4 March 2017 - watered up

[ Today's Readings ]

He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.

We don't gain true strength by trying to be strong. We gain it by holding back from our own ways and seeking the LORD's way.

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD's holy day honorable

We gain it not by helping ourselves but by helping our neighbor.

If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
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;

It is easy to believe that if we put God and neighbor first we won't have time for ourselves. Yet if we ourselves collapse under the weight of our efforts what good can we be to others? If we try to do everything with our own strength we probably will collapse. But if we let the LORD guide us we will have enough even when it seems like we shouldn't

Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.

The LORD calls us to let him guide us. He calls us to follow him.

He said to him, "Follow me."
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

Pharisees have too much ego to let Jesus help and heal them. We are called to be like Levi who knows his own need for repentance. If we know how much we need Jesus we rely on him for all we need. We rely on him when we are called to help others. As his love pours through us to them we become stronger because his own strength fills us.