10 February 2026 - human tradition

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" 

Their traditions may well have begun based on a good impulse, one which broadened a ritual practice meant only for priests. They may have hoped that if everyone thus expressed their desire for right standing before God the whole nation achieve sufficient righteousness to be delivered from their enemies. The idea of involving the populace in religious piety was a potentially good thing. The desire for the nation to be pleasing to God was a good goal. But if they ever truly meant it from the heart it had nevertheless devolved into something that was merely performative. It had become a standard for measuring themselves against others, for judging themselves as superior based on their faultless performance. Others who followed their traditions served as affirmations of their importance and authority. Others who did not follow their traditions called, not only the practices, but even they themselves into question. Failing to follow their lead demonstrated that they were not impressed by their empty show. It implied that they did not see some of these reasons that the Pharisees valued themselves as valuable. 

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.

The problem with merely human traditions about God is that they are too easy for us to manipulate, even unconsciously, to serve our own ends. We discover some helpful pious practice, but then make a law of it, and use it to judge others who don't favor whatever our preferred devotion might be. We use external actions and appearance to mask a lack of true conversion of heart. Human tradition subjects divine revelation to human authority, and this can never end well.

'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.

Human tradition is something that allows us to manipulate the word of God in order to use it for ends for which God did not intend it. For those who didn't want to deal with the support of elderly parents it was often easier to reserve their money for a grandiose donation to the temple after their death. We can probably imagine many ways by which the veneer of religion could be used to divert us from the more difficult work of holiness in our daily lives. We ought to be on guard against pitting revelation against itself, of using one precept as an excuse to ignore others. 

“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built! 

The Tradition of the Church is different from the tradition of men because the Church knows herself to be the servant and not the master of divine revelation. She knows that she does not understand exhaustively, cannot completely contain God so as to confine him. She is like the temple of Solomon, which was not a limit on God, but was indeed his dwelling place, a unique focal point of his presence on earth.

Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.

Matt Maher - Better Is One Day

 

9 February 2026 - immortal, invisible

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

When the priests left the holy place,
the cloud filled the temple of the LORD
so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,
since the LORD’s glory had filled the temple of the LORD.

During the time of the Old Covenant it was not possible to have a direct and immediate vision of God. Even Moses was only granted a vision of his back. When Elijah met God in the famous encounter on the mountain he prepared himself by first wrapping his face in his mantle (see First Kings 19:11-3). This seems altogether reasonable if even the seraphim use their wings to veil their faces in the presence of the almighty (see Isaiah 6:1-3). We see the overwhelming intensity of God's presence in today's first reading, in which the priests could no longer minister once the glory of the Lord had filled the temple. This unapproachable nature of God continued to mark the ministry of the priesthood within the temple up through the time of Jesus. We read about this in the Letter to the Hebrews, which tells that the high priest goes into the Holy of Holies "but once a year, and not without taking blood" (see Hebrews 9:6).

They scurried about the surrounding country 
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.

We ought to be struck, then, by how easy it was to approach Jesus, the fact that he rejected none who came to him (see John 6:37). If Jesus was in fact God, as it is clear that all of the Gospel writers believed, how was it safe to come to him so freely? Should it not have been the case that no one could see the face of God and live (see Exodus 33:20)? Part of the reason this was possible was because his presence was still veiled, now by his sacred humanity. His divinity was truly present, but visible only to the eyes of faith. Thus the people who came to him were able, according to their capacity, to encounter God himself, and to see the face of God, without being undone by it. We might imagine that even the less filtered vision granted to Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration was still something less than the fullness of the reality. 

Amazingly, it does seem that the full vision of the face of God is intended by him to be our destiny. The fact that the letter to the Hebrews encourages us to seek holiness without which no one will see God seems to assume that this is meant to be so (see Hebrews 12:14). The first letter of Saint John tells us, "we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (see First John 3:2). Paul tells the Corinthians that we now "see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face" (see First Corinthians 13:12). 

What we see now through faith is real, if partial. It is by means of faith that we are brought from being unable to approach God at all to the holiness that allows us to more and more behold him directly. Again, listen to Paul to the Corinthians, "we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (see Second Corinthians 3:18). The vision of faith transforms us by means of what we behold. It increases our capacity to guide our lives by hope and to live in love. The tradition of the Church calls the destiny of the blessed the beatific vision. Those who see this vision are so overwhelmed by it that they are more or less unable to sin, since in the light of such a vision sin is so obviously empty. And those who see it experience in that vision the fulfillment of every hope and desire.

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.

A take away for us is that the process of growth is often both humble and hidden. Those around Jesus experienced transformation by merely touching his clothing. This calls us in turn to not take for granted on our opportunities for contact with Jesus, in his presence in others, in the sacraments, and especially in the Eucharist. If the crowds were healed when they so much as touched the tassel, how much more might we be healed if we encountered Jesus in the Eucharist with true and living faith?

 

Vineyard - I See The Lord

 

8 February 2028 - lights of the world

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Salt was not used for its own sake. It was used as a flavor enhancer and preservative for other kinds of food. Just so, the Christian was meant to be a being for others. A Christian who did not become so was like salt that had lost its saltiness, something that should have been an impossibility. A Church that functioned this way would be like a growing quantity of stored salt that was never put to use. In such a world that might be many ingredients, but no food, and no feast. The point was not that Christians were supposed to become something they were not. It was that they were supposed to act in accord with the truth of their identity. They were salt in virtue of the fact that Jesus called them such, and therefore made them such, rather by their own cleverness or effort. But such a gift was also a calling. And the possibility of failing to live up to it was apparent, the danger about which Jesus warns us this morning.

You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

In the Old Testament era it was well known that Jerusalem was the city set on a hill, mount Zion, the mountain of the Davidic covenant. It would, perhaps, have been convenient for it to have been something which one could hide. Then it wouldn't have been so provocatively tempting to its enemies. But the kingdom of David was only going to fulfill its potential to bless all nations and reveal to them God's wisdom if the world was aware of it. This had consequences and almost constantly involved it in conflict and competition with the powers of earthly kingdoms. So too with the Church. She can only be what she is meant to be when she is not hiding in the shadows but boldly pursuing her mission to the ends of the earth. So too with her individual members. The Church can't possibly be what she is meant to be with only the ordained and the professionals doing the work. All of the citizens of this new kingdom, this heavenly Jerusalem, have a part to play. If only the leadership is visible, but all of the members hide in the shadows, it will be difficult to persuade anyone it is a place worth living. Moreover, the members are able to reach into places and situations that professionally religious cannot. The professionals and the clergy exist at the service of the faithful, to give them the means of attaining holiness, and in order to equip them for their missions in ordinary life. 

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.

We will shine as Christians as long as we don't intentionally cover ourselves and hide our light. Why would we want to avoid shining and, as it were, dim our potential? Perhaps because the light can sometimes appear garish to those whose eyes have not yet adjusted, and even unwelcome to those still dwelling in the darkness of sin. This is not to say that the light is equivalent with a critique of the darkness. It is not an intentionally intrusive act, not something that is merely about exposing corruption or evil. But in the presence of light evil always feel exposed. It's existence seems to say that there is a better way, a luminous way, that could be chosen but is being ignored and neglected. This provocation, the possibility of a different way, a higher and better one, tends to put evil of the defensive. It is no doubt at least partially because this is true that those who are meant to be light try to hide as though living through an air raid. Any crack in the blackout curtains might invite a bombing run close to home. But a lamp that isn't producing light isn't useful for anything. Its one virtue is to shine, not necessarily to the ends of the earth, but at least on the lampstand where it has been placed. If we will not shine for others, we will not even have light ourselves. To give light to all in the house we must not be afraid to shine.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

The way we obtain healing, vindication, and help from God, is by embracing his plan for our lives, the new purpose he gave us when he made us new creations in Christ. If we put God and his kingdom first our own needs will not be forgotten. If we allow his light to rise within us, to break forth like the dawn to those around us, our own gloom shall become like midday, and our own wound shall quickly be healed.

TobyMac Featuring Hollyn - Lights Shine Bright

 

7 February 2026 - his heart was moved

Today's Readings
(Audio)

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” 

The Apostles had apparently been very successful in the their attempts to proclaim the kingdom of God after Jesus sent them out to the surrounding regions. But it was still important for them to remain in close fellowship with Jesus. They were not to infer that because things had been working well they could now get by without the intimate relationship that was the basis of their success in the first place. Moreover, they needed to avoid the temptation to constant action, to always only doing with no time for being, in particular being in the presence of Jesus himself.

So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.

It may have at first seemed like this plan to get away from the crowds had failed. If so, we might defend Jesus saying that he knew this was going to happen but wanted to help his disciples understand what their priorities ought to be when faced with people in need. Sometimes one had to put others first. No doubt he did want them to see the compassionate nature of his heart in action. But all of that said, Jesus now took center stage, and the disciples now settled into a more passive student mode, trying to internalize the character and wisdom of their master. Compared to what they had been doing in the surrounding regions, this surely must have been more restful. 

People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.

Further, Jesus would go on to address the fact that they previously had not had time to eat because of the crowds, as if he had all along planned to do so. Just at the moment when, in their hunger, they might have begun thinking, 'What about me?' they were able to receive the miraculously multiplied bread and fish. This came about, not because they asked for their own sake, but because concern for the crowds made them ask Jesus to do something about their hunger. They must have seen that such concern was appropriate because of the way they saw Jesus first respond to the crowds with pity. They then imitated him at least in a small way by voicing their concern. Even such modest compassion as this then redounded to themselves. 

I give you a heart so wise and understanding
that there has never been anyone like you up to now,
and after you there will come no one to equal you.
In addition, I give you what you have not asked for,
such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like.”

Both the first reading and today's Gospel are examples of the fact that when we seek the kingdom of God first we also receive all else that is needful besides (see Matthew 6:33). When we try to prioritize rest above all else, as an end in itself, we find ourselves unable to attain true rest. But when we put Jesus first we find ourselves among the sheep he makes to lie down in green pastures, and beside the restful waters of his Spirit he leads us. When we put things like wealth or power first we only ever possess those things in a limited and temporary way, even if in the eyes of the world we have them in abundance. But when we first seek wisdom, of which the fear of the Lord is the beginning, we grow toward our true royal dignity as children of God. We receive the first installment of our inheritance from him, the Holy Spirit, and eventually the fullness of true treasure in heaven.

Michael Card - The King Of Love My Shepherd Is

 

6 February 2026 - guilty conscience

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”

Herod, it seemed, had a guilty conscience. He hated the fact that John had criticized has marriage, and wanted to silence that critique. But even once John was imprisoned he couldn't help but find him interesting. This was perhaps because John lacked much of a filter when it came to the truth. He was, no doubt, surrounded by people who told him mostly only what he wanted to hear. But John was different. Because he was a righteous and holy man he could not stop short of offering the full truth as he understood it to Herod, who, in virtue of being human, was entitled to that truth. He didn't condemn Herod simply for the sake of condemning him. He did it because then there might be the possibility, for change, transformation, and redemption. To hold out on the fullness of truth in such a case was in fact to deny him this opportunity.

Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.

Herodias, however, did not find John interesting or appealing in the way that Herod did. To her, he was only an external manifestation of her own conscience condemning her for a marriage that was unlawful. She, perhaps, was less accustomed to people saying always and only positive things to her, and perhaps more ready to fight to obtain and maintain position in society. In any event, she wasn't interested in John enough to let him linger even in prison. His continued existence was a reminder of her sin. But she could not achieve her goal of destroying John through the persuasive power of reason. Rather, she used her ability to manipulate people and situations in order to accomplish it. She implicated her own daughter in the process, subverting the gift of the girl's talent and beauty into the locus of temptation for her own husband and his guests. Whether this girl felt as though she had no choice to participate or whether her mother had formed her in such a way that she did it willingly does not change the fact that it was primarily Herodias that was guilty. She demonstrated the ruthless drive to achieve her desire, no matter the cost. 

His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” 

Herod had only a vague an noncommittal relationship with the truth. In some way he was still able to understand it. But he often favored his desires and proclivities rather than conforming to it when it made imposing demands on his lifestyle. Yet we can see from the effect of this dance that giving in to his desires did not make him free. In fact, doing so made him willing to surrender half of the kingdom over which he was sovereign to fulfill them. And this is how it always is with sin. It promises freedom, enjoyment, and delight. But these promises end up empty. We find ourselves deprived of the royal sovereignty we are meant to exercise over our own lives, no longed guided by reason, but chained to our desires.

There are two different angles by which way may apply this Gospel to our lives. The first is taking John the Baptist as an example of fearlessly speaking any truth that might be helpful for others even in spite of difficult consequences. The second is that we ourselves ought to strive to maintain our relationship to the truth as the guide of our actions, that we resist the temptation to act on our desires when we know them to be harmful and illicit. Though, from our first reading, we are reminded that even if we dos sometimes fail to speak the truth or resist temptation there is always forgiveness available, if we seek it.

The Lord forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
He conferred on him the rights of royalty
and established his throne in Israel.

DC Talk - Fearless

 

5 February 2026 - when nothing is more than something

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.

The command of Jesus helped them to internalize the fact that this was not ultimately their project, but his. They weren't directed to use of such authority as they themselves had as individuals, but rather to rely on the authority they received from Jesus himself. Could this authority have still been operative with stick, food, sack, and money in tow? Clearly it could have. But it would have been much easier for them to fall into their own methods of planning and problem solving, as though those faculties were decisive in whether or not they could achieve success. But they were not merely political activists canvasing the nearby towns with persuasive rhetoric. They were representatives of the kingdom of God, pushing back the darkness, taking the world back from the unclean spirits to which it was in bondage.

We may be more or less willing to make due without certain comforts when we have no choice. But how ready are we to willingly give them up when, strictly speaking, we don't have to do so? Are will able to choose to set aside our comfort for the sake of seeing the kingdom advance, to open ourselves more to the power and authority of Jesus at work within us? To which we say, why not both/and? Why not comfort and commission, pleasure and purpose? Why not keep our food, sack, money, and walking sticks unless there is a situation where we are forced to do without them, rather than giving them up willingly? But we probably know ourselves well enough to recognize that we are so susceptible to addiction to comfort and pleasure that without a rather formal and rigorous act of the will at the beginning we won't have the freedom to choose the kingdom over comfort when we are put to the test. We should remember that when we are asked to give things up it is not usually because the things in themselves are bad. It is rather so that we may attain to a greater degree of freedom.

Everything we insist on bringing with us on our journey comes with the cost of maintaining it, whether that is financial, social, or merely emotional. The more we are free to do without the things that the world considers to be required the less those things will be able to steal our joy. What facets of our lives have we made into requirements that we could in fact do without? What security or comfort do we insist on providing for ourselves rather than trusting in the Lord to take care of us? Is there some kind of simulation or training exercise we could undertake, as did the disciples in today's Gospel, in which we could practice choosing the kingdom first and relying on God to a greater degree?

Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.

We may insist that we aren't really that addicted to comfort or pleasure. But say what we will about those, one thing we undeniably have trouble doing without is the affirmation of others. If we think about it, we realize Jesus could have always and only sent his disciples to situations where they could be successful. But that wasn't his plan. His mission for them included the eventuality that they would face rejection. Not only did this completely frustrate their human need to control the situation, it also did not supply most of the reward that such a journey could offer on the human level. But there was still a reward to be had. The Father who sees in secret would repay them for the faithfulness to his Son. And yet the rewards of the kingdom are only available for those who are not overfull of the rewards of the world. The sweetness of the kingdom is only desirable to those whose palates haven't been ruined by the things of earth. But Jesus helps us learn to desire his rewards, and retrains our taste to appreciate the good things he offers. At least, he is willing to do so. Let us then learn to cooperate with this plan of his, if not immediately and all at once, at least with ever growing maturity.

 

Shane And Shane - Psalm 34 (Taste And See)

 

4 February 2026 - homecourt disadvantage

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

 King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,
“Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba
and register the people, that I may know their number.”

David sinned because this census revealed a lack or decrease in his trust in God, and a desire to ensure that he had power comparable to that of other nations. In this sense a census was only useful as a comparative metric of power of a human and military sort. 

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

The neighbors and relatives of Jesus thought that he was too much like them, too normal, in other words, to substantiate the astonishing way with which he taught. David was not content with Israel as it was and those in Nazareth where not content with Jesus as he was. They both desired some extraordinary measure of the proof of the power in which they were asked to believe. Had David been humble enough to trust in the Lord, even though the power of the surrounding nations seemed intimidating, he might have avoided a plague that decimated "seventy thousand of the people". Had those in Nazareth been sufficiently humble before Jesus they might have recognized that there was more to him than meets the eye. Instead, they assumed that Jesus was on the same level as all of them, because to all appearances he seemed to be. And they took offense that anyone on their level would apparently presume greatness in the way that he did. If he was so great, they might have thought, he ought to have been more obviously distinct, his greatness more readily distinguishable. He ought to have been obviously out of their league rather than, apparently, one who was an equal footing with them.

Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.” 

God, however, did not work through typical or recognizable structures of human power. He did not need vast numbers to ensure military victory. He could work through David precisely when David was at his best, humble, trusting, and faithful, when he might have, to others, appeared weak. And he could work through Jesus because and not in spite of his humility. It was his willingness to forgo that glory that was rightly his that allowed him to come close enough to help us (see Philippians 2:1-11). But that humility was a liability when it came to his recognition by those who were proud. This hiddenness of the activity of God required faith to recognize, and sufficient humility to open oneself to that faith. One needed humility before the idea of the possibility of something greater than oneself, greater than the normal terms of worldly greatness, even while that something appeared too weak to accomplish anything. Because, to those with faith, that weakness availed much:

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord

 

3 February 2026 - too late?

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!
If only I had died instead of you,
Absalom, my son, my son!"

The world seemed to be broken in ways that could never be fully redeemed. Struggle, even among family members like David and Absalom, was a reality that did not seem likely to somehow conduce to some greater good. Then the finality of death seemed to negate all remaining possibilities of deriving some good from all of the evil. By the time the messiah arrived on the seen it seemed like it was probably too late for the world. How could he, even he, possibly make good on all the suffering, sin, and death, that marked human history?

My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.

The implication from Jairus that if Jesus didn't come soon it would be too late. There were some things in this world that could be overcome.  Sometimes sickness could be cured, or disability healed. But death, it was thought, had an absolute finality that could not be challenged. Jairus's hope was that Jesus would come to save his daughter before she died. In his mind every minute, every second counted. 

Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"

Jesus, however, was not flustered by the apparent time constraints placed on him by others. It wasn't that had wanted to see Jairus squirm, so much as it was that he wanted him to witness something greater and so understand something deeper and more life changing. With him, there was no such thing as too late. With him, there was no problem so permanent that he could not resolve it. 

The lady with the flow of blood had been afflicted for twelve years and no doctor could help her. This too seemed like an unsolvable problem. But one faith filled touch of the hem of Jesus's garment and she was healed. 

The threshold of 'too late' is when we think we have to give up because there is nothing that can be done. We think a disease, or death, or some other problem is permanent. Seeing something for so long in one condition, like the many dead who don't arise, or a lengthy illness spanning the course of many years, makes us think that it will always be in that condition. We believe that if it were a fixable problem it would have already been fixed. We are suspicious of a God that doesn't give us what we want when we want it. But Jesus constantly reveals that his timing is better than our own. It's difficult to quantify in a utilitarian calculus. It's easy to argue that it would have been better for the little girl not to die in the first place. But then that household could not have learned of the power of the resurrection. So too could God have sent someone to heal the woman sooner. But then she would not have had the opportunity to have her faith in Jesus confirmed. The suspicious part of us wonders if these are really greater goods than a life of uninterrupted comfort. And, we confess, we'd probably choose comfort given the choice. But at the same time we suspect that the faith that resulted from the timing of Jesus was more than worth it for the people involved. There is a mystery, yes. But there is no denying the way these individuals were changed.

Ike Ndolo -  Awake, O Sleeper

 

2 February 2026 - presentation accounted for

 

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?

Who indeed was able to endure the day of the coming of the Lord to his temple? He came in the form of a helpless child born to parents so poor that they could not bring the standard offering of a lamb and a pigeon or turtledove, though perhaps in some fashion, he himself was the lamb that they offered. Only people who had prepared their hearts were able to stand when he appeared. Others missed the significance of the moment entirely.

This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Simeon not only knew about the promises of God. He desired them. Many others were vaguely aware that some messenger of the covenant was coming, perhaps even soon. But it did not make them particularly more attentive to the small and almost hidden way in which it happened. Simeon seemed to not only have learned about it but to have allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal it to him personally. Thus, what others expected only generically, happening out there somewhere else, Simeon anticipated personally. Yes, he was righteous and devout. But those factors alone weren't the whole story about why he recognized the coming of the Lord, or, in particular, why he found such fulfillment when it happened. It was because the Holy Spirit was upon him in such a way that what others experienced as mere factual historical data became deeply personal to him. The Holy Spirit can make the same difference for us when we study revelation, especially the Scriptures. The righteousness of Simeon was not rigid, nor his devotion merely performance. Rather, both represented his openness to the work of the Spirit within him. 

Because Simeon responded to the Spirit what the Psalmist wrote was true for him: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (see Psalm 37:4). We can see that this is very much what happened when we read Simeon say, "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word". We respond to verses like this pious assent of our intellects. But can we actually imagine it being true, imagine someone desiring the Lord so much that just to see him was enough to fulfill the entire purpose of his life? But that is what happened. And Simeon was not unique. There were others like Anna, who, after seeing Jesus, "gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem". She was so moved by his coming that she couldn't help but speak of him. 

Perhaps a part of the message of the Feast of the Presentation is that we too should look to the Lord to find our joy, that we should delight ourselves in him, and that his Spirit really can cause or hearts to correspond to him to the degree that we find in him the fulfillment of our deepest desires, completely and forever.

Newsboys - Joy

 

 

 

1 February 2026 - blessed assurance

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The beatitudes are obviously counterintuitive from a worldly perspective. Generally, if asked how to obtain kingdoms, comfort, land, or other rewards, we would guess that the easiest way would be through power and wealth. How might we receive mercy? Perhaps through emotional appeal or even deception. How might we see the vision of God? Perhaps through some exclusive calling, since Moses at least was allowed to see God's back, or through pursuing the secret knowledge of the Gnostics. How might we be regarded as children of God? Such a designation was typically reserved for kings and emperors. Normally persecution would be a hindrance to receiving a kingdom. But here it is part of the process according to the expected program. In this beginning of his Sermon on the Mount Jesus upends all of our intuitions about how to attain blessedness.

The beatitudes are counterintuitive for another reason as well. For disciples who have been formed in the Gospel of grace, and trained to recognize anything that reeks of Pelagian achievement through our effort, this program of Jesus for how to attain fulfillment at first seems a little too closely tied to the formula of first doing one thing to attain a result, as though we earned it. Where in this program is there room for God's grace? Yet perhaps it is there, beneath the surface, as an assumed prerequisite. One beatitude should suffice as an example. 

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

This is reminiscent of the Our Father in which we pray to be forgiven because we forgive. But if we look at this in the larger context of the Gospel of Matthew we will also encounter the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (see Matthew 18:21-35). In it, the servant did not earn the forgiveness of the master. It was wholly unearned and unmerited. It was only on this basis that he was judged on whether or not he would show mercy to others. In order to actually obtain and enjoy the mercy he had already received he had to be willing to show that same mercy to others. So too with us and this beatitude. It's not like the mercy we are able to show to others comes out of nowhere, or that it is generated by our moral striving. It is rather a result of the fact that we have already received mercy from God, that he in fact acted merciful toward us before we could do anything to deserve or even desire it.

If we are called to spiritual poverty it can only be because of Our Lord Jesus, "became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich" (see Second Corinthians 8:9). The reason our mourning can lead to joy as because Jesus did not despise shedding tears for our sake for the joy that was set before him. He now allows our tears to share in the merit of his tears so that his joy may become our own.

The beatitudes, then, require grace to attain. They never give us boasting rights. We cannot brag about what great peacemakers we are, or the degree to which we have despised wealth, or even the purity of our hearts. Paul was clear on this point and we should be as well. All is gift. All is grace.

It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God,
as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
so that, as it is written,
"Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."

The Dameans - Beatitudes

 

31 January 2026 - asleep in the boat

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.

We too sometimes encounter storms that cause us to fear, if not for our lives, at least for our identities, and our ability to maintain our way of life. And this happens regardless of whether or not we are where we are because we listened to Jesus say, "Let us cross to the other side". Following him was not only no guarantee of smooth sailing, but seemed to be the main factor that led us to the place where the storm occurred. The fact, frequently confirmed by life experience, that Jesus does not lead us around stormy weather, may cause us to suspect that either he is not all-knowing, and therefore didn't see it coming, or not all-powerful, and therefore unable to do anything about it. We know, of course, that he was not directly at fault, that creation is still fallen, awaiting "freedom from its bondage to corruption" and "the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (see Romans 8:18-25). But what happens to our faith in the times when Jesus appears impotent before such forces? Do we lose our ability to believe that such a redemption is really on the horizon?

Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

The fact that the storms of life leave Jesus unruffled does not at first inspire in us great confidence. Rather, it leaves us indignant, as though he does not understand what we are enduring. And yet, he is with us in the boat. He is enduring the same storm. He is simply so rooted in his Father's love that the storm cannot overcome his peace. From his perspective, the fact that we are terrified is the surprising thing. He wonders, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?". And we must concede, that in this sense of the word, we must not yet have it, not like that, or to that degree. However, even in spite of the disciples' lack of faith, their fear was unfounded because they were together with Jesus since they had obeyed his word. He himself would ensure they were able to cross to the other side as he commanded. 

What, then? Ought they have been indifferent to the storm and the sinking of the ship? Should they all having been asleep while the ship met an untimely end? Part of the difficultly was that they did have to engage with circumstances that were being their ability to control. We can hardly blame them for wanting Jesus to intervene. But their fear was actually a further manifestation of the storm itself, not only outside now, but inside themselves as well. It meant there was more for Jesus to rebuke when he rebuked the wind and the sea. He had to speak calm into the hearts of his disciples as well. 

They could, however, have interpreted the situation differently. They could have realized from the fact of Jesus being a sleep that they had nothing to fear. Perhaps they themselves would have been able to let the peace of the sleeping Christ work through them to calm the storm. But even if they had to wake him up, they would have been able to do so calmly, without the risk of rash responses and bad decisions to fear brings.

“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

This is what we can call the high Christology of the Gospel of Mark. They knew, and Mark, wants us to know, that there was only one whom the wind and sea obey. Only of God was it said, "You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them" (see Psalm 89:9). Who, then, was Jesus? The implied answer, while unstated, was obvious.

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan answered David: “The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.

Sometimes the storms we face are temptation, or even the consequences of our own sin. At such times especially we need to trust in the Lord to deliver us. Precisely because our storms cannot harm him he is positioned perfectly to deliver us, to reawaken his divine power within us, and speed us on our way to the far side of the sea.

Audrey Assad - How Can I Keep From Singing?

 

30 January 2026 - starting small

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

Although we can try to create good conditions for growth, we cannot directly bring it about through our efforts. We want to ensure, as much as possible, that the soil is good and deep, that there aren't too many rocks or thorns to interfere. We can, perhaps, water it and fertilize it. But beyond that, anything we do is more likely to interfere with growth than to assist it. We have to, at least in some measure, leave it alone and trust in God's process and timing. There is an implication that, if we forget this, we will be distressed by the fact that much of spiritual progress is unseen and hidden, and that this will prompt us to take actions that are unhelpful or even harmful. When we don't get results on demand we will be forced to reckon with the reality that it isn't all up to us. We must learn to do the things we know to do and then surrender the whole project into the hands of God.

It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.

The Kingdom itself, when still a seed, seemed unlikely to grow enough to realize all of the covenant promises of God. Jesus, the grain of wheat that died to give life, did not seem sufficient to address the major challenges that faced humanity in general or Israel in particular. Neither did his disciples or the results of their early work seem so impressive that anyone could have anticipated the fruit they would bear in the future. The implication of this parable is somewhat similar to the previous one. We should not be discouraged by the way things look early on. But the nuance is different. We should not be afraid to attempt things, even if they are small. We cannot predict the way little things done with love may one day change the world. This is a call to excellence in small matters. But a corollary is that we ought to stop problematic behavior will it is still small, and sin while it is still venial. 

At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,
David sent out Joab along with his officers
and the army of Israel,
and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.
David, however, remained in Jerusalem.

David's failure to go with army, as was expected of kings, started off as something that seemed small. But it gradually snowballed as he next failed to keep custody of his eyes in the presence of Bathsheba and from their went on to become an adulterer and a murderer. It is fortunate for him and for us that the good seed of the Kingdom was ultimately God's project, else those events cause us to imagine that the project had failed. But the seed was still there, growing, as David proved later through his heartfelt repentance.

So, in summary, the lessons are, 1) never give up because of how things look, 2) don't neglect good things just because they seem too small to make an impact, and 3) don't dally with sin, even if it appears relatively innocuous at first. The payoff of faithful is small things is too good to miss.

But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade

The largest of plants that puts forth its branches for is the Church, which provides shelter for all the birds of the world, including ourselves. But in mysterious ways, everything done with love and faithfulness helps to facilitate the growth, as we ourselves become branches on the vine, living stones in the sacred temple of the Body of Christ.

Newsboys - Secret Kingdom

 

29 January 2026 - hidden to be made visible

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; 
nothing is secret except to come to light.

The teachings of Jesus are in some way hidden when we first encounter them. From the interpretation of a specific parable, all the way up to the truth of his identity, nothing about him is obvious in a superficial way. There is nothing about him that so overwhelms us that we can't deny or ignore him. But if all of this is at first hidden, it is only so that it may be revealed. The more we pay humble attention to the parables the more their meaning becomes evident. The more we allow Jesus to reveal himself to us the more we become convinced that he is the Christ, the Son of God. Thus the more we have the more we are given. 

One reason the teachings of Jesus are not overwhelming obvious is that he wants us to respond to him in freedom, not from compulsion. Yes, it is genuine rock solid truth we discover. But he does not bludgeon us into compliance with undeniable demonstrative proofs. We only come to know the truth if we open ourselves to it. This cooperation with the truth is part of why knowing it has the power to set us free, since our wills are implicated in how we come to know it. Yet it is important to recognize that although we first encounter the truth in a hidden form it is not meant to remain hidden. It is not meant to remain an obscure secret that provides an advantage only to those in the know. It is a truth that has its full effect when it is known. It is light that is meant to illuminate. We might go so far as to say that the truth is already hidden enough in its nature without any help on our part, and that we ought, therefore, to do all that we can to make it known, that the light of Christ may shine.

Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, 
and still more will be given to you.

Knowing the truth isn't automatic. Everyone has ears, but not all use them to truly hear what Jesus wants to tell us. Five different people might have five different levels of understanding based on whether or the degree to which they take care what they hear.  But can't we somehow sense that the truth Jesus longs to impart is somehow different from any other, that it is uniquely worthy of our attention, that, in fact, no one ever spoke as he does (see John 7:46)? There are other secrets and conspiracies in the world that purport to contain hidden truths. But only the truth that Jesus offers has the power to set us free. Only his teaching shines with the inner luminous intelligibility that comes only from being spoken by the voice of Truth himself. This means, at least, that when we struggle with his teachings, and his hiddenness in our world, we should not be scandalized, but should instead take on a posture of receptive listening, ready at any moment for his light to break through.

Dan Schutte - Like Cedars They Shall Stand

 

28 January 2026 - to hear and understand

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Many the parables seemed too simple and straightforward to have much value. Rather than allowing their meaning to be gradually revealed, listeners would be tempted instead harden their hearts. Perhaps they imagined that their surface level understanding was exhaustive. Or perhaps they didn't consider it to be worth thinking about enough to even understand superficially. The parables of Jesus were definitely the sort of teaching tool that required one to be childlike in order to derive value. 

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?

Understanding this parable required the same humble disposition that would be required for any parable of Jesus. This was an attitude that, while not content with the superficial, did not attempt to solve everything with human cleverness. It was, rather, content to allow itself to be led by Jesus as he helped his hearers to see ever deeper levels of luminous meaning contained within. Jesus desires us to approach his word with the same humility, allowing him to lead us as we strive to grow in understanding.

Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, 
and the birds came and ate it up.

In the proclamation of the kingdom there was no insufficiency of seed that could be blamed for the lack of growth. Rather it was the conditions on the receiving end that had the potential to pose problems. Jesus could provide endless parables, but insufficient interest would mean they would go in one ear and out the other. In other cases, even those willing to receive the parables one time might later find that they had insufficient roots because they didn't appreciate their true depth. One might even be able to answer all likely questions about a parable in such a case but still find it unable to avail them in the face of tribulation or persecution. In order for a parable to achieve that level of spiritual utility required more than a superficial understanding. There are many forces that can interfere with our ability to digest and internalize the parables. They stem from both excessive fear and excessive desire. Anything we value more than God can prevent us from remaining still and silent long enough for the growth of the seed to be accomplished within us. If we imagine ourselves pulled this way, jostled that way, by all the various emotions we experience, we might concede that we would not make for an easy growth environment for any sort of plant life.

The growth environment that the seed wants is similar to the rest promised to David, through Nathan, in God's covenant promise. This growth environment, this spiritual greenhouse, is the Church of the New Covenant, or at least, at can be, if we know how to avail ourselves of the stillness, light, and living water, found therein.

I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, 
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.

Housefires - Come To The River

 

27 January 2026 - supernatural family planning

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.

For Mary this was probably something similar to the finding of Jesus in the temple, in which she again had to accept that the business of his Father had priority over the normal demands of family life. Most people put into such a position would take it personally. But Mary most likely remained calm, reflected, and grew in deeper understanding of her son and his mission. We can even imagine that she found joy in the fact that Jesus trusted her enough to accept it, and perhaps to help his brethren to accept it as well.

But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

Hypothetically, who was closer to Jesus? Those relatives that thought that he was out of his mind and tried to silence him and bring him home? Or rather, the crowds, who, though not related, were open to learning from his message? It was the later who were acting more like true brothers and sisters of Jesus, true sons and daughters of his heavenly Father. It was faith that was to be the basis of a new international spiritual family in the form of the Church Jesus would establish. And this spiritual family, the kingdom of God on earth, had to take priority in the lives of its members, even over the natural good of family bonds. People needed to know that when the demands of family conflicted with what they were being asked to do by God it was God's will that they ought to choose. Thus Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (see Luke 14:26).

"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

We know that Mary was the mother of Jesus in a double sense, since she was always obedient to the will of God. She gave her fiat and then continued to give it throughout her life, not trying to find an alternative to the prophecy of Simeon about a sign that would be contradicted and a sword that would pierce her own side, and even remaining with Jesus as he endured the cross. From the crowds we can learn something about what it means to be a spiritual sibling of Jesus. But from his mother we have a masterclass in making Jesus and his Father's will the center of our lives. Her connection to Jesus was so close that she became known as the new ark of God. Therefore let us dance before the presence of the Lord, the presence that she continues to bring to us, with joy and abandon. Let us come together in the feast of our spiritual family, not "a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake", but the Eucharist, the joint gift of Mary and Jesus to us.

David Ruis - We Will Dance

 

26 January 2026 - power, love, and self-control

Today's Readings
(Audio)

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, 
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

The scribes resorted to a tactic that we can recognize, as it is still common in our own time. Since they could not win arguments against Jesus as a teacher, and since they could not deny the positive effects of his miraculous deeds, they resorted to character assassination. They hoped that people would believe that the only way to have such power was to receive it from the prince of demons. Perhaps the crowds would at least become suspicious that Jesus was too good to be true and that there was something sinister below the surface. If those who heard them accepted this line of reasoning they would have the additional benefit of feeling clever themselves, of not having been taken in by an elaborate charade. It isn't too hard to dissuade people of something that seems to good to be true. But what about when it is true? How can people like ourselves, who are naturally self-protective and defensive, supposed to recognize it?

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, 
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself, 
that house will not be able to stand.

A genuinely rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Genuinely good deeds ought never be undermined for that sake of political gain, as the scribes attempted. It is easy enough to manufacture the appearance of goodness. But then, in that case, the appropriate thing to challenge is not the actions but the misleading appearance. 

This is all a little bit more complicated since we ourselves are and live among people not wholly good and not wholly rotten. We do some good, some bad, and probably some good things that appear bad, and some bad things that appear good. This means that when discerning the actions of people that aren't Jesus we can't necessarily assume that one good fruit means the tree is sound. Yet it is still actions and not appearances by which we ought to judge. 

Jesus calls attention to the precarious nature of our position of being divided in heart and mind. It is not an easy position to sustain since we will be working against ourselves in all that we do, being pulled one way, then another. Satan is effective is his malice because he never does anything truly good, and is always about the business of trying to spoil God's good creation. To the degree that we are a house divided we are subject to his power and manipulation. Freeing ourselves from his grasp is never something that is naturally within the scope of our strength as human beings. We need to trust in the one strong enough to set us free.

But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property 
unless he first ties up the strong man.

Jesus was the one who bound the devil and plundered his property, that is, us, by his cross and resurrection. Whatever claim the devil had on us due to sin was revoked by the redemption wrought by our Lord. Because this is so, we ought not linger in the darkness. We must not be like the scribes, so afraid of salvation that we mischaracterize it as darkness. If we refuse to recognize the possibility of salvation, if we close our eyes to the saving power of God, then the Holy Spirit will not enter were he is not welcomed, where he is, in fact, blasphemed, not by our words necessarily, but with willful opposition issuing from the hardness of our hearts.

Having learned from Paul and others, Timothy and Titus were examples of men with undivided hearts. But such hearts require maintenance and regular upkeep. It is not enough to not blaspheme the Spirit. We must stir up the Spirit within our hearts. This is necessary in order to avoid temptation, such as that of cowardice in the face of hardship. When the reality of the Spirit we have received, "of power and love and self-control" is active in our lives, we will progress, not on our own strength, but "with the strength that comes from God".

Hillsong Worship - Stronger

 

25 January 2026 - the people in darkness have seen a great light

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.

It had been a long time since the people in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali had been taken into exile in Assyria. No doubt they had come to think of the darkness of that exile as a permanent darkness, and of themselves as forgotten by God. Yet, by beginning his mission where he did, Jesus signaled that they had not been forgotten, that they were not abandoned or forsaken. One question we should consider is what the mission of Jesus had to do with that exile. In what way did what he desired to accomplish assuage or address the wound left by Assyria? It did not seem that the mission of Jesus did or could bring exiles back from distant lands. So we should not miss the significance that it was there that Jesus announced that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. His plan was not to restore Israel at a national level, but to gather around himself a new and spiritual Israel that would eventually include descendants of all of the scattered tribes. But, due to the consequences of sin, the fruit of this new kingdom would be something greater than what was lost. The way that Israel had been scattered and intermingled with the Gentiles meant that in order to gather Israel the Gentiles too would reap what we may call collateral benefit.

For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.

We can see that Paul understood the unity of the kingdom as one of its central aspects. For this reason he instructed the Ephesians to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (see Ephesians 4:3). It was for this reason that he was so critical of rivalries and discord in the Church. He saw that, as the Body of Christ, they had a new and deeper basis for unity than ever before. Where it had been possible for some tribes to be taken into exile it was metaphysically impossible for the body of Christ to truly be divided. Thus we say in the creed that the Church, in addition to be catholic, holy, and apostolic, is also one. But the Church is also different from Israel in that it requires, not living in a specific place, but thinking and act in a new and spiritual way. Those who perpetuated rivalries were failing to live up to this standard, failing to fully live within the Body of Christ to the degree that they did not share the heart of Jesus for unity. 

Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

We tend celebrate the idea of unity and excuse ourselves from the discussion about rivalries. But it is not so easy. There are some positions that are fundamentally incompatible with the teachings of Christ. In such cases we are not meant to look the other way and pretend nothing is wrong. But more than that there is a wide diversity of acceptable opinion on matters both political and theological within the Church. We must hold fast to the truth while not creating divisions that ought not exist. The key to doing so is to maintain the centrality of Christ in our hearts and minds. He is the basis of our unity. His grace is our only hope for maintaining it. For that matter, he is our only hope of restoring the many instances in which that unity was broken, in particular, our separated brethren of other Christian denominations.

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

We can see from the calling of the first disciples that the kingdom of heaven was meant to be a swelling current that gathered people together around Jesus. First the people themselves came to him, and then they helped bring more along with them. Step one was Jesus. Step two was becoming a fisher of men. But not just any gathering would do, nor would any kind of unity suffice. Only the kingdom was enough because it was Jesus himself who brought light to the world, light which was otherwise absent. Light was not merely a pleasant metaphor in this case. It was in fact the only lasting antidote to sin, suffering, and ultimately even to the darkness of death. Only thus can we truly say that "on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen".

What is the upshot of the saving light of the Lord for us, or what difference should it make in our lives? How do we know if we are abiding in his light? Judging by the words of the psalmist we may infer that the more we truly recognize the light of Christ the less any lesser things will have power to make us afraid.

DC Talk - In The Light

Songs In His Presence - His Name Will Be Called

 

24 January 2026 - family matters

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, 
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

The relatives of Jesus heard about the crowds and about the adverse effects his popularity was having on his life. Unable even to eat? He must Be in over his head, they thought, swept up in something that had become too big to manage. Had he come to believe in what must have been his own hype? After all, they were his relatives. They had known him, and thought they knew him. They continued to assume that he was normal. Others with less intimate connections to him might imagine him to be something more, but his relatives knew, or thought they knew, that he was no different from they. 

If Jesus was misunderstood by people who thought they knew him before he began his mission it is likely that Christians will be misunderstood, first, upon their initial conversion, and then again and again as they deepen their commitment and take Jesus and his Gospel more and more seriously. The paradigm of normal, the only one the world apart from Jesus has with which to work, is not applicable to the followers of Jesus. A fundamental idea of the Gospel is that the world was not OK as Jesus found it. He came because it needed saving. And he extends that mission into our own day through us. But people who haven't accepted the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong with the world (though, who could miss it?) often take offense at the idea that it needs fixing. People have even more reason to be offended by us than by Jesus himself, because we are clearly flawed, imperfect in all of the same ways the world is imperfect. How could we possibly claim to help? If anything, it is probably even harder for anyone to imagine that this claim could be valid in spite of the flaws of its advocates. 

Knowing that we will be misunderstood and even opposed as followers of Jesus is ought not cause us to give up in advance. Rather, we should set to work with realistic expectations, so that we are not surprised or deterred when we encounter such results. People may try to stop us, even thinking they are acting for our benefit. But we must persist. We must be willing to be seen as fools for Christ if and when the situation demands.

We may well lose friends, not necessarily through any hostility on their part, but simply because they no longer understand us or our priorities. They may not regard us with hostility. And yet our different goals may cause us to drift apart. But part of the promise of the Gospel is friendship in a new and deeper form, first with Jesus, and then through him with his other friends. Such friendship is even sweeter than that between David and Jonathan.

“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother!
most dear have you been to me;
more precious have I held love for you than love for women.

Thus is the promise of Jesus fulfilled that "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold" (see Matthew 19:29). We recognize that when we do leave family or friends we are responding to the love that Jesus himself first showed us. Knowing this we can be reassured that nothing truly important is ever lost when we take Jesus at his word.

Passion - Heart Abandoned

 

23 January 2026 - consider your calling

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted 
and they came to him.

Jesus was like a new Moses or a new Solomon, summoning these Twelve in order to be the foundations of a new and spiritual Israel. They were not merely representatives of the twelve tribes, since membership in God's covenant community was now going to transcend the tribal and the national. The Israel of the Old Covenant had been specially chosen and blessed with favor in order to be a light to the nations. It is important to recognize that it was not chosen based on any particular merit.

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples (see Deuteronomy 7:7).

Neither did he choose the Blessed Virgin on the basis of some accomplishments of hers. Neither did he summon the Twelve for their particular skills or competencies. 

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; (see First Corinthians 1:25-27).

God was pleased to make sure that his own power was evident, working through human weakness. Thus, those who recognized it knew they were not being taken in by merely human creativity or cleverness. They were not being persuaded by savvy business sense. From the outside, the Church seldom looked very impressive, was always replete with very human flaws and failings. And yet there was something within the Church that had the power to transform lives. There was something protecting the Church in order that the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles would remain available to all throughout the generations. The foundations chosen by Jesus were entirely natural. He wouldn't have needed to look far to find more educated or erudite men to carry his message to the world. But from the Twelve he did choose he established a supernatural edifice against which even the gates of hell could not prevail.

The key thing for Apostles to be successful was that they remember why they were called, "that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons". They had to remember that he was the source of their ability to be effective in spreading the Gospel, he the vine, and they the branches. They had to prioritize his word above their own words and seek to impart the spiritual freedom that he longed to give. They had received the authority of Jesus himself, but not in order to use it for their own projects. The authority of Jesus was always for the sake of service, always meant to be ordered to salvation.

Look here at this end of your mantle which I hold.
Since I cut off an end of your mantle and did not kill you, 
see and be convinced that I plan no harm and no rebellion.

Since those anointed by God represent more than they are in themselves it behooves us to demonstrate respect and even reverence toward them. This doesn't mean we look away from grievous failures or turn a blind eye to criminal behavior. But it does mean, at least, that we don't allow the fact the ministers within God's Church are human to bother us excessively. They are human. They do have faults. They are not perfect. But they are the Lord's anointed, and divine power works through them, such that, without them, we would be, at best, deeply impoverished. We have to trust that the Lord is still able to work through human weakness, even when they weakness is lamentably familiar. After all, if he can no longer do so, what hope do we have that he can work through us? Our hope is the fact that we too have been called and chosen and anointed. This divine election really can allow us to transcend our very real limits, that all our faults and failures might not prevent us from living our lives for the glory of God.

Bernadette Farrell - God Has Chosen Me