31 October 2016 - don't banquet on it

[ Today's Readings ]

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests, 
but also everyone for those of others.

We really shrink back when we hear this, don't we? The ego rebels just a little bit even when we know that these words are true. Put others first? But that means we're not first. And that doesn't feel good to the ego. We're interested in doing good mainly in an ecosystem where there is some sort of ultimate balance. We invite people to the banquet who can eventually reward the fact that we did so.

We can overcome this selfish instinct. There is encouragement in Christ! There is solace in love! There is participation in the Spirit! Compassion and mercy are real and true. We just need to have the same mind as Paul. We need to be united in heart, thinking just the one thing which contains all of these. What is that one thing? Love! Love allows us to reach out when the ego pulls us inside ourselves. Love allows us to serve when there is nothing offered in return. Love becomes its own reward as we see those whom we love enriched. It doesn't give the ego time to be hurt because the ego can only be hurt when it has time to look at itself.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.

30 October 2016 - climber change

[ Today's Readings ]

Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 

Do we ever feel like we get lost in the crowd? Do we feel like we are behind a multitude of people who can see Jesus clearly while we ourselves can't see him? Self-pity keeps us behind all the others. It believes the worst about the situation. It assumes that this is deserved and so irreparable. But instead, let us embrace the desire and humility of Zacchaeus. He wants to see Jesus and he isn't going to let a crowd stop him.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.

When he finds Jesus he discovers that his desire for Jesus, the desire that even made him climb a tree, was something Jesus placed in his heart in the first place. Of course such a desire is honored and rewarded.

When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 

The LORD loathes nothing that he makes. He would not have fashioned something he hated. This means that we aren't terminally unique. Even if the crowd is pressing in front of us and we can't see Jesus right now that doesn't mean we're the one person he doesn't love. Rather, Jesus wants to see us as much as anyone along his way. The LORD is a lover of souls for his imperishable spirit is in all things. There must be a reason why he is calling forth greater desire from Zacchaeus than the rest of the crowd. It could simply be that Zacchaeus is at a place in his life where he is ready to make a big change. He knows what he was doing isn't working. His desire is strong and ready to be tested.

And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 

...

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”

The Son of Man wants to seek and save the lost. He himself makes us worthy of the calling. He himself brings to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith that the name of our LORD Jesus may be glorified in us and we in him. Let's not let a tree stand in our way.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

30 October 2016 - climber change

[ Today's Readings ]

Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 

Do we ever feel like we get lost in the crowd? Do we feel like we are behind a multitude of people who can see Jesus clearly while we ourselves can't see him? Self-pity keeps us behind all the others. It believes the worst about the situation. It assumes that this is deserved and so irreparable. But instead, let us embrace the desire and humility of Zacchaeus. He wants to see Jesus and he isn't going to let a crowd stop him.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.

When he finds Jesus he discovers that his desire for Jesus, the desire that even made him climb a tree, was something Jesus placed in his heart in the first place. Of course such a desire is honored and rewarded.

When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 

The LORD loathes nothing that he makes. He would not have fashioned something he hated. This means that we aren't terminally unique. Even if the crowd is pressing in front of us and we can't see Jesus right now that doesn't mean we're the one person he doesn't love. Rather, Jesus wants to see us as much as anyone along his way. The LORD is a lover of souls for his imperishable spirit is in all things. There must be a reason why he is calling forth greater desire from Zacchaeus than the rest of the crowd. It could simply be that Zacchaeus is at a place in his life where he is ready to make a big change. He knows what he was doing isn't working. His desire is strong and ready to be tested.

And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 

...

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”

The Son of Man wants to seek and save the lost. He himself makes us worthy of the calling. He himself brings to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith that the name of our LORD Jesus may be glorified in us and we in him. Let's not let a tree stand in our way.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

30 October 2016 - climber change

[ Today's Readings ]

Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 

Do we ever feel like we get lost in the crowd? Do we feel like we are behind a multitude of people who can see Jesus clearly while we ourselves can't see him? Self-pity keeps us behind all the others. It believes the worst about the situation. It assumes that this is deserved and so irreparable. But instead, let us embrace the desire and humility of Zacchaeus. He wants to see Jesus and he isn't going to let a crowd stop him.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.

When he finds Jesus he discovers that his desire for Jesus, the desire that even made him climb a tree, was something Jesus placed in his heart in the first place. Of course such a desire is honored and rewarded.

When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 

The LORD loathes nothing that he makes. He would not have fashioned something he hated. This means that we aren't terminally unique. Even if the crowd is pressing in front of us and we can't see Jesus right now that doesn't mean we're the one person he doesn't love. Rather, Jesus wants to see us as much as anyone along his way. The LORD is a lover of souls for his imperishable spirit is in all things. There must be a reason why he is calling forth greater desire from Zacchaeus than the rest of the crowd. It could simply be that Zacchaeus is at a place in his life where he is ready to make a big change. He knows what he was doing isn't working. His desire is strong and ready to be tested.

And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 

...

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”

The Son of Man wants to seek and save the lost. He himself makes us worthy of the calling. He himself brings to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith that the name of our LORD Jesus may be glorified in us and we in him. Let's not let a tree stand in our way.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

29 October 2016 - pride of place

[ Today's Readings ]

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

The problem is not so much the place specific place. The problem is when we take it on ourselves. After all, if the host sees we are sitting at too low of a place he invites us to move up to a higher position. The problem is when we take a higher position for ourselves rather than receiving it from the LORD. Even if the world is leaving the seat vacant for us we still need to wait on God to place us there. Otherwise, if we exult ourselves we will be humble. But if we choose to receive only those honors which God gives us we experience true exultation. It is exultation which can't be taken away because it comes from God and not for pride or ego.

My soul is thirsting for the living God.

In order to make this work in practice we have to thirst for God rather than for honor. If we thirst primarily for honor we see the open seat and take it. Our minds are preoccupied with what we deserve. If we thirst for God we become more interested in his plans than in what we believe we deserve.

For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.

Even life and death become indifferent to us as long as we can serve the LORD. To others death might seem to be the lower place and life the higher. But we ought to be less concerned about these things than that "Christ will be magnified" in us.

Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?

28 October 2016 - the family plan

[ Today's Readings ]

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God

Jesus is calling us together today. He is calling us to unity! When we think of unity we may imagine marchers with locked arms, moving together for a cause. Our unity also stems from a common purpose. But there is no other purpose like it. There is no other cause so noble or important as this.

Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

We are united in the worship of God. God is, among other things, the core foundational principle of all that is. There is no more firm foundation for unity than this. Nor can anything matter more. But that principle can be a little bit too vague to unite the whole world. Scripture is better, but even scripture divides as much as it unites. If worship of God is the most important cause in the world, how can we ensure that we are as unified around him as possible?

We need to let ourselves be "built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone." We need the Church as the sure basis of unity. That is why we celebrate Saints Simon and Jude. They lived and died so that the whole world could come into the union of God's family, the Church.  They live now in heaven interceding for that same thing. This explains why Jesus spent the night in prayer not only for those who would later write the bible but rather to choose those who would be the first bishops of his Church.

The heavens declare the glory of God. But the Church makes explicit what is implicit in the heavenly proclamation. We have here a sure ground of unity. We have here the pillar and foundation of truth (see First Timothy 3:15).

27 October 2016 - not against flesh and blood

[ Today's Readings ]

Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.

This armor is so important. Without it we find ourselves struggling against flesh and blood.

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”

But when we "put on the armor of God" we are "able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything" hold our ground. This is how Jesus holds his ground in the face of threats. The threats are to his flesh and blood. But he wears the full armor of the Spirit. He is focused on his mission.

Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,

He knows his purpose. He can't be deterred by flesh and blood, by fear or threats, or even by any power in this world.

and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.

So let us clothe ourselves in truth and righteousness. The Gospel of peace keeps our feet ready and moving in the direction we should good. Faith is a shield which is able to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. The salvation Jesus gives is the helmet that makes survival possible. Without his gift we are easy targets. The word of God is vital. It is our only explicitly offensive tool. What does this mean? It means that when the enemy presses in we need to strike back with the word. Otherwise, even with good armor, we get rattled and beaten down and may eventually lose heart.

Let us pray at every opportunity in the Spirit that we may always take advantage of the full armor that Jesus gives. Then we can stand fast in the war against the true enemy, undistracted by those in our lives who reprise the role of Herod and the Pharisees. No matter what flesh and blood throws at us we can be victorious through the mystery of Gospel.

for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

Chains could stop flesh and blood. They could render earthly armor a moot point. But they can't stop those who wear the armor of light.

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

26 October 2016 - the narrow gate scandal

[ Today's Readings ]

Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.

The main thing isn't to be strong enough. The main thing is to enter while the master of the house still has the door open and unlocked. After it's locked, good luck. The people who truly know the master enter during, as it were, business hours. Coming late to the party shows that we haven't been living in relationship with the master. It reveals that we, in fact, do not know him. But this doesn't need to be us. We have the invitation in hand. Let us enter while the door is open. 

It is true that the door is also narrow. We must divest ourselves of our pride and attachments to sin in order to enter. It isn't enough just to be in proximity to Jesus if we don't let him change us. But he is the one that invites us. He is the one who gives us the strength to change. There is an abundance of grace to bring many through the door to the banquet. The key is to desire to receive it.

And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.

The grace that changes us and makes us small and humble enough to enter should first mark all of our relationships. We should honor our parents, love our children, be obedient to those in authority over us, and love and care for those who are under our own authority "knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality." All of our relationships here on earth give us the choice between pride and humility, between tyranny and service, and between selfishness and love. Let us be small and humble in all of our relationships. Jesus gives us the strength to do so. If we utilize that strength we can be sure that we will fit through the narrow gate.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

25 October 2016 - subordinate because

[ Today's Readings ]

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Outside of the kingdom the advice to be subordinate isn't as good of an idea. Everyone is out for their own self-interest. But husbands are called to assume this leadership by love and self-giving. Woman are called to subordinate themselves out of love and thankfulness, not out of obligation or fear.

In the kingdom Christ gives us the power to love one another as we love ourselves. Obedience becomes practicable and, in fact, preferable. Everyone no longer has to do everything themselves. We can truly trust and rely on others. This is why the kingdom is like a large bush in which the birds of the sky can dwell. Everyone can come together within the kingdom without overstepping their boundaries or taking for themselves that which should belong to another. This is why the kingdom is likened to yeast that leavens the dough. It makes what is insufficient enough to feed the masses. Our own love is limited, thin, and easily broken. The yeast gives our love the volume and elasticity to embrace the poor, the hungry, and the needy.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

Kingdom love is possible because Christ first loves us. It is possible because he first hands himself over to sanctify us "by the bath of water with the word" (Baptism), "that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing" so that we can, somehow, "be holy and without blemish." Because this is where it begins, when we live it we show forth the great mystery of Christ and the Church.

24 October 2016 - all love all the time

[ Today's Readings ]

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

Love is meant to be our first priority. We often make excuses to not love. These excuses often come from immorality and greed but mask themselves under the pretense of following rules.

“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”

But thing thing is, love is always the correct choice. There isn't a day of the week or a time of day when something else should take priority. For Christians life should be all love all the time.

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.

So let us not be deceived by empty arguments. The world doesn't want us to love and so supplies arguments in abundance. Even the arguments themselves can be distractions, keeping us frozen and immobile, unable to love. But we are not in darkness. We don't need to succumb to any such things. We have the light we need to see the good and the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can choose it.

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

Think about this world in which we live. While it is true that we do need to figure out the best way to solve problems, paralysis by analysis is a common problem. When it is in our power to love we must do so. We need not fear hearing that we did it on the wrong day of the week.

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

23 October 2016 - the prayer of the lowly

[ Today's Readings ]

But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

Let us learn to pray with the humility of this tax collector. We are quite often convinced of our own righteousness. We compare ourselves to others and think that we deserve something more than them. We pray, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.' But really, the tax collector has it figured out much better than we do. He does not stand before God because of who he is or because of his accomplishments. Instead he comes before God because of who God is. He trusts in his mercy.

The LORD is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.

Aren't the saints his favorites? Aren't they accorded special favors because they're so great? No, it is rather that they take the position of the tax collector. It is rather that they trust in the mercy of God and are absolutely unwilling to rely on themselves.

The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,
nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
judges justly and affirms the right,
and the Lord will not delay.

Humility prevents us from being sidetracked. Even when circumstances go poorly and friends desert us we realize that the LORD stands by us. He rescues us. We don't spend so all of our time protesting that the situation is unfair, that we've been so faithful that this shouldn't happen to us, and thereby forget to avail ourselves of God's mercy.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. 
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The LORD hears the cry of the poor. So let us be poor! The LORD is close to the brokenhearted. If we are brokenhearted let us turn to him. If we are crushed in spirit let us trust in him to save us!

The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.

22 October 2016 - open wide the doors of your hearts to Christ

[ Today's Readings ]

Grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Jesus gives us gifts of grace. These are not trivial. They are not just for fun or pleasure. They are meant to enable us to live our destiny in Christ.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
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

We also note that the gifts given are specific and identifiable. They aren't vague feelings. They are things we can use for the work of ministry. Without them we are "infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming."

These gifts are the fertilizer by which Jesus enables us to bear fruit.

He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also, 
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; 
it may bear fruit in the future.

The gifts build the body of Christ. We are able to enrich society as a whole in such a way that it is not liable to the judgment experienced by the Galileans at the hands of Pilate or those on whom the tower of Siloam fell. We may reasonably infer from the state of our nation that we are not yet putting these gifts fully to use. But the gardener is patient. There is yet time.

Rather, living the truth in love,
we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
from whom the whole Body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
with the proper functioning of each part,
brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

Let us open wide the doors of our hearts to Christ so that we may receive his gifts. With them we can live the truth in love and grow into unity with Christ our head.

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.

21 October 2016 - cause of the kingdom

[ Today's Readings ]

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're typically pretty good at reading the weather forecast and preparing for rain or heat. We're less good at reading the word and preparing ourselves for judgment. It's not that we don't try. It's just that it isn't quite as real to us. Jesus wants the cosmic situation in which we find ourselves to be more real and pressing to us than even our daily circumstances. Daily circumstances may be immediate but their impact is short lived when compared to our eternal destiny. Yet most of us think we're doing well when we can split our priorities fifty/fifty. Instead we need to learn to see everything in the light of eternity, more and more. We need to redouble our efforts to "settle the matter on the way" to the magistrate. We need to become "the people that longs to see" God's face.

When God and eternity become our focus we will strive to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. We begin to desire the unity that God desires and we finally have something lasting around which we can unite. No longer must our unity by fleeting or selfish. We unite around the one who draws all people to himself. We unite for the cause of the Kingdom of God, which, unlike every other cause, will never end. We begin to make present and experience even now the profound unity that awaits us in that kingdom.

one Body and one Spirit, 
as 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.

Let's read the real signs of the times so that we can cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. This isn't legalism. We do this because we are the people "that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob."

20 January 2016 - fire on the earth

[ Today's Readings ]

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

We know that Jesus values unity. He intends the good news for both Jew and gentile, slave and free, rich and poor. He wants to bring us all together in his Church, the new Israel of God.

From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father

We know that Jesus values family. After all, he calls God his Father. His Father is the one "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named". He himself is born into a human family with Mary his mother and Joseph his foster father. Yet he is willing to see division where there must be division. He tells us that we must love him even more than our families. 

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (see Matthew 10:37).

The invitation of Jesus has to us does not allow much gray area. We choose to except him as LORD or to reject him as a liar or a lunatic. He is such an intensely polarizing figure that there is no way to come down in the middle. But it is precisely in this that his message has the power to change the world.

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

Yes the message divides people. People don't always accept his invitation. Jesus allows this. But he would prefer that all people come to him to be saved. He would prefer that the fire of the Holy Spirit spread to all people and not just some. But the fire is obviously dangerous. The risk of being transformed can't be ignored.

that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

This transformation can be fearful but it need not be. It is based on "the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge". It turns out to be "more than all we ask or imagine". Let us welcome the fire of the Spirit and invite others to do so. May God use us to spread his fire and help us not to add extra causes of division to a message which can be difficult even in its pure form.

But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.

19 October 2016 - entrusted with much

[ Today's Readings ]

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

This is us. We are the people entrusted with much. We are the people to whom "the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things" is made known. Through the Church we have access to "the manifold wisdom of God." Even the principalities and authorities in the heavens have to access this wisdom through the Church just as we do.

This is not meant to make us afraid. In fact, it is meant to give us boldness of speech and confidence of our access to God through faith. Jesus tells us that we must be prepared. He does not do this to scare us. He does it so that we will in fact prepare. He himself gives us the strength and grace to do so. If he wants us to distribute the food allowance at the proper time it is because he himself gives us that allowance to distribute. The only risk is thinking like the servant who begins to forget his master is coming.

'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,

We have been given the "inscrutable riches of Christ". These riches are meant for everyone, Jew and Gentile. We are given them to share. And the riches themselves give us the power, the boldness of speech, and the confidence of access, to enable us to do so.

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!

18 October 2016 - your friends make known

[ Today's Readings ] 

Sometimes it is difficult to proclaim the good news. Sometimes even those who believe become enamored of the present world and desert us. We need to be like Paul, willing to preach the good news in season and out of season. We need to be like Luke (and Timothy and Mark) who stick with him even when he isn't popular. Even if no one appears at our defence our first priority must be that "the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it". The LORD will stand by us and give us strength to make this possible.

The situation is tough because the laborers are indeed few. It becomes even more tough when we can't rely even on our fellow laborers. Even they can become enamored of the world. But we do not need to let that be our focus. The harvest is abundant and the master of the harvest is able to provide. We can trust his providence even though we are lambs among wolves. We can trust him even if we carry no moneybag or sandals. By relying on God's providence we avoid becoming enamored of the world ourselves. We greet no one along the way and are therefore undistracted. We arrive at the destination God intends. We stay single-mindedly where he sends us and we don't let the food service or any other condition distract us. The mission comes first.

The world, after all, desperately needs the good news. It doesn't have time for the divisions and distractions that can slow us down.

Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’

This is what the friends of God do. And so let's not forget that this begins because God calls us friends (see John 15:15).

Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

17 October 2016 - his handiwork

[ Today's Readings ]

Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.

Jesus isn't so much concerned about what we have or don't have. He's concerned about our priorities.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 5:3).

There is no sense focusing all efforts on storing up good things for many years. Eating, drinking, and being merry are pleasures that can all be taken from us at a moment's notice. If we live for these sorts of things we are never fully happy and ultimately disappointed because the night is coming for each one of us when our lives will be demanded of us.

Jesus knows that these investments of ourselves are doomed. Yet he does leave us something in which we can invest ourselves.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (see Second Corinthians 8:9).

God "is rich in mercy". There are riches that he has for us just because of his great love for us (even when we're dead in sin, even when we can't deserve it). He wants to "show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Because we ourselves are his handiwork we ourselves are worth more than anything we can buy or sell on earth. And the riches in which we can invest? "good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."  The corporal and spiritual works of mercy and true riches. They manifest the treasure of God's grace at work in us and refine us to more perfectly express that grace. Ultimately, by God's grace working through us in love they serve to unite us with him in whom all true value is found.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (see Second Peter 1:3-4).

Rather than our brother's inheritance, let us focus on the inheritance from the Father of whom we already have the first installment: the Holy Spirit himself.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.

16 October 2016 - raising holy hands

[ Today's Readings ]

It is necessary for us to pray always without becoming weary. At the same time this represents a huge challenge. We come to see God as an unjust judge withholding what we deserve. Yet he himself is the one who wants us to ask. Our persistence does not annoy him. He wants us to increase and make more firm our desire for the good things he has for us. He asks so that he can not only give but so that we can be transformed through the asking.

Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night? 
Will he be slow to answer them? 
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. 

What do we do when we start to become weary with prayer? What do we do when the battle goes longer than we planned and our intentions and resolutions become weak? We can keep our hands raised on the mountaintop for a while but eventually our arms become tired and Amalek has the better of the fight. Do we let our arms drop, deciding that the thing we need isn't so important after all? We must not! This is a battle and losing has consequences! Instead, we must support one another.

Moses’hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. 
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset

In order to live victorious lives we need to support one another as we turn toward the Lord, our help, who made heaven and earth. There is no limit to his desire or ability to help us. He neither slumbers nor sleeps.

This is the first step to being able to proclaim the word in season and out of season, whether it is convenient or inconvenient. This is at the heart of the battle. The enemy doesn't want the world to hear this word because it is "capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." It is "inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work." In other words it is the main weapon on which Christian soldiers rely in our fight against the enemy. The enemy wants us to remain unequipped. He wants to see our arms fall, frustrated with an apparent lack of progress or results. But the word is living and effective, sharper than any two edged sword. Remaining faithful to this word and supporting one another we experience the victory of Jesus Christ risen from the dead.

15 October 2016 - enlightened hearts

[ Today's Readings ]

The enemy uses fear to try to shut us down and keep us from talking about Jesus. He wants us to deny Jesus before others. But we don't have to give in to the fear. We know that we get things wrong sometimes and live in a way that doesn't give testimony to the Son of Man. But this doesn't need to make us afraid either. As long as we don't give up or surrender to despair the Holy Spirit will be there to help us.

do not worry about how or what your defense will be
or about what you are to say. 
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.

The enemy wants us to think that it is all about us. If we try to talk about Jesus it doesn't go well he likes to remind us about how we weren't the perfect witness and so ought never speak up again. But it isn't all about us. It is about "the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ".

If we're afraid of speaking up for Jesus we need to ask to realize more fully what we have in him.

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones

The Father has put all things beneath the feet of Jesus. It is his will that Jesus fill all things in every way. The enemy can't stand against this power. Fear is ultimately a lie. It is a last ditched effort to sabotage a small piece of a victory which is already won. Let's not give in to fear. Let's look with enlightened eyes and trust the Holy Spirit.

You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.

Let nothing disturb you,

let nothing frighten you,

everything passes,

but God stays.

Patience reaches it all;

he who has God

nothing lacks:

God alone suffices.

-  Teresa of Avila

14 October 2016 - the installment plan

Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows.

[ Today's Readings ]

We are unafraid but not because we are naive. We know that the threat of Gehenna is real. We don't need to fear for our bodies precisely because we understand the reality of eternity. We know that this life is the blink of an eye in the grand scheme. But when we realize how much God loves us we don't even need to fear hell. Right now we still have darkness in our lives. We have things which would embarrass us to have spoken in broad daylight. We need to realize that God wants to bring light to our darkness. We also have the truth of Jesus and yet refuse to proclaim it from the housetops. But God wants to help us to shout it out.

Perfect love casts out fear (see First John 4:18). God's love for us is perfect. To the degree that we open ourselves to this knowledge we begin to trust God even with our process, even with our brokenness. We begin to realize that union with him isn't our project that he begrudgingly accepts. It is his idea.

In Christ we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.

Because union with God is God's idea he will do it. Unless we stop him. We still have free will and he allows us to choose to resist him if we insist on it. But if we do not rebel against the word of truth he won't let our weakness prevent us from coming to our final inheritance, redemption as God's possession, to the praise of his glory.

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.

If we experience fear about this mortal life we need to remember eternity. If we experience fear about eternity we need to remember God's love. We need to experience more of the Holy Spirit, with whom we were sealed, "which is the first installment of our inheritance". Not the first installment of our wages. Not the first installment of something earned. It is the first installment of our destiny, something gratuitous, based entirely on the perfect love of God.

13 October 2016 - key principles

[ Today's Readings ] 

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

Do we live like we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing? Or do we rather live as if we would become saints if only God would give us a little more grace? We have been adopted by the Father and redeemed in Christ. These are the riches of his grace which are already lavished on us. He has told us the ultimate plan: "to sum up all things in Christ". And he has given us the grace to play our part.

We have the key of knowledge. We need to make sure that we use it and help others to enter as well. It is all to possible to distract ourselves with the memorials of the prophets. In other words, we do things that acknowledge God only when it doesn't call us to change. The prophets of the past would have told us to repent. We might have killed them together with our fathers. But since they are now in the past we can happily build our memorials to them. In order to not succumb to such distractions we need to listen to what God is saying to us now. 

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.

He tells us all of the many blessings we have received and how to use them for his kingdom. He gives us the keys. We have to participate. To do otherwise might not be to rebel openly and obviously. But even something as innocent as building memorials to past prophets can be wrong if it keeps us from doing what we need to do here and now.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.

12 October 2016 - the dill breaker

[ Today's Readings ]

If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Under the law we sometimes try to do good, but we can't figure out what is important. We wind up with a box-checking mentality. We do the things that are the easiest to take pride in and do the least to transform our hearts.

You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.

It isn't that tithing on these small things is wrong. But it must not obscure attention to judgment and to love for God. We think about how we have such great attention to detail when we miss the bigger picture. We even come to think we deserve the seats of honor for all of the good works that we do. And perhaps other people even believe our fictions and we become "like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."

There is only one antidote to this problem. We need to be guided by the Spirit. Without the Spirit we are left with the flesh: "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." Even our good deeds are tainted by these actions and motives.  The thread is real: "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God." This is biblical language for mortal sins. This is serious, but we need need to let this make us afraid.

If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

And we are guided by the Spirit. We are filled with the Spirit in baptism and confirmation. We have the power within us to conquer mortal sin. God himself wants to fill us with the fruit of the Spirit "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." We don't need be afraid of doing the wrong things or of not doing the right things. That is flesh thinking. Instead we need to focus on letting the Spirit direct what we do.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

This is the secret that God wants to reveal to us today. He wants to fill us with the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit so that we can walk by the Spirit free from the passions and desires of the flesh.

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.

11 October 2016 - to the core

[ Today's Readings ]

The exterior signs that indicate holiness only matter when they reflect what is going on inside. Washing the outside of the dish needs to reflect an interior removal of plunder and evil. What matters is "only faith working through love."

Here we come to the point which might not be obvious. How do we cleanse everything, including what is within? Is we're cleansing the inside do we do it primarily by interior or spiritual acts? Jesus is more practical.

But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.

This is an exterior act. But it implies an interior disposition. It is supposed to mean giving ourselves away. If giving alms became merely external, if it was only done grudgingly in order to check a box it could not make our interiors clean. On the other hand, alms given with that desire to be made clean do cleanse us. Alms where we try not only to give but to give ourselves away do in fact transform us.

And I will walk at liberty,
because I seek your precepts.

Maybe we're getting ready to give some money to hurricane victims in Haiti or to some other noble cause. Let us take a moment to actually connect and empathize with those to whom we direct our charity. If we do this, if we actually see and internalize a bit before we click and give, we allow it the act to penetrate us more deeply and to cleanse us more completely.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (see First Peter 4:8).

And I will lift up my hands to your commands
and meditate on your statutes.

10 October 2016 - wondering about signs

[ Today's Readings ]

This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.

The sign is less important than the person who gives us the sign.

When the queen of the south came to see Solomon she did not do so because of this or that sign. She came to hear the wisdom which she understood him to have. The people of Nineveh did not repent because of signs Jonah did. They repented because of his preaching. Wisdom and preaching, then, can mean more than signs, depending on from whom they come. 

and there is something greater than Jonah here

Signs are things which are more tangential to the wisdom and message of a person. They validate, vindicate, and authenticate a message. But they are less important than the message itself. Even so, Jesus does give us a sign. He gives us the sign of Jonah. But unless we know him and his message we do not understand what this means. Someone was dead but now lives. But what does that actually mean for us? We don't understand the earth shattering ways in which this sign changes the world.

Therefore, brothers and sisters,
we are children not of the slave woman
but of the freeborn woman.

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

In the death of Jesus we die to sin and self. In his resurrection we rise to new life in the Spirit.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (see Romans 6:4).

Jesus does not give us a tangential sign. He gives us a sign that encapsulates his whole message. It is the least likely of all signs to be a mere distraction for us. Yet to understand it we must first come to Jesus to hear his preaching and receive his wisdom. We need to realize more fully just who Jesus is and why his life cannot be held by death. We need to let him tell us what it is meant to mean for us.

Who is like the LORD, our God,
who looks upon the heavens and the earth below? 
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.

9 October 2016 - depth of blessing

[ Today's Readings ]

Today the LORD reminds us that there are no limits on his blessings and mercy. He gives them to those that are considered undeserving in the eyes of the world. He doesn't care if they are Samaritan or Jew. No one deserves it. All he asks in return is thanks.

Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

The ultimate blessing we receive is the salvation that comes from the gospel that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. It is for this reason that we can enter the cleansing waters of baptism, no matter who we are, and give thanks to God. It is because Jesus died and is risen that we hope to die and live with him in order to obtain eternal glory.

The secret to making sure the blessings we have don't go to waste is found in thankfulness. It starts when we truly realize the depth of the blessings we are given.

Naaman said: “If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD.”

This morning we need to know that we already have far more than any cleansed leper because of what we receive in our baptism. We are united to God in a way that Naaman would not dare to dream. Let us be faithful to that gift and give thanks with all our hearts.

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.

8 October 2016 - word of faith

[ Today's Readings ]

Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.

We hear this and think about keeping the law. We quickly think of all the ways that we fail to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. But that is not what the word of God is saying. If we truly listen, rather than a message of condemnation for our limitations, we hear a message of hope and mercy.  The word of God tells us to put our faith in Jesus Christ. 

Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian for Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.

The law speaks with a voice that merely prepares us for God's ultimate message. It shows us where we are apart from him. It makes us ready to trust him. The law points out true deficiencies. The point of this is not simply so that we can go and correct these deficiencies. It isn't going to work. We just can't do it on our own. That is the true message of the law. The good news is that we don't have to do it on our own. We are united with Jesus by our faith in him. We become children of the Father. We become a new creation, heirs according to the promise, capable of keeping the demands of the law by the power of the Spirit of Christ.

For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.

God does not teach the law to condemn but rather to demonstrate. He shows us our need for mercy. And then he offers us far more than is necessary, more than we have any right to expect, more than we can ask for or even imagine.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever