promises reward for honoring those bonds. This is investing in the coming kingdom. This is something we can do which truly lasts.

Let us give what we can to the family of Jesus. Let us trust him above all else in this world. Let us not acquiese to the demands of a pagan world. Let us be faithful to the King of kings and trust him for the deliverance which we surely need.

We were rescued like a bird 
from the fowlers’ snare;
Broken was the snare, 
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

12 July 2015 - all of the blessings

We hear the call of Jesus sending us forth this morning. This is not random. We are chosen and destined for it from "before the foundation of the world".

This call is to preach repentance. And that sounds scary. Calling people to account for their behavior isn't going to win many friends. Telling them that they need to change (and so do we) isn't often endearing.

But there is more to preaching repentance than speaking hard words. The main part of it actually to simply "exist for the praise of his glory". We live our lives in such a way that they openly display that we have received "every spiritual blessing". We make it obvious that our lives depend entirely on the "riches of his grace that he lavished on upon us." We don't hide the fact that Jesus is the center of our lives. If he truly is central this is impossible. When the world sees what Jesus does in people who rely on him we will scarcely have the chance to speak the invitation before they turn to him.

We may sympathize with Amos. We may come from a normal life without the background or credentials of a prophet. But even we are called, "Go prophesy to my people Israel." The LORD needs more than the court prophets who prophesy for their pay. He needs witnesses to his work in the lives of his people. His people, not merely the religious class, are the ones to whom he gives "every spiritual blessing". Let us put those blessings on display and share them with the world.

The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

The word is repentance sounds like it might be scary. It sounds like a hard word and we are slow to proclaim it. But it is the word of life!

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.

Let us remain silent no longer!

11 July 2015 - shout from the rooftops

Therefore do not be afraid of them.

Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,

nor secret that will not be known.

What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;

what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

Jesus is speaking this word to us. He is telling us how to proclaim his word even when it is frightening. We are coming to a time when we may actually have to face persecution for the word of God. Jesus is showing us that we don't have to be afraid even if this happens. He cares about us so much that he won't let anything happen to us that isn't a part of his plan.

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?

Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.

Even all the hairs of your head are counted.

So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Sparrows do fall to the ground, even though they are valuable, even though the Father cares about them and knows that they fall. In that light, is this comforting? It should be. Even the death of sparrows, certainly not the way things are 'meant to be' can be a part of God's plan and bring him glory. Any trials we face, from embarrassment and broken relationships to lawsuits to martyrdom can bring glory to God. This is precisely the lesson of the life of Joseph.

Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good,

to achieve his present end, the survival of many people.

One thing we learn from Joseph is how to love even the brothers who do us wrong. His brothers almost killed him and sold him into slavery. They feared that he would not forgive them. But he loves them perhaps more than ever when he sees them in Egypt because he sees God's hand at work. They are worth more than many sparrows. Joseph imitates the God who loves us while we are yet sinners (cf. Rom. 5:8). He realizes that they are not trapped as sinners but that the plan of God can bring them to salvation and forgiveness.

We are reminded that God's plan is always bigger than the plans of the culture. We see that even while he works against the evil ideologies of our day he is working for the good of all. This is why we must not be afraid to proclaim his truth from the rooftops.

Everyone who acknowledges me before others

I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.

But whoever denies me before others,

I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

This is what the culture needs to hear. God is working behind the scenes in any heart that gives him even a little room to help that heart accept the message. He wants such hearts to be glad! That is why silence is not an option.

 Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

10 July 2015 - given words to speak

Behold, I am sending you

We are all sent by God. We are all called to mission. Let's admit that we are at least a little afraid to heed the call.

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt

Is the LORD is calling us into unfamiliar places containing unknown dangers? Maybe we already find ourselves in Egypt, surrounded by people who don't know God don't understand us. To us God says, "Do not be afraid". He says this even though there is real danger, even though we are "sheep in the midst of wolves". It has to be this way because he is calling us to be a witness before, governors and kings and pagans. We can't stay only among sheep. Many of us aren't called to Egypt but as we find that Egypt has come to us let us not cower in fear.

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

In this modern Egypt, this modern Babylon, this land of exile in which we are surrounded by sinners with no interest in repenting our greatest fear is not yet martyrdom and torture. Our greatest fear is often that we won't know what to say. As brothers conflict with brothers and parents with children in the land of ours we fear most that we won't know what to say. But God promises that he won't leave that up to us. He will give us the words we need. This won't necessarily mean we only experience sunshine and strawberries. We may have to bear some hatred.

You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

We have to stand by what we know to be true. We have to remain open to God giving us his words and speaking through us. If we allow ourselves to be silenced our actions shape us, gradually and subtly drawing us away from fidelity to the Church and her truth.

Does this mean we always and everywhere say what we ourselves perceive to be the hard truths about which the world is in denial? No! We listen to God. We speak only exactly as he moves us to speak. It is our part to be ready to speak among wolves and to be hated so that we can be a witness among the pagans in this Egypt of ours. Here and now more than ever before we need to take refuge in the LORD.

The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.

If we persevere we will see the promise fulfilled.

And Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die,
now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive.”

Israel experiences a prelude to what Simeon experiences.

Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples (cf. Luk. 2:29).

If we preserve we will see the salvation which God has prepared, not just for us, but for all.

9 July 2015 - not solely sold

“I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.”

When circumstances chew us up and spit us out are we still able to see God's hand at work? We know he makes all things work for the good of those who love him (cf. Rom. 8:28). But if we find ourselves sold into slavery in Egypt are was as ready as Joseph to say "God sent me here".

When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.

God does not want to see anyone sold as a slave. He delights to see brothers dwelling together in unity (cf. Psa. 133:1). Even so, he is able to make this together for Joseph's good and the good of his family. 

He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.

He brings about a new and deeper unity for Joseph and his family. They know each other more deeply and are closer than ever before:

Joseph could no longer control himself
in the presence of all his attendants,
so he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!”
Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers.

But when circumstances imprison us and we cannot escape we forget to look for God's hand at work. We don't look for his deeper purpose and risk missing it. But God does not bring us to difficult circumstances empty-handed. He brings us into difficult circumstances with gifts to give in order to spread the Kingdom.

Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.

Our resources come from him. Gold, silver, or copper for our belts does not matter much, nor does a sack, a second tunic, sandals, or a walking stick. This makes us reluctant at first. We want the comfort that these things entail. But eventually it gives us courage that we don't need any of these usual accouterments in order to fulfill God's plan for us.

He is using us to spread his peace in a land that is experiencing a famine of peace. Let us spread it widely as the generous sower spreads his seeds.

As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.

The LORD transforms the hardships of Joseph into amazing blessings. Let us remember these marvels so that as we encounter our own hardships we can trust the LORD in them as well. He makes all things work together for the good of those who love him.

8 July 2015 - in spite of famine

But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.

Do we not find ourselves in a land of famine? Is this not the time the LORD speaks of "when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." Our bodies may not be hungry but our spirits are starved. These conditions do not include enough fellowship, enough of the word of God, or enough truth. Without these the health of our spirits fail. Our bodies remain strong but we grow weary in doing good in spite of Paul's admonition to the contrary (cf. Gal. 6:9). When we don't take in the word of God in what we do and in our relationships it does not transform us. It does not come forth from us when needed.

But the LORD will preserve us even in spite of famine. Just as Pharaoh directs all of Egypt to go to Joseph and do whatever he tells them so that they may receive bread so God directs us to Jesus. For that matter, so does Mary.

His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you" (cf. Joh. 2:5).

To receive the bread and wine we need to sustain us in this famine we must heed these words, "Do whatever he tells you." To the degree that we have separated ourselves from this feast through our own fault he will help us to repent and return to him.

Alas, we are being punished because of our brother.
We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us,
yet we paid no heed;
that is why this anguish has now come upon us.

When we are kept from the feast Jesus weeps just as we read of Joseph, " turning away from them, he wept." Jesus longs to reveal himself as our brother more and more. He hates everything that puts distance between us or breaks that relationship.

His new family of brothers is the Church, starting with the Twelve we see him choose. Yet many of us are lost like the brothers of Joseph. Many of us are distant from our family, starving for the food we need. We need not fear. He will seek us! Let us look to his coming!

Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Jesus is coming! Let us receive our brother and the shepherd of our souls with joy! As he gives all that he is to us to preserve us in spite of famine let us rejoice!

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.

7 July 2015 - wrestling for the weary

Let us seek the Good Shepherd. We are more sheep-like than we like to admit. We need a shepherd. Without a shepherd we wander and are lost. We are troubled and abandoned. We are anxious about everything. With a bad shepherd we are easily misled and exploited. But with Jesus we find the one who leads us beside still waters and makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads and guides us in ways that are level and smooth. With Jesus we are not lost, not anxious, not misled or exploited.

Our society is misled. Indeed, it is enslaved by the enemy, the one who is the opposite of the Good Shepherd. We are like a demoniac who cannot speak. We are kept in silence, unable to proclaim the praise of God or the truth of God. The enemy keeps us silent. He assures us it is for our own good but in fact he bullies us into it. He uses tactics of fear and isolation to keep our mouths closed.

But Jesus is able to drive out demons like this. Let us cry out to him.

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.

The secret is to cling so closely to the Good Shepherd that the enemy has no chance to get near us. He can't sneak up on us and poach us when our shepherd isn't looking if we just always stay this close. Let us learn from the persistence of Jacob and say, "I will not let you go until you bless me." Staying this close to God is going to feel like wrestling with him a lot of the time. God transforms us by his mercy into the people we should be. And we hold on tight as he does so. Pleasant? Not always, but far better than being enslaved by the enemy. We grow in freedom. It sometimes doesn't feel this way, but we are the ones that choose to hold on. God insists on our permission in order to work in our hearts. We are never more free than when we offer ourselves entirely to God.

Nothing like him has ever been seen in Israel. Jesus opens our mouths to speak. He sets captives free. Let us cling to him like Jacob. Let us plead that he send more of his laborers to us. More than ever we need shepherds after his own heart to guide us (cf. Jer. 3:15).

Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence. 

6 July 2015 - heaven and earth united

Let us seek the spot where heaven and earth come together.

Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God’s messengers were going up and down on it.

This spot is no longer a mere dream. Jesus is the one who unites heaven and earth.

And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (cf. Joh. 1:51).

The woman who suffers hemorrhages for twelve years understands this intuitively when she thinks, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." The woman somehow understands that touching Jesus is touching heaven.

Jacob receives the promise of land and descendants when he dreams of this connection between heaven and earth.

“I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.

Yet this promise to Jacob is not enough to satisfy the deepest desires of the heart. Descendants are given but they still live lives tarnished by sickness and decline which eventually end in death. They are often taken captive from the land of promise. But even when they do dwell there they only rarely dwell in peace, safe from threats without and abuse tyranny within. The place where heaven and earth meet is still more dream than real until heaven becomes incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ.

Now in Jesus we can touch heaven itself together with the hemorrhaging woman. We can cling to him and experience deliverance even from the things which were not abolished by the promise to Jacob. If we place our trust in him and acknowledge his name he will set us on high in a place where even sin and death cannot destroy us.

The world looks and only sees earth. They do not see heaven. They do not see angels ascending and descending in the place. But we do. And so we must go to the place where we can most perfectly encounter the one who is heaven in our midst. We must go to the mass and enter in actively and consciously for it is in the Eucharist that heaven and earth are most perfectly united.

In the Eucharist Jesus takes us by the hand and fills us with the life of heaven.

When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.

Let us spread the news of this throughout the land. We more perfectly receive what Jacob describes.

If God remains with me,
to protect me on this journey I am making
and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father’s house, the LORD shall be my God.

Bread enough to eat and clothing enough to wear? He gives us his very flesh to bring us safely to his Father's house! Let us say to Jesus, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

5 July 2015 - weak, bro

Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?

This is a risk God takes in the incarnation. He becomes so like us that there is the real risk that we only see the similarities and miss the God in our midst.

This is a risk Paul takes in following Jesus. He is real with his congregation. He does not hide his weakness from them. He is human with them, flesh and not just spirit. There is the real risk that his congregation will only see the weakness and overlook God working in them.

But only in the midst of this weakness is the power of God perfectly revealed. Only in the humility which stoops down to meet us where we are do we truly encounter the love of God.

In the midst of God's weakness he still shows us something which we can't overlook. We can rationalize it and explain it away if we choose but deep down we know that he is full of wisdom and do mighty deeds on the earth.

And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—
they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Let us not resist or be rebellious. Let us fix our eyes on the Lord, pleading for his mercy to help us see his power at work in the weakness which he accepts for our sakes.

Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.

It is true to say that we serve a weak God. The world can't stand that idea and sometimes we have trouble with it too. We'd prefer a strength solution to every problem.

Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.

But let us listen to God speak to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you."

With Paul let us gladly boast of weakness, ours and our God's, for when we are weak, then we are strong.

4 July 2015 - free to be ourselves

The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.

Wait. The bridegroom will be taken from us? But won't he be with us always, even unto the end of the age (cf. Mat. 28:20)? Yes, he promises to remain with us. But we do spend certain times entering more purposefully into his suffering and death.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor. 11:26).

We suffer ourselves and in these times as well we unite ourselves to the suffering Christ. 

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (cf. Col. 1:24)

The world can't understand why we fast when we fast and why we celebrate when we celebrate. The old paradigms of the world, and even the paradigms of the Old Testament, can't explain it. They are old wineskins and old cloaks and we have new cloth and new wineskins. The world does not understand this because the world does not understand the cross. It sees in the cross only defeat. It does not see something into which one would enter willing. It cannot see the value in being united to the cross. But we see through the cross to the resurrection. We understand that the bridegroom is taken from us only to be given back to us in a new and more profound way. And then, after fasting, we celebrate with a new a deeper joy.

This is the inheritance which our Father longs to give us through the meal of the Eucharist. We don't need to pretend to be someone else anymore. We need not trick him into it. There is now enough blessing for both brothers. There is blessing enough for the entire world.

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praise to his name, which we love;
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel for his own possession