28 February 2017 - unlimited offer

 

[ Today's Readings ]

 
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.

Do we think we have nothing to offer the LORD? We have nothing he needs, it is true. But we have much that he desires we give nonetheless. "To keep the law", "give alms", "and refrain from evil" are all offerings pleasing to God which he himself gives us the power to give. The more we can offer for Jesus' sake the better.

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

We notice him sneaking in mention of persecutions in there amidst all the blessings. But the persecutions themselves perfect us and make us more like Jesus. They give us something profound to offer to the Father: ourselves in union with Christ. We need not be afraid to offer all that we have and are to Jesus. He loves a generous giver with "a cheerful countenance" and he is not outdone in generosity. The more we empty ourselves for his sake the more he fills us with grace.

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes we feel utterly unable to offer anything good. We see how all that we do is tainted by self interest. At such times, with nothing else to offer, let us at least bring him our praise.
Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.

Inspired by the readings:

Getting ready for Lent with some preemptive alleluias:

27 February 2017 - glad cries of freedom

[ Today's Readings ] 

Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.

It is time to get ready to follow Jesus in a new and deeper way this Lent. We are called to set aside more of the things that are merely distractions in order to seek Jesus with undivided hearts. Hearing this, our hearts fall, because we are attached to so very much.

"Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"

Can we be saved? Can we really get past all of our preoccupations enough to actually desire the Kingdom of God more than anything else?

Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."

Jesus looks at us and tells us straight out that this Lent is not meant to be a project about what we can do for God. It is meant to be about what we are willing to let God do in our hearts.

To the penitent God provides a way back,
he encourages those who are losing hope
and has chosen for them the lot of truth.

The way set before us is the way of prayer. In it we are called to stand firm. If we do so we know the mercy and the forgiveness of God.

How great the mercy of the LORD,
his forgiveness of those who return to him!

When we really approach Lent this way it won't crush us our take away our joy. Rather we  experience a new and pure joy which the world cannot take from us.
Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.

 

26 February 2017 - birdbrained

[ Today's Readings ]

We can give our lives completely to one master only if we trust him completely. If we know that God cares for us and knows our needs we can seek his kingdom first and have no anxiety about the rest.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.

But we don't trust God completely. We always have a plan B ready in case he forsakes us.

Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me;
my LORD has forgotten me."
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.

God loves us even more than we love ourselves. His compassion for us is without limit. We think he doesn't understand our circumstances but he understands them even better than we ourselves understand the. When we realize this we can become trustworthy stewards.

Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.

We no longer run the risk of using the time, talent, and treasure we are given for things which aren't priorities for God. We trust him so completely that we don't have to hold anything back for ourselves, for all of the just in case scenarios we can imagine. It is simple. We listen to God. We seek his kingdom and righteousness with all that we have and all that we are. When we do we have no anxiety about tomorrow. All things besides are given us.

Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.

25 February 2017 - little graces

[ Today's Readings ]

Limited days of life he gives him,
with power over all things else on earth.

We have a lofty and exulted vocation to be the rulers of creation, with hearts filled with wisdom, counsel, and understanding.  We are called to recognize that our dominion is not absolute but comes from God who gives to us limited days and makes us return to earth again. We are called to obey him who tells us to, "Avoid all evil".

Often we begin to imagine that the earth is our sphere to do with as we please. We recognize that God sets man over creation and no longer concern ourselves for his will for it. We imagine a spiritual and religious realm in which we interact with God (when it suits us) and a secular world where we are free to do whatever seems best to us.

Instead of this we need to become like children. This does not mean we eschew wisdom. It means that we constantly recognize that the source of our life is the Father who gives it to us. It does not mean that we don't grow. It means that we consciously grow as children of the Father who loves and guides us. Being little children enables us to fully receive all that the Father has for us. When we let ourselves be small and trust in him we do not keep anything back or in reserve.

"Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."

Jesus wants to embrace us, to bless us, and to place his hands upon us. He will do it to the degree that we are small enough to open ourselves to it. Every time we find ourselves acting on our own apart from God let us receive grace to be small and embraced. He is always ready to welcome us back.

"Let the children come to me; do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."

24 February 2017 - a God idea

[ Today's Readings ]

God wants to create relationships for us that are stronger than the circumstances in which we find ourselves. He wants to help us to find faithful friends because they are a sturdy shelter and a treasure beyond price. He wants marriages to be so immune to circumstances that divorce is out of the question. He desires a union so complete that it cannot be broken. God has the power to give us relationships like this if we turn to him.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly,
and his friend will be like himself.
We need to be attentive to the laws God gives us. They are designed to promote human flourishing. They are not simply arbitrary or oppressive. Rather, they describe the conditions under which we can thrive and relationships can reach their full potential

Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.

Laws are given that we may live in harmony with the divine order that is built in to the universe. That is why it is important to look at them not only in relation how they have been applied or disputed recently but to look back to see why they were made in the first. place.

Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

Looking at marriage only as it exists in these past few decades might lead us to believe it is a merely human institution with no greater purpose. It might seem like something malleable which we can shape into whatever is convenient for us as a society. God reminds us that he has a better plan for marriage and for friendship than any ideas we can come up with. We do tend to reduce all such institutions for contracts we can use to promote our own self interest. They become things that isolate rather than unite.

From the beginning it was not so. And by God's grace it need not be so for us.

Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.

 

23 February 2017 - rich in mercy

Not a good look

 [ Today's Readings ]

We need to make sure the LORD is truly the desire of our hearts and then pursue him. We need to be sure to seek him humbly, not puffed up with pride. We rely on the grace he gives to come into his presence and serve him.

Rely not on your strength
in following the desires of your heart.

At times we fail to seek this grace. God is merciful at such times, but we must not take it for granted.

Say not: "Great is his mercy;
my many sins he will forgive."

Mercy is always something undeserved. It should always surprise us. It should move us to seek it as soon as we are aware that it is possible. Mercy has the power to make what was old and difficult new and fresh. The frustration of relaying on ourselves is replaced with the excitement of depending completely on God.

Mercy is the only thing that can prevent us from causing little ones who believe in Jesus to sin. On our own we will give scandal whether we want to admit it or not. By our own strength we will do things that set a bad example and lead others astray. Mercy is so rich that God can help keep others safe from our own failings if we trust in him to do so.

Mercy is vital because sin is such serious business. Being thrown into the sea with a great millstone around our necks is the alternative. The unquenchable fire of Gehenna is the alternative. So we rejoice in mercy. We rejoice that we do not have to meet such a fate unless we insist upon it for ourselves. And we respond to mercy. Whatever grace to change we are given we pursue immediately, not hesitating, and without presumption.

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.

 

22 February 2017 - for sheep's sakes

[ Today's Readings ]

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

Jesus reveals himself to his shepherds so that they can tend the flock in their midst.

Tend the flock of God in your midst,
overseeing not by constraint but willingly,
as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.

Jesus wants his shepherds to know him because he wants his people to know him. He wants his people to know him because we do battle against the netherworld. We are called to smash through the gates of Hell to rescue souls captive to the enemy. To do this we need the rock but on Peter to sustain us. We need the teaching authority of the chair of Peter to prevent the enemy from confusing us with false teaching. We need the sacramental authority of the Church to bring those have have been bound by the enemy so that can be loosed by the grace of Jesus Christ.

The point of all of the authority, sacramental, hierarchical, and any other kind we find in the Church is for the sake of the sheep. The Church has it that we might dwell secure even in the darkest valley, that we might not go astray, that the sick may be healed, and that the weak may receive new strength.The Chair of Peter assures us that we can always find the restful waters with which Jesus longs to quench all of our desires.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

So let us be grateful for the concern of the shepherd for us. Let us share his concern for the entire flock.
And when the chief Shepherd is revealed,
you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

 

21 February 2017 - trial by fire

 [ Today's Readings ]

"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."

When we hear this our flesh resists. The disciples hear it and they don't quite get it. This doesn't meet their expectations about the victorious messiah. But rather than entering deeper into that mystery they begin to try to carve out their own pieces of the pie. The darker the talk of Jesus the more they seem to think about their own rewards.

In trials we need to be steadfast. When we don't understand why God allows things to be a certain way we need to cling to him and forsake him not. He teaches us that suffering, while not caused by God, is allowed. It has a role in his plan for us.

For in fire gold and silver are tested,
and worthy people in the crucible of humiliation.

Pain and suffering are in the future! There are challenges yet to be overcome. There is hardship for us before we enter the kingdom. This is what we signed up for.

My son, when you come to serve the LORD,
stand in justice and fear,
prepare yourself for trials.

This morning God reminds us that for every challenge and temptation he provides grace that is more than enough for us to endure it.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (see Romans 5:3-5).

We need this transformation because we are still selfish just as are the disciples. We are still very interested in being first and not at all interested in being the servant of all. When we accept our trials with the steadfastness and grace from God our selfishness begins to be stripped away. We become more and more able to receive the least of these in the name of Jesus. We embrace the unborn and the immigrant, the poor and the sick. In doing so we embrace, more and more, Jesus himself.

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

 

20 February 2017 - lavishly poured fourth

 [ Today's Readings ]

But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
Jesus said to him,
"'If you can!' Everything is possible to one who has faith."

This father of the boy possessed by a mute spirit does indeed doubt. But he also believes. He comes to a critical juncture where he has to trust Jesus and his faith is not sufficient. When he comes up against this insufficiency he does not despair. Instead he asks for more.

Then the boy's father cried out, "I do believe, help my unbelief!" 

Faith is not strictly binary, on and off. It is rather something in which we grow. A little bit goes a long way, like a mustard seed. A little bit is enough to make an infinite amount of growth and expansion possible.

"Why could we not drive the spirit out?"
He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."

Continued growth requires prayer. It requires that we keep open the conversation between ourselves and the God who makes and sustains all things. Otherwise when we encounter the demonic in the world we will forget the help we have available and trust in ourselves instead. Trusting in ourselves alone we fail. But when we see God's hand at work in all things we remember to have faith. We remember to ask for more when we do not have enough.

All wisdom comes from the LORD
and with him it remains forever, and is before all time
The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain,
the days of eternity: who can number these?
Heaven's height, earth's breadth,
the depths of the abyss: who can explore these?
Before all things else wisdom was created;
and prudent understanding, from eternity.

Wisdom does not forget and does not doubt because before her eyes is a constant remembrance of the power and mercy of God. Wisdom herself is grace given to the friends of God. Let us open ourselves to the wisdom so that we pray always.  In praying we receive ever deeper faith.

And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD. 

 

19 February 2017 - hate free

[ Today's Readings ]

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

God is calling us to become like him. That he would call us to such a lofty destiny is equal parts amazing and impossible.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are called to have hearts free from hatred for our brothers and sisters even when they do something wrong and deserve reproof. We are called to not only avoid revenge but to offer no resistance at all. We don't even run away. We stay to continue to try to offer the love of a tunic or an extra mile for those who ask.

This is who God is. This is how God loves. We see this in the cross of Jesus Christ. Before the incarnation we have already thoroughly spurned God's grace and mercy. But he sends us Jesus anyway. Jesus does not call on legions of angels to punish those who arrest him. Rather he goes the extra mile for us, bearing the cross on his own back.

But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

How do we love with a love which is so foreign to our experience? How do we not only not lash back when we are wronged but continue to be present in love? We can't solve this problem just by thinking it through.

If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.

We can't be perfect like our heavenly Father just by willing it or thinking it through. We quickly fall back to insisting on our own way against our enemies when we try to achieve holiness through our own efforts. Instead, we realize that the dignity and worth that we have is a gift.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The Spirit lives in us. He either lives or wants to live in our enemies. This is not something we can earn or ever deserve. It is rather a gift to be celebrated. Holiness is possible because Jesus, in his great love for us, goes to the cross and pours out the Spirit for us.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

18 February 2017 - seen and unseen

[ Today's Readings ]

And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

The LORD gives experience to fuel our faith. He reveals himself so that we are able to trust him when times get tough.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

At times of consolation that idea of the cross is hard to understand. But when the cross comes consolations can enable us to walk by faith and not by sight (see Second Corinthians 5:7).

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

Righteousness comes through faith if we persevere. We need to be able to trust in God even in difficult times, to continue to "believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." It is easy to doubt either or both of these at the cross. That is why we must treasure the consolations he gives us. Then we can draw strength from them when the sky is darkest. Even if we turn and run the consolations help us to come back and receive mercy because they remind us who Jesus is.

Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works. 

So let us rejoice in the blazing radiance of the transfigured Christ. He conveys grace as we read about the transfiguration in scripture. He wants us to be on the watch for areas where his brightness shines in our own lives today. He wants this because he wants us to know him more and more.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
then from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

17 February 2017 - if the LORD does not build the city

[ Today's Readings ]

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the sky,
and so make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth."

What are we building? We may have good intentions. The people at Babel build a tower to prevent being scattered throughout the earth. They build a tower with its top in the heavens. They reach too far. They want too much. Earth is too far below heaven. Only arrogance tries to bridge the gap through human effort.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ (See Luke 14:28-30).

We need to look realistically at the prospects of our projects to see if they are actually within reach. Much of what we do is in order to save and preserve our lives.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.

We cannot save our lives, ultimately. Death has the final say. But Jesus can save them. We can't bridge the gap from earth to heaven. But Jesus is the stairway between 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.” (See John 1:15).

So let us not try to do the things for which God wants us to rely on him. Our deepest and most true desires are for these things, for the kingdom, and for life everlasting. Even so, let us not reach out so as to take them. Let us reach out with open hands so as to receive them as Jesus offers them to us. Let us die to our own plans and efforts at life apart from God. Let us choose to live the abundant life he offers. It

The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations. 

 

16 February 2017 - rainbow sight

[ Today's Readings ]

"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

It's hard not to talk about Jesus when you start to realize who he is. But why does Jesus tell them not to do so? Probably because right now they still don't understand well enough.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

This is still before the cross and resurrection. The disciples know something about who Jesus is, about his power, and about how important is the message of the Kingdom. But they don't know enough. Peter receives the revelation of who Jesus is from the Father but he is still all too ready to divert him from the reason why he came. There is still a missing element that must be in place before the proclamation can go forth to all nations.

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (see Luke 24:49).

The Holy Spirit is poured forth at the cross of Jesus. He is received at Pentecost, which is appropriated for us in Baptism and Confirmation. He makes us able to see the cross yet to come and not to shrink back. With him we can endure for the joy set before us. We now have the freedom necessary to proclaim the true message of the kingdom. We can lose our lives so as to save them.

As the flood waters of baptism recede and the dove of the Spirit descends we now go forth into a new creation. We are fertile and multiply the children of God and of his Kingdom.

The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence

We subdue any false teachings or spirits that set themselves against that kingdom.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (see Second Corinthians 10:5).

With these pretenders cleared away we begin to behold even now the beauty of heaven, the unchanging stability and certain of the promise of God.
"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth."

15 February 2017 - branching out

[ Today's Readings ]

Sometimes the first touch is not meant to be the whole healing. Sometimes the first dove we send out is meant to bring back hope rather than finality. Why would this be? Of course Jesus can heal in one pass if he so desires.

"Do you see anything?"
Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
God could make the flood waters recede immediately but instead the gradually flow away.

He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark.
In the evening the dove came back to him,
and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!
The dove brings us the olive leaf. Jesus opens our eyes but not completely. We still see in a blurry and partial way. This is because we still live in the world of time. We are still not home. Hope and faith are more important than anything we can have and possess in this world.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known (see first Corinthians 13:12).

The land which the LORD reveals is only a shadow of the kingdom where we will one day rest for all eternity. The vision we have now, no matter how good our eyesight, pales in comparison to the kingdom where we behold God face to face.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight (see Second Corinthians 5:6-7).

Our lives our a process, or better, a pilgrimage. We do not dwell in perfection but rather in hope.

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (see Romans 5:5).

Let us not become frustrated with all of the ways we are not yet perfect or where we want to be. Let us not become complacent either. Let us grow in ever increasing hope.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem. 

 

14 February 2017 - sufficient sea

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
They concluded that it was all about their deficiency. It is never about our deficiency. It is always about the abundance Jesus offers.

Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?"
They answered him, "Twelve."
"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?"
They answered him, "Seven."
If the disciples are thinking about actual bread they may remember all the times when Jesus asks what they have and they do not have enough. They may take the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod to be actual leaven. To them this warning might mean that they should not allow themselves to be dependent on Herod or the Pharisees. But it is about something deeper. It isn't just about bread or any material thing. It is about the corrupting influence that comes from the world and taints all it touches. If they are aware of how much they lack they may want to join forces with the world at times. But to do so is to be corrupted. Jesus has enough that this is never necessary.

We don't need the world's filler to puff us up. We have Jesus. Just as the houses of the Israelites are purified for the Feast of Unleavened Bread let us too seek the purity that is now possible for us.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (First Corinthians 5:7).

Just as God cleanses the earth of everything sinful in the flood at the time of Noah so too does he cleanse us by baptism. We return again and again to our own baptism as a source of grace and renewal. Let us imagine the life-giving waters of the Holy Spirit wash over us when we make the sign of the cross with Holy Water, during the penitential right of the mass, and during the Eucharist and Confession.

Let us not seek out any fellowship with the world.

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (see James 4:4).

This is the leaven about which we are warned. It is a leaven which tempts us when we forget the abundance Jesus has for us. So, as an antidote, let us remember that Jesus always has enough. Let us give thanks for all we have received so far and all that he has yet to give us.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

 

13 February 2017 - out of hiding

[ Today's Readings ] 

 He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
"Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

Jesus is before them. His healings surround them. His righteousness is apparent. The Pharisees don't need proof. It is rather that they don't want it. If Jesus is who he says he is it changes everything. The Pharisees demand proof on their own terms. They want to run from the consequences of the truth.

It isn't so surprising that we sometimes hide behind a desire for signs. Sometimes we really just want to run away. We are guilty and we know it.

Then the LORD asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
He answered, "I do not know.
Am I my brother's keeper?"
Letting the LORD find us means owning up to the sin that is inside of. This is difficult. But the LORD is pursuing us in mercy. He is chasing after us to offer forgiveness.
"You sit speaking against your brother;
against your mother's son you spread rumors.
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes."

Rather than demanding a sign we should accept that Jesus is LORD so that he is free to heal and forgive us. The people in the Gospels that are desperate for healings are not desperate for signs. Rather, than a desperate for the touch of Christ. They are open to receive forgiveness if that is what is needed. We should approach Jesus like them, with great confidence in his love for us.
We don't all kill our brother like Cain does. But we all have anger in our hearts at times. We all have things we want to hide from Jesus. Let's not hide behind desire for signs. We often think that if Jesus just went a little further to prove himself we would finally make the big change. But since we know who Jesus is already let us not harbor such illusions. Let us acknowledge that he is LORD. Let us invite him to be more fully the LORD of our hearts. Let us welcome the forgiveness and healing he always wants to pour out upon us. This healing frees our hearts to praise him.

Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

12 February 2017 - between life and death

[ Today's Readings ]

Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.

The problem is that we don't really want to choose life and good. God stands ready to give us the grace to keep the commandments. We say with Augustine, "not yet." We continue to stretch forth our hand to fire because for a moment it feels good. We don't stretch forth for water because we don't understand our thirst. We prefer to fail on our own than to choose an option given to us by another even if that other is God.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

There is no way around this choice between good and evil. Choosing the good ultimately means choosing Jesus and the grace of transformation he offers. Otherwise we will find that while we could resist sin in the abstract we actually only choose to resist those sins that don't entice us. Jesus is not content to leave the choice at an external level. He tells us what happens when we allow anger, lust, or lying to have a foothold in our hearts.

Hearing Jesus tell us about how are hearts must change makes us begin to feel as though it is no longer truly our own choice. Our thoughts and feelings seem beyond our control.

We speak a wisdom to those who are mature,
not a wisdom of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.
Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden,
which God predetermined before the ages for our glory,

This is the difference that Jesus can make. He can change our hearts so that we can take every thought captive for him. His Holy Spirit can rule us where once there was only that chaotic tides of emotion. He wants to place in our hearts a new desire for the good. It is a desire that becomes so foundational that we are willing to struggle for it even against great temptations.

Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words.
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.

11 February 2017 - you have given them bread from heaven

[ Today's Readings ]

Man and woman are unable to confess to the wrong they've done. Instead they shift the blame from the woman, to the man, and ultimately to the serpent as if the choice had not belonged to each of them.

Perhaps, having taken the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they now believe this somewhat. Maybe they have so fully rationalized things as to be right in their own eyes. God cannot leave them this way, naked and afraid, and ultimately unable to realize why they now feel that way. Nakedness is a sign that they now feel unsafe, that they feel the need to protect themselves from abuse by others in a way that they did not feel previously. In order to work toward the restoration of relationship God cannot allow things to proceed this way forever.

Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us,
knowing what is good and what is evil!
Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand
to take fruit from the tree of life also,

The tree of life would be no blessing for Adam and Eve. They would find that the suffering of childbirth, the suffering of daily labor, and all suffering would simply be prolonged by longer life. Death itself can not solve the problem though perhaps it teaches them to long for true rest.

The fruit of the womb comes only with difficulty and the bread of the earth comes only with the sweat of one's brow. Death is the end of this sad story. Until Jesus comes. He is the fruit of the womb where the reversal begins, where the labor is once again not painful, but simply beautiful and peaceful. And now Jesus gives the crowd bread without the sweat of labor.

Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute,
and they distributed them to the crowd.

Yet our hearts are still hearts which choose to know good and evil apart from God. We still need the obedience of Jesus given to us by the Spirit to transform us. We still need a death to put an end to our disobedience and a new life of faith in God. But in the miracle of the bread we now dare to hope that there is ultimately a feast beyond the sorrows of this world, a feast where death no longer has any sway.

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? (see First Corinthians 15:55).

The LORD wants to teach us to number our own days before we return to the dust so we don't make the mistake of simply trying to prolong what we have here below, with all the suffering and sorrow that inevitably arise from sin sick hearts. Instead he wants us to hope in the transformation that comes from the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a hope for the hereafter. But it is a hope we can begin to taste even now. We taste it in the bread from heaven, the Eucharist. We taste it in the fruits of the Spirit, born without labor in the hearts of those with faith.

10 Feburary 2017 - be opened

 [ Today's Readings ]

Adam and Eve close their ears to something they know God tells them.

"You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"

They're already off to a bad start, remembering more than God actually commanded. This prepares them to accept the words of the serpent instead of the words of God.

"You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil."
Their ears are closed to the truth that comes from God and open to the lies of the devil. After all, it is one or the other. The only thing that can take the place of the truth is falsehood.

We do this too. God is constantly calling us to come up higher, to draw nearer to himself. Sometimes we answer the invitation. But often we shut our ears and even run away.

When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
We expect judgment and doom, but he is really chasing us down with his mercy. Let's stop running. He has the power to open our ears, to soften our hearts, and to make our spirits live again.

"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")

God opens the ears of people we think will never listen to him. He even opens our own ears to hear where we ourselves ignore his call. When we see his ability to transform even sin hardened hearts we can't help but rejoice and praise him.

"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Let's stop running! May his mercy come quickly to find us, naked and afraid, and to heal us.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin. 

9 February 2017 - no reservations

[ Today's Readings ]

He said to her, "Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
What sort of faith pursues the goal even when it hits an obstacle like this? She already falls at his feet. She already makes herself vulnerable. And then it appears she is rebuffed. She is rebuffed harshly in a way that might make her doubt that Jesus cares for her. Sure, he cares for others.  Sure he has healed others. But not her, she would have every right to think. Yet she persists. And this is the response that Jesus wants, the response he is trying to draw out of her.

Her name is not truly an animal's name, not even the name of a puppy. She has the dignity of one created in God's own image and likeness. Although the blessings of the covenant are promised first to the Jews she must realize on some level that if Jesus truly is Lord he must intend the feast eventually and in some measure for all created with human dignity. She persists.

She replied and said to him,
"Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."
Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter."

She humbles herself further. She does not claim entitlement to healing because of her equality with anyone. Rather she claims it only out of a sense of the mercy of the one who is Lord. She trusts that the impulse that created man and woman in the image of God wants to restore them. Because of this she is permitted one of the earliest tastes of the banquet, long before all of the children eat. In a way she tastes the bread of heaven because she has the faith to persist.

When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.

May we have such faith to persist and to be humble. May we seek the LORD without comparisons to others or thought to what we deserve but yet with great confidence in his mercy.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored. 

 

8 February 2017 - nothing that enters

[ Today's Readings ]

"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile."

Jesus is telling us that the external world does not have any power to make us pure or impure. If that is true then what is all this about the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Isn't that the perfect example of something from without that can kill our spiritual life? Aren't there many such things in the world which are toxic to us, which, just to be near them, causes us harm? No, not the things themselves. It is always about ourselves, our choices, and our relationship to the things around us that make us pure or impure, holy or unholy.

But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.

Isn't it the fruit that defiles Adam and Eve? No. The fruit has no power over them unless the reach out and take it. They have the choice to believe and trust in God or to decide for themselves what to do. We know all to well what they choose.

Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church #397).

We still wonder about the presence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We're suspicious of it. We're suspicious of anything we are told we cannot have as if it is put there to trap us. But why are we so suspicious of limits and rules? It seems like we expect to be gods ourselves, falling after the pattern of Adam and Eve. Why the tree, then, if not a trap? Perhaps for beauty. Perhaps the fruit would be given later but not yet. Who can say. It is not our right to be able to say.

If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
Let us therefore keep watch over what comes out of us from within, from our hearts. By grace we have control over these things. Instead of evil fruits leading to doom we can produce good fruit thirty, seventy, and even one hundred fold. By the Spirit we can produce good fruits leading to life within ourselves. We become a sustainable ecosystem not threatened by the wider world. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (see Galatians 5:22).

The secret to bearing the fruit of the Spirit is faith. It is trusting in God rather than wickedly stretching out our hands to take fruit which is not for us. So, then, let us trust him!

All creatures look to you
to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

 This may just make your morning:

 

7 February 2017 - apex worshiper

 [ Today's Readings ]

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
This seems so well meaning it is almost hard to disagree at first. The elders have these traditions because, originally, of a desire to be pure before God. It is almost as if they asked the disciples of Jesus why they don't say grace before meals. But now, even if the original intent was good, the question has become an occasion of comparison and judgment rather than something done for God. Mere externalities can't make up for hearts that are far from God.

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

It is easy to run to the externals when we see our hearts full of greed and selfishness.

Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.

These more fundamental things must be given priority. We see that family is central to the hiearchy of creation.

God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it."

Man is the pinnacle of creation. His role is to steward it and return it as an offering to God. Relationship is at the very peak of the hierarchy. Love defines relationship rightly lived. Anything that detracts from this should be shunned. Anything that promotes it should be encouraged.

Work is important. The desire for purity is important. But these must be lived in reference to how they impact our relationship with God and one another. God gives us the Sabbath to help us understand how our relationship with him takes precedence over any actions we take on our part.

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

God has truly made us little less than the angels. In giving us rule over the work of his hands he entrusts us with unimaginable riches. Yet to truly steward them rightly we must keep our eyes fixed on God himself.

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

 

6 February 2017 - order up

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
Sickness and disease are not part of God's plan. Creation is designed to be well-ordered. There is meant to be ease between the creature and his environment not disease. Yet we live in a world tainted by sin and the effects of sin. We begin to accept that the world as it is now is what it always was and every shall be. Our strategies for thriving turn from a future of hope to making the best of what we have. We lose trust in God when creation itself seems so arbitrarily set against us.

God is the creator of the world. It is not something that exists independently from his will and pleasure. Sin damages this link. It introduces chaos and disorder. But even now, without God's will, creation would simply disappear. What does this mean for us who live here? It means that we should hope for the day when all of creation is restored by God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God (see Romans 8:20:21).

It takes a deeper faith to encounter sickness and not simply run from creation entirely. We might prefer a more purely intellectual or spiritual reality. But this reality is from God and he has plans to make it new again. It means that we can't simply ignore the sick and tell them of a hope for a distant future. We can't ignore the abuse of the planet. We recognize that these are just goods for which we should work and labor.

Then God said,
"Let there be light," and there was light.
God brings light to creation.

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

Jesus brings a still greater light to his people. God's breath, the Holy Spirit is present in the beginning over the waters as a mighty wind. Jesus gives the Spirit to live in us. He is not separating us from creation by doing so. Instead he is making us the first members of a new creation which will one day restore all things. Let us rejoice to imagine so great a hope as this.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song.

 

5 February 2017 - on the turning away

[ Today's Readings ]

The world is dark lately isn't it? There is so much fear and hate out there. We bemoan this fact. We bemoan the violence and aggression. We regret the lack of mutual understanding. It seems entirely independent of ourselves. It is like watching a horror movie or a train wreck.

Yet the darkness of the world is not a problem from which we can excuse ourselves. We are meant to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Are people hungry? We are called to share our bread. Are they homeless? We are called to shelter them. Are they naked? We must clothe them. Or do we simply turn our backs on them as if they are just part of the darkness that is out there and not our problem? We cannot, perhaps, help every individual in every problem. But if we help the individuals we can help we make a genuine difference. We become a true light in the darkness.

if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

We become quickly overwhelmed trying to face the darkness on our own. When we speak life into the darkness we cannot do it with persuasive or clever human wisdom. Instead we need the Holy Spirit to show us where and how we can make a difference so that we are not trying to shine our own light into the world but rather showing forth the power and the light of God.

He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

4 February 2017 - the great shepherd of the sheep

[ Today's Readings ]

When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

Jesus wants to give us shepherds after his own heart (see Jeremiah 3:15). He doesn't not want to see us troubled, lost, and alone. He gives us leaders to teach and sanctify us.

Obey your leaders and defer to them,
for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account

We are not to seek teachers after our own preference. We must not accumulate for ourselves teachers to suit our own passion (see Second Timothy 4:3). It is true that some, even some within the Church, teach falsehood and lies that are opposed to the Gospel. These must be avoided. But once we find a shepherd who is trying his best to follow divine revelation as understood by the Church we do well to submit to him. We do well not to critique him because of this or that reason but to trust that God is working through him to shepherd us.

Say we find ourselves with a teacher on whom it is hard to focus because he does not have an exciting presentation. Maybe part of what we are called to learn is compassionate attentiveness.

Perhaps we find ourselves with a teacher who doesn't convey the truth with the clarity we would like. Or on the contrary, perhaps we find a teacher who is too abrupt about preaching the truth and risks alienating his congregation. Let us learn the lessons of humility and boldness that he teaches by his actions. Both lessons have value and may be just what we need.

If things need nuance for those whom we know and those for whom we have responsibility we can convey this to them. For the rest, we must entrust them to the great shepherd of the sheep, knowing that he is able to furnish them and all of us with all that is good so that together we can do his will. 

Our shepherd is so good.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.

It is only right to praise him.

Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise,
that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

3 February 2017 - whom then shall i fear?

 [ Today's Readings ]

The king said to the girl,
"Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."
He even swore many things to her,
"I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom."
Do we do things we regret? Isn't it often for the sake of appearances that we over-promise ourselves? Maybe we're afraid and trying to mask that fear with the adulation of others. Maybe we don't truly believe that we are safe and loved. When what we do stems from confidence in God it manifests as brotherly love and hospitality, care for prisoners, for the ill-treated, and respect and honor for marriage as God designed it. When what we do stems from fear that is where violence and terror begin to creep into the world. Jesus constantly reminds us that in him we need not fear.
Let your life be free from love of money
but be content with what you have,
for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.
Thus we may say with confidence:

The Lord is my helper,
and I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?

These three lines are in particular are good to speak out loud. They are good to speak especially in times of fear and doubt. They prove that the fear is a lie and that our trust in God is the deeper truth.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?

This is important, because when the LORD needs to correct us we often fear that it means we are not loved. Perhaps this is part of Herod's issue with John.

John had said to Herod,
"It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

But as we recently saw, God corrects and disciplines us exactly because he loves us. There is nothing to fear in his discipline. Trusting in him we can open ourselves to his will for us more and more so that he can transform us into the people he wants us to be.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.