31 March 2017 - expectacular

[ Today's Readings ]

But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.

We have a tendency to limit Jesus based on our past experiences. But there is more to Jesus and more to his plans for us than we have yet experienced.

Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.

There is more about the Father that Jesus wants to reveal to us. No matter how long we've been walking with him, no matter how deep our prayer life, how profound our contemplation there is always more. We see as in a mirror darkly but we will one day see face to face. Right now we are already sons and daughters of the Father but we don't even know what we will become as we are transformed more and more into the likeness of our Father. This is the intention of Jesus for us, but we can limit it and slow it down if we let our past experience determine our future expectation rather than our hope in God.

When God begins to move in new ways in our lives there is often the temptation on our parts to rebel. This is so even if we had achieved relative stability before. But change is always uncomfortable.

He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the just
and boasts that God is his Father.

Rather than rebelling let us welcome and learn the hidden counsels of God, let us hope in and count on a recompense of holiness, let discern the innocent souls' reward. Let that be the hope which determines our expectations for the future.

If the LORD is bringing us to a new level and we are struggling let us cry out to him. He will be quick to help us.

When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.

30 March 2017 - aside and back again

 

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"

How quickly we forget the God who saves us. We may think the people of Israel ridiculous in their behavior. But how long is it after we receive blessings from God that we ourselves turn to idols? They aren't molten calves to be sure. But even if they aren't the obvious ones of pleasure and power we can be sure that we still have some idols lingering in our lives. What are the things with which we are unwilling to negotiate with God, which take priority over his will for us? These are our idols.

Jesus wants to call us back from these idols. Moses pointed away from them. John pointed away from them. But we're slow to accept what they say. We search the Scriptures to find an easier way to eternal life. But there is no way except Jesus. It is to him that Moses and John the Baptist ultimately point. It is from his Father and for the sake of his promise to his people that Jesus comes to us. Why are we so slow to come to him and have life?

But you do not want to come to me to have life.

He wants us to come to him. He longs for us to come to him. He desires us and thirsts for us. Even more than Moses stands in the breach for his people Jesus intercedes to save us to ensure that the promise of the Father is fulfilled.





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

Let us listen to the testimony of Jesus about who he is and who his Father is.

But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.

Let us come to Jesus. He reveals the Father to us. Let us come to him that we may have life.

 

29 March 2017 - not forgotten

 [ Today's Readings ]

But 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?

The paralytic Jesus healed yesterday might have been tempted to believe that the LORD had forgotten him. The woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years and endured much at the hands of physicians without recovering might have felt forsaken. Many of us feel like prisoners in darkness, many hunger and thirst. Yet none of us are forsaken by the LORD.

Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
The Father has given the Son life the possession of life in himself. This is not something that humans have. Rather, we have life on loan. We know that there is a countdown that begins when the first breath is drawn and it continues inexorably until the last. Without the fruit of the tree of life we inevitable experience dying and death. Are we not forsaken? No! Even though it was mankind's own sinfulness that earned our exile from the garden and the punishment of death God does not abandon us. All of the sickness, suffering, and sorrow of human history is not something God wants for us. He allows us to choose it but even then he does not leave us there.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.

Let us hear the words of Jesus. Let us believe that he is sent by the Father with the power to restore and set right all that has gone so very wrong. We learn from this belief that we are loved beyond anything we have any right to expect. Even dead in our sins the LORD still loves us more than a mother loves her newborn. May we experience the freedom that the knowledge of that love can bring even amidst our present hardships and afflictions.

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.

 

28 March 2017 - the living water

[ Today's Readings ]

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"

After thirty-eight years, does this man still want to be well, does he even care anymore or has he abandoned all hope?

The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
He has not abandoned hope, even though the hope itself is painful. He knows there is water which can heal him. But seeing that water touch one person after another and not himself is hard. But even though it takes thirty-eight years his hope does not disappoint.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

The true stream whose runlets gladden the city of God is now unleashed. It is not the pool of Bethesda that the ill man needs. It is the water of life that comes from Jesus.

"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

God's timing always has a component of mystery. Why did this man wait thirty-eight years? We can't say with certainty. But was it worth waiting for, worth continuing to hope against hope? Absolutely. So too for us. If there are places in our lives that are dry and in need of the water of life let us continue to ask Jesus with faith and expectation knowing that he wants to give us that water always.

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.

 

27 March 2017 - the hope set before us

[ Today's Readings ]

Are we getting bogged down in the discipline of Lent? Is the lack of the usual acclamation before the gospel also reflected in our hearts (you know, the a-word, or in Hebrew, the h-word)?

Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.

There is hope ahead! We journey through the desert but not because we like deserts. We make this pilgrimage because the promised land is so promising. We follow Jesus who is willing to endure anything for the joy set before him.

let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (see Hebrews 12:1-2).

What is the joy set before Jesus but we ourselves redeemed?

For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.

Knowing this should give us great confidence that the pilgrimage is worth it. We will find joy in Jesus that is beyond compare to anything else we have ever known.
But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (see First Corinthians 2:9).

This is more than a matter of waiting with gritted teeth. Jesus offers us new life in the Spirit even now, even here, even amidst our trials. Perhaps in Lent we are all but dead like the royal official's son. Jesus wants to fill us with his Spirit and renew the life within us.

Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."

We have a much more successful pilgrimage if we are full of the fire and life that God wants us to have. We move more quickly toward the goal. More and more the New Jerusalem comes into view and fills our minds and hearts.

You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

 

26 March 2017 - but now I see

[ Today's Readings ]

Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.

Christ wants to give us light and open our eyes just as he does for the man born blind. In many ways we too are born blind, with eyes and minds darkened by sin. We run off in pursuit of what seems right or good to us. We justify it by erroneous thought. But Jesus wants to touch our eyes, to open them, and to restore us in the waters of baptism.

Witnessing this transformation is a naturally fearful thing for those who choose to remain in the darkness. They look for excuses to condemn Jesus rather than to accept his healing. We may not know enough to fully explain everything about Jesus. But we all have testimony to share.

We know that this man is a sinner."
He replied,
"If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see."

Jesus still heals today. He still transforms. And he is still controversial.

Then Jesus said,
"I came into this world for judgment, 
so that those who do not see might see, 
and those who do see might become blind."

Jesus heals hearts, minds, souls, and even bodies. But because his power operates at a level which is by definition beyond human understanding there are many who reject this. They make themselves more blind than they begin. Let us be among those who accept the healing Jesus brings. He opens our eyes ultimately so that we can see him and to know who he is.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
He answered and said, 
"Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
Jesus said to him,
"You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he."
He said,
"I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.

Once our eyes are opened by the anointing of Jesus we must live as children of the light. The light in us produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. We become able to know what is pleasing to the Lord and how to avoid the fruitless works of darkness.

If the Pharisees continue to pursue us and to give us a hard time about this change of life, this different way in which we now live, about our testimony to Jesus, we have the light that they cannot take from us. The Holy Spirit, in fact, continues to rush upon us just as it does on David, keeping our eyes open, helping us to see. We are able to see not as man sees, not as the Pharisees see, but as God sees. He opens the eyes of our hearts.

He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

25 March 2017 - may it be done

[ Today's Readings ]

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."

Mary, teach us to say yes to God like you say yes, without reservation, not requiring full understanding. Teach us the openness to God that allows him to come and take flesh in your womb. Teach us to be open to Jesus so that he can be formed in our hearts and born into our lives.

Jesus is the yes to all the promises of God. His yes participates in the yes of Mary, is predicated upon it, and flows from it. He chooses Mary's yes as the gateway to bring his own yes, his own, perfect obedience to earth, to human nature, and to make it available to each of us.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.'

So let the yes of Mary unleash the yes of Jesus in each of our lives. We need more Jesus in the world. It is not enough that he was born in Bethlehem if he is not born into our lives today.

By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Even when we are afraid and lack understanding we can take refuge in Mary who was afraid and lacked understanding but nevertheless gave her yes.

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.

When we pray this with Mary the world is able to see Emmanuel, God with us, present in our midst.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us!" 

24 March 2017 - just dew it

[ Today's Readings ]

Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity

We return to the LORD. We come back to him and ask for forgiveness because he wants heal us, to love us freely, to be like dew for us and to make us blossom. He humbles us, but only in order that we can eventually prosper and bear fruit.

We know what Jesus asks of us.

Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Occasionally, like the scribe, we try to ask if there is something else, something better, something more "spiritual" on which we can focus. We want a distraction. But Jesus helps to convict us that love is meant to be our first priority. When we acknowledge that, we hear, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Yet somehow, the answer, even though we more or less know it before asking, is a little bit frightening.

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

We need not fear what love entails. Love gives life in ways that nothing else can. So let us commit to love. Let us ask for forgiveness for the times when we fail to love as we ought.

If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.

23 March 2017 - harden not your hearts

[ Today's Readings ] 

The LORD is calling us to gather with him. We aren't to worry about the credentials of other people who drive out demons. If demons are being driven out than souls are being gathered for Jesus. They are being set free.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.

Jesus drives out demons by the finger of God. The Kingdom truly comes where he is present. Why do we look for ways to second guess this power when it is on display?

This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.

Is it not because if it is the finger of God than we must not only accept the healing but also everything that Jesus says about who he is and who his Father is? Accepting this means big changes in our lives. This is true not only when we begin to walk with Jesus but also every time he reveals himself. Sometimes it is easier to call his power into question than to be open to change. Yet even though Jesus knows we are stubborn he continues to show us his power. He continues to invite us to deeper freedom.
Jesus has still greater spoils to distribute to us than we've yet received.

Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men" (see Ephesians 4:8).

The enemy was holding these gifts hostage. But Jesus has liberated them and offers them to us.

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 (see Ephesians 4:11-13)

The gifts Jesus gives are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, now ready to be poured out upon hearts which are open to receive them. But receiving gifts such as these means we can't remain who we were. We can't remain where we were. It means that the Kingdom of God has come among us. We have to be a part of that. God wants to build that kingdom through us.

 If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

22 March 2017 - the law gifter

[ Today's Readings ]

For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?

This isn't how we usually think about laws. We usually see them in terms of obligation and try to figure out what the bare minimum required for compliance is.

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

The laws given to us by God are not arbitrary. They are ordered to human flourishing. They describe the inner workings of reality which would be true whether or not they were written down anywhere. Our guilt is less if we don't obey them because of our ignorance. But there are still consequences and we are still pitiable.

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

We should learn to treasure the laws of God as a special revelation given to us out of love. The fruit of obedience is evident to all, even if the world itself has a particularly hard time with rules. As they watch those who do obey, they can't help but marvel at how well it all works.

Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
These laws truly do strengthen the bars of our gates and bless our children. The statues and the ordinances of the LORD have been made known to us. He wants to bring the whole world to a place where together we can understand and treasure these laws. He doesn't want anyone left out, ignorant, and suffering without them.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.

21 March 2017 - mercy multiplied

[ Today's Readings ]

His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?

Receiving mercy means that we must be open to being merciful. We pray ask God to forgive us as we forgive others their trespasses. First we need to realize how big is the debt which the LORD forgives completely. It is a debt we would be completely unable to repay on our own. If we don't realize how great is the generosity which the LORD shows us we will be slower to show mercy in turn. Our own sins seem smaller and those of our fellow servants against us seem greater.

For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation,
brought low everywhere in the world this day
because of our sins.

Recognizing our sins isn't about beating ourselves up. It isn't about feeling sorry for ourselves. It is about realizing our need for God. Only when we realize our need can we turn to him for help.

Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.
Deliver us by your wonders,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord.

First we realize our own need, then we turn to God for mercy, and finally we communicate that mercy to others. We forgive others and make known the generous and unmerited favor God offers to everyone.

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

 

20 March 2017 - father figures

 [ Today's Readings ]

Joseph is a righteous man. He has much to teach us about faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift

It isn't about Joseph's ability to correctly assess the situation. After all, he gets that part wrong.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
It is rather about Joseph's willingness to lay his own plans aside and trust in the LORD when he reveals a better plan.

Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.

Abraham's faith in God's power is what makes him the father of many nations. Joseph's faith in God's power is what allows him to become to foster father of God himself. It would be easy, humanly speaking, to encounter the situations that Abraham and Joseph encounter and to not trust God. It would be easy for Abraham to remain in the place where he is living and to not even attempt to have children at his age. It would be easy for Joseph to choose to divorce Mary so that he wouldn't have to deal with the damage to his reputation which remaining with her would inevitably entail.

In spite of the human difficulty, relying entirely on faith, Abraham and Joseph obey God.

When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

Because of that faith we have access to salvation through Jesus Christ. Because Abraham and Joseph place their trust in God Jesus brings his kingdom to earth, to endure forever, to stand firm forever.

Joseph intercedes for us today that we would have faith like his faith. He has the compassion and love of a father not just for Jesus but for all of the brothers and sisters of Jesus through faith, including we ourselves. He who is the father of Jesus through faith but not through blood is more than willing to fully accept as sons those who are brothers and sisters of Jesus through faith.

Thank you Joseph, for trusting in God. Because you believe we have access together with you to the Father through your son. Pray for us!

"He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.

 

19 March 2017 - all who thirst

[ Today's Readings ]

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; 
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Every hunger, every thirst, and every desire we feel are all reflections of a deeper desire for lasting satisfaction and peace which only come from Jesus. We allow ourselves to settle for water which only temporarily satisfies our thirst. But Jesus offers more than this. With the Samaritan woman let us ask him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus does give us living water. He pours it from his side in the cross. Perhaps if we realize the cost to him we are slow to ask it of him. But he nevertheless delights to give it. This is why he comes.

And hope does not disappoint, 
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts 
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless, 
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.

He is the true rock which is pierced to bring forth water for his people. He loves us enough to endure it for us because he does not want to see us thirsty. Let's allow Jesus to teach us where we can truly quench our thirst and sate our hunger.

My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.

As he pours out his living water on us we are transformed into one people who worship the Father in Spirit and truth.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, 
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; 
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.

Let us drink the living waters of the Spirit and open our mouths in praise.

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

18 March 2017 - to my father's house

[ Today's Readings ]

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?

God is so ready to forgive us and welcome us back. He is so merciful we can scarcely believe it. At times we squander the blessings the LORD gives us. We take our inheritance and run. We all take all the blessings of our inheritance, blessings we are meant to use as a part of God's family, and run off to use them on selfish dissipation. How can he ever take us back? How can things be the same ever again? We have our speech ready. We're prepared to never be loved in the same way again.

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of you.

But we quickly learn that God wants us back even more than we want to return home.

While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

He shows us that his love for us is no less for all of our failures and faults. He just wants us home.

While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

We really do make mistakes. But God puts those sins as far as the east is from the west. He pardons them and redeems us and crowns us with kindness and compassion. He does not begrudge us our mistakes. He only hates sin because of how bad it is for the sinners whom he loves. In being forgiven we learn something which we might not have known. His love for us is not based on our ability to perform for him. He loves us because he is a Father and desires that we be his children.

The older son does not realize that everything the father has is his own. He is too busy working in the field trying to earn the father's love. It can be a tough to do all that work only to realize we were already perfectly loved to begin with. It is tough, that is, only to realization takes hold. When we know we are loved like that even our work in the field will be better and more faithful.

This morning let us realize a little bit more the love the Father has for us. If we have been far from him let us run back to him without hesitation knowing that he will welcome us. If we have been closer, but still not experiencing the joy of the Father's house, let us realize that everything he has is already ours. Let us celebrate the Father's love.

17 March 2017 - a people that will produce its fruits

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

What is it within us that tends toward jealousy? We envy the blessings given to others.

When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.

We believe that God is holding out on us. We cling desperately to what we have because we are unable to entrust it to God.

When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.

Whatever it is that we're trusting in rather than God and clinging to for security can really get us upset if there is even the slightest suggestion that it might be taken from us. In fact, this is how we can figure out where we cling too tightly. What are we unwilling to lose? What will we cling to almost violently in our own lives?

This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.

This is the jealousy that makes Adam and Eve suspect God is holding out on them in the garden. It is the same jealousy that condemns Jesus to the cross. We all are party to it at times. The call this morning is to fully entrust the fruit of our own harvests to God, holding nothing back, trusting him completely, and not comparing ourselves to anyone. Comparison is the beginning of a trap wherein we assume we know what each person needs more than God knows. Let's surrender that. Let's trust that God knows best. Let's hold nothing back from the one who did not spare his only Son but gave him for us all. We surrender ourselves into God's hands with great confidence knowing that our vindication is sure.

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?

 

16 March 2017 - the world can't take it away

And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

It turns out that the rich man sought his strength in flesh. His heart turned away from the LORD. He now experiences the truth of his reality.

He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
The rich man thinks he has his thirst under control during life. He thinks he has it managed.  It isn't all consuming. He is able to enjoy is sumptuous meals. But the source from which he drinks is not a lasting source. And indeed, his source leaves others like Lazarus deprived of justice. The rich man has the appearance of self-sufficiency. But when the pretense is taken away, when he is utterly deprived of the momentary ways in which he distracts himself from what truly matters, the reality is quite different.

The opposite is true of Lazarus. His hope is ultimately in the LORD. In life he faces heat and drought but without ultimate distress. He suffers for what is ultimately the blink of an eye and then goes to his rest at Abraham's breast. He has such a superabundance of living water that the rich man can't help but ask him to share. But such sharing is impossible. They have both made themselves who they have become by choosing (or not choosing) to trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
Living water ultimately comes from God alone. He alone is the eternal source and spring. Hoping in him opens us to this source. It connects us to blessings of which the world cannot deprive us, which the world cannot take away.

Let us spread the message to all we know while there is still time. Eventually the world will let down those who rely upon it.

Not so, the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.

15 March 2017 - the chalice

[ Today's Readings ]

Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
If we really knew what drinking the chalice entailed we wouldn't be so quick to respond. But we're so interested in sitting at the right and the left of Jesus in his kingdom that we are able to keep continue to follow Jesus toward his crucifixion and death. On the one hand, it is good to keep our eyes on the prize. On the other, if we don't legitimately count the cost we are more likely to be scattered by the scandal of the cross.

The Father is preparing a place for us. We do indeed have to drink the chalice that Jesus drinks in order to come at last to that place. It is helpful to acknowledge in advance that this suffering is a part of the plan that the Father allows. It is not something that earns us a privileged place at the table. But it does conform our hearts to the heart of Jesus.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
We can become like Jeremiah who speaks on behalf of a people who ultimately repay his good with evil. We can be like Jesus who is scorned and crucified by the ones he came to save. We should not drink the chalice of suffering for ourselves alone. It is meant to be offered for the salvation of others, to turn away God's wrath from them.

When we trust in God's plan we are not scattered when suffering comes. We trust in him to save us even as we offer it for others.

You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.

As good of an advocate as the mother of the sons of Zebedee is for her sons we have an even better one in our heavenly mother Mary. Let us ask her to ask her son to bring us at last to the seats at his table in the kingdom which the Father has prepared for us.

 

14 March 2017 - the saving power of God

 

 

  [ Today's Readings ]

Come now, let us set things right,
says the LORD:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.

God takes no delight in the death of the sinner. He does not bring attention to our faults to condemn us. Indeed, Jesus does not come in to the world to condemn it, but so that the world might have life through him. This is true even when the words come with deep conviction. Even if we are the princes of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah God still wants to save us from the destruction toward which we head. He calls us to wash ourselves clean in the waters of baptism he himself provides. He calls us to bear fruit befitting repentance by the Spirit he himself gives.

When we hear this there is always the risk of becoming like the scribes and Pharisees who talk a good game but don't actually do what they tell other people to do. They are interested in the honor and the self-image rather than in actually drawing near to God. We risk becoming people who are more interested in looking Christian to others than being Christian in our hearts. Pharisees are more interested in how people think of them, in being seen as superior in those relationships, than in their relationship with God as their Father and master. The secret to avoid the pitfalls of pride and vanity is to be humble servants.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

We make justice our aim, serving the poor, the orphan, and the widow. We seek the LORD as our Father and master. We look to see the saving power of God rather our own self-image.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.

In seeking his saving power we find it.

 

13 March 2017 - lest ye be judged

[ Today's Readings ]

Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.

If we are honest this is harder than it sounds. To not judge, to not condemn, and to forgive are not easy for us. We manage to put on a good face and act as if we do not judge and condemn. We act as if we have forgiven others. But have our hearts changed? The thoughts we think may be beyond our control, but what about our dispositions? What about those thoughts we encourage and dwell on and those we shun and ignore? When we are motivated out of pride and vainglory it is difficult not to be judgmental toward those who don't measure up. This can be a secret satisfaction we take in being better than them. It can be as simple as the comfort we take, when we ourselves don't measure up, in knowing that at least we have it more together than so and so. We must put all of this selfishness behind us. But how?

Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.

Let's shift the focus outward. It's hard to merely reconfigure our inner life and wind up anything but selfish. Instead, in small ways, let us begin to give of ourselves, especially at times when we find ourselves judging or clinging to unforgiveness. At such times especially, the LORD is rich in mercy.

O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
The LORD is willing to show us mercy first so that we can in turn give it to others. He is willing to transform us and give us new hearts which do not judge or condemn but which readily forgive those who wrong us.

Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.

 

12 March 2017 - the light of life

[ Today's Readings ]

And he was transfigured before them; 
his face shone like the sun 
and his clothes became white as light.

Jesus is revealed to us. Life and immortality and brought to light before us. We see a vision that can sustain us even in the face of death. The one we behold is one over whom death has no claim. In trying to lay hold of this radiance death itself is destroyed. Here is a vision that can sustain us even when we encounter the cross in our own lives.

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

We need the strength that comes from God to bear our share of hardship. We cannot do it on our own. We are not meant to do it without the vision of the radiance of who Jesus truly is.

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.

Even Moses and Elijah need this. They are figures pointing to the one to come. They point to the culmination of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They point, therefore, to this unconquerable life that Jesus reveals in himself. Without this revelation Moses and Elijah have no ultimate or final direction to their own teaching and leadership. It is in Jesus blazing in glory that their own ministries are given their definitive meaning.

The vision of Jesus is for us a new and more certain version of the promise given to Abram. We see the promise of blessing, of our own future beatitude, in the one transfigured on Mount Tabor. In seeing it we are able to journey on without knowing the way or having ever seen the final destination, knowing that the promise is certain.

Abram went as the LORD directed him.

We pilgrimage on this earth, often encountering the cross, but are undeterred because we are sustained by the vision of Jesus we treasure in our hearts and the words spoken over him by the Father to which we cling. Even if we betray Jesus this vision will help us to turn back to him when we repent.

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

11 March 2017 - so be perfect

[ Today's Readings ]

Let us keep the commandments of the LORD so that we can be his sacred people, raised high in praise and renown and glory, peculiarly his own. His commandments make us like him so that we may be children of our heavenly Father. He calls us to love because he himself is love. He calls us to love our enemies because while we make ourselves his enemies he loves us anyway.

while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (see Romans 5:10).

He calls us to a higher standard than that of the world. He calls us to a love which is impossible for the world. The world is capable of a mercenary sort of love. It is willing to love those who love back. It is utterly incapable of this love which is the definitive mark of God and of his family. We are not called merely to follow rules. We are called to share in God's own life by manifesting his love in our own lives.

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

So let us rejoice that God is helping us see how to follow him more closely. Let us be open to him when he calls us higher and does not let us settle in complacency.

You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!

The LORD wants us to share in the blessings that come to those who follow his laws. He reveals the parts of our hearts that still need more of this light. He shines his light on us. If we don't flee from it the darkness is cast out and we are transformed.

10 March 2017 - fearsome mercy

 [ Today's Readings ]

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you

The onus is of reconciliation is always ours. It isn't only when we have something against our brother that we need to work to set things right. It is when he has something against us as well. This is a challenge to us. Mercy is not passive and defensive. It is active. It builds bridges. It reaches out. Perhaps it cannot succeed at changing a person's heart in a given instance. But it will at least make the effort. Mercy does all it can do. One who shows mercy is therefore blameless regardless of whether there is any apparent success.

We need a righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees and the scribes. To attain it we must be merciful. The level of mercy to which we are called is superhuman. We cannot attain it on our own. We are willing to be merciful, perhaps, when unforgiveness is costing us something personally. But what about when the broken relationship doesn't really seem to hurt us but only the other? Fortunately for us Jesus is willing to share his own mercy with us. His mercy is like this by definition. Since he makes this mercy available to us by his Holy Spirit the decision to receive righteousness still ultimately comes down to our own choice to accept all that Jesus wants to offer us.

When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed,
does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life

Let's not wait to show mercy. It is better to be changed here and now then to insist on the prison from which we will not be released until we pay the last penny. It is better now than then because it is actually truly better to live in mercy and to hesitate is to deprive ourselves of that better life for that much longer.

For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.

9 March 2017 - receive

 [ Today's Readings ]

Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.

Let us learn to ask and keep ask, to seek and continue seeking, and to knock until the door is opened. Let us follow Queen Esther who takes her own life in her hands and stakes everything on her prayer to God.

Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.

For some reason, the closer we come to feeling like we have no one in the world to help us, the less willing we are to entrust everything to God. The more desperate things get the more we want to take everything into our own hands. We don't really believe God when he says he will answer us. Let us be so confident in the LORD that we can take our own lives in our our hands when we trust him. He loves us so much that he will not fail to answer.

If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

The more careful we are about how and what we ask the more we will actually recognize the answer.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (see James 4:3).

The LORD does not always give us what we think we want. But he always responds to our desire and the true need it represents.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (see Luke 11:13)

His Holy Spirit is precisely the one who saves us from the hand of our true Enemy. He turns our mourning into gladness. He turns our sorrow to joy.

When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.

 

8 March 2017 - the One

[ 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 prophet himself is the sign. To demand a sign of Jesus is to set him alongside all of the other prophets, teachers, and wise men of history and subject him to comparison by our own criteria. But "there is something greater than Solomon here" and "there is something greater than Jonah here."

Do we see the sign before us? Jesus and his preaching are utterly unlike anyone else in history. All others point away from themselves to a path, to a teaching, to another. Jesus is the path, he is the truth, he is the One. We can't use standards designed for others to judge Jesus. We cannot stand in judgment before him at all. Rather we recognize him and allow ourselves to be judged by him. We hear him and believe.

when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast

The people of Nineveh get it without a special sign. How much more should we then, to whom Jesus has been revealed, turn to God with all that we have and all that we are? We know that if we do turn to him he will save us. We are not like the king of Nineveh who repents just in case, who knows, maybe it works. We know for sure Jesus meets every penitent heart with mercy and love.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

We know that Jesus does not spurn a humbled and contrite heart. He himself inspires the contrition in us. He himself recreates our hearts in response.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me. 

 

7 March 2017 - no return policy

[ Today's Readings ]

In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.

We don't need many words. We often think we do, though. We go on at length because we're anxious about whether or not God heard us or whether he cares.

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

God does hear us and he does care. This means we don't need to keep at it until we stumble upon some magic formula that brings about his response. We don't need to keep at it until we've put in enough prayer time to earn our miracle. He isn't looking for quantity. He is looking for quality. He desires a genuine connection. And so, to avoid all confusion, he himself gives us the words to pray.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

We remember that God is a loving Father. When his name is hallowed anxiety about our future is cast out. When we pray that his Kingdom come, when this becomes something we truly desire, we rest peacefully know that it will eventually come because it is his Kingdom and he is God Almighty. We may never have an excess of bread, but as he does for the Israelites in the desert God ensures that we always have enough. He wants us to be open to mercy, receiving and giving, so that all relationships can be marked with peace and love. He wants to give us strength in temptation to choose him rather than the flesh. In him no evil can ultimately harm us, for he is victorious over the enemy.

In praying the Our Father we pray not our own words but the words of Christ himself. Because of the petitions contained in the prayer and the one whose petitions they are we can experience great peace if we take the time to slow down and pray from the heart.

So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

When we know God's word is effective and pray that word what have we to fear?

I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. 

6 March 2017 - all in

[ Today's Readings ]

Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

The LORD is holy. He calls us to be as well. He does not call us to an arbitrary standard. He calls us to become like himself. As we approach him in likeness our whole relationship with him becomes more intense and intimate. The pure of heart see God. Without holiness no one can see him. This is not to say that we are on our own. Rather we walk by faith as God himself helps us to grow in holiness. The very holiness that he gives us transforms us from one degree of glory to another. Now we are sons and daughters of God but we can't even guess what awaits us.

Holiness sometimes seems like a balancing act between love of God and love of neighbor. Loving our neighbor often seems disconnected from loving God. They even seem opposed. Yet in loving our neighbor we do love God.

For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.

In not loving our neighbor we also fail in loving God.

Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.

We make ourselves fit or unfit for heaven with each choice we make. Heaven means saying yes to God with no reservations. It begins here and now. Jesus helps us to desire that yes and to give it. Our yes becomes like his own yes to the Father and to all of his promises.

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory (see Second Corinthians 1:20).

Our holiness becomes like his own holiness because it is his holiness that is manifested in us by the Holy Spirit. This can be nothing other than union with God. This is partaking in the divine nature itself!

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 (see Second Peter 1:3-4).

The call to keep his command is a call to union with him. It rejoices our hearts, clears our eyes, and purifies us, until our own words and thoughts can truly find favor before him.

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

 

5 March 2017 - free to love

[ Today's Readings ]

We read about Adam and Eve and we wonder what the tree is doing in the middle of the garden if they aren't supposed to eat from it. Why is Satan there and able to tempt them in what is otherwise a paradise? But these suspicions stem from darkened minds. God is not trying to trick us or trap us.

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.

In the face of temptation we can choose obedience. We can choose to love God more than all things.  We don't always choose this but we always can. We are never tempted beyond our means.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (see First Corinthians 10:13).

Jesus chooses to obey where Adam fails. From his obedience we receive the grace of God that can make us righteous as well. He is tempted, not because there is any possibility of him disobeying, but so that he can give us his own obedience in the face of our temptations and trials. He can be with us and help us.

Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted (see Hebrews 2:18).

We need not despair in the face of our temptation. If we remain united to Christ we are already victorious.

 If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.
 - Saint Augustine

Let us choose to love God in the face of temptations. Let us unite ourselves with Jesus whose obedience is invincible and victorious. When we do we ourselves shall experience the strength of the angels ministering to us.

 Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.