7 June 2013 - toward his voice

7 June 2013 - toward his voice

"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?

The LORD loves us recklessly.  He can't sit by while we wander lost.  Fortunately, he is omnipresent so no sheep is ever abandon.  But what is expressed here is the priority of his heart.  Above all else he wants to "seek and save the lost" (cf. Luke 19:10).  This is amazing when we consider what it means to be lost.  It means to be at enmity with God.  It means to be enemies of the shepherd. How prideful sheep must be to think they can be enemies of a shepherd.  And yet his heart for us is unwavering.  It does not swell with anger or the desire to destroy us.

But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

We need our shepherd lest we continue to wander lost.  We have no way to get our bearings amidst the darkness of this world except the voice of the shepherd calling us.  The world, which includes us to one degree or another, spurns this voice.  We neglect the one voice that can keep us from the wolves which want to devour.   But he proves his love for us and seeks us in spite of protests and neglect.

As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.

The only thing which can keep us from him is the pride which refuses to be shepherded.

but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

But even if we refuse he will not give up on us.  He will hold out the opportunity for mercy to the very end.  His heart is to reconcile all who were once enemies of his and enemies of one another around his table.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;

Enemies are reconciled at this feast.  The LORD does this by giving us his heart toward all our brothers and sisters.  He wants us to have the same heart for the lost that he does.  He wants us to love ourselves and them through his eyes and not through the lens of our own selfish pride.  He wants us to find our joy at this table in unity and reconciliation just as he does.

'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'

We can trust completely in our shepherd.  We don't have to waste time or effort trying to protect our own interests once we come to fully trust that our shepherd has our best interest in mind.

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

Let us by heartened by the promises of the Sacred Heart which the LORD holds out to us.

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will comfort them in their trials.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death.
5. I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings
6. Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
8. Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection.
9. I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment. 

6 June 2013 - ordinary day

6 June 2013 - ordinary day

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

This isn't how we usually think of it.  Or at least it isn't how we usually act, as we don't really stop to reflect.  We would more readily appreciate a verse that said

Blessed are you who work hard on your handiwork, 
for the LORD isn't involved!  
Work and control everything as much as you can 
since that's the only way you'll be happy.

And it is in this that we get in to trouble.  Our lives have a de facto segregation where the LORD only reigns over spiritual things.  But he wants to be the LORD of our whole life. We know this but the limited skip of our prayer keeps these spheres separate. There is nothing we do about which the LORD isn't concerned.  We need to ask for his blessing and involvement on our entire day and on the entire range of our activities.

For example, I'm going to help plan a menu for a week of meals today.  It seems somewhat trivial.  But it will be way better if I ask the LORD to help.  He can use things like that to bring a growth in unity and virtue if we let him be involved.  He can make the food taste better and come together more smoothly, too.

Tobiah and Sarah get this.  They don't allow their marital union to be something merely natural.  It would be really easy for them to do after the history of hardship and suffering that Sarah in particular experienced.  We would excuse her for thinking that if God was interested in her relationships he wouldn't have allowed the seven previous husbands to die.  Instead of being deflected by circumstance they both entrust this relationship to the LORD in order to fully open it to his blessings.

“My love, get up.
Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us
and to grant us deliverance.”

Did it take seven times facing disappointment for her to attempt this prayer?  Or perhaps only on the seventh did a husband finally join in.  Or again she might have come together in prayer with her husband before each relationship and still suffered his death.  The point is that God has a plan and by clinging to him and putting him first she experiences his blessings.  There is certainly a message here for all of us who have had many relationships which haven't worked out.  Cling to God!  He has a plan!

Putting the LORD first and calling upon him elevates all we do from the merely natural.

Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.

We are so scattered and fragmented that it is difficult to give the LORD each and every thing we do.  The morning offering can help:

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.

This helps us to keep God in first place throughout the day.  It helps us put concretely into practice the words of Jesus as to what is important and what our priorities should be:

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.

5 June 2013 - hear now

5 June 2013 - hear now

Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

We can avoid error by heeding the words of Jesus.  We need to make his word our home.  We need it to dwell in us richly as we admonish one another (cf. Col 3:16).  We need to know the power of God in the institutional and charismatic aspects of the Church.  This power and wisdom is living and active (cf. Heb 4:12).  It thereby prevents us from twisting the message to suit ourselves.  Dead static truths do not do this.  This is why we see the Sadducees twisting their knowledge of the law to their own ends.  They are blinded from the great hope of resurrection by this dead knowledge and static understanding.

He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”

God speaks now in his word.  It was not simply at one time and place that he said:

I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 
and the God of Jacob

To hear the word of God as living and active is to hear God speak his words to us even right now at this very moment.  This keeps us from the errors of pride and renews us in the hope of the resurrection.

It is a living trust in God that enables Sarah and Tobit to persevere in their circumstances until they experience the full healing power of God.

At that very time, 
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.

They are saved in spite of abandoning all hope in themselves and the world.  Platitude and legalism do not save.  Only surrendering everything to the living God allows them to persevere amidst trials so difficult.  They all but abandon life.  They do abandon their own terms and efforts.  They can't even cling to their own static understanding of Scripture.  They must let God speak to them anew in the very heart of their suffering.  It is as though the solution doesn't exist yet in this fallen world but comes into being as the word of the LORD is heard in power.  This word ultimately triumphs over the circumstances they face.

So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes,
so that he might again see God’s sunlight;
and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.

The word of the LORD is trustworthy.  It never changes.  But our understanding of it always admits improvement.  And it is never through our own effort that this is achieved.  We must be open in every moment to the guidance he longs to give us.

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

4 June 2013 - vision test

4 June 2013 - vision test

“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”

And whose image and likeness is Caesar?  He is made in the image and likeness of God, of course.  There are not separate religious and social spheres with different sets of obligations.  The LORD is the LORD of all.  Yet Caesar does have a God-given role to play.

"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar

Because Caesar is providing order to society by his government it is appropriate to give him stewardship over God's gift of money.  This is true even though he doesn't use it perfectly.  Even though some of the money may go to pay for pagan temples, sacrifices, and such, it is still a more important thing to support the social order.

These muddy situations can be difficult to navigate.  That is why we must trust in the LORD rather than ourselves.  We can't hold every variable in mind and weigh them accurately.  We must recognize the good to which the LORD calls us and act.  If we hold fast to him he will use our efforts for his glory.

The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.

One problem that can arise from trusting in ourselves is getting used to a certain presence or absence of blessings.  Once Tobit begins to suffer he has trouble accepting any blessings from the LORD.  He doesn't completely fail.  His heart is set on giving.  But it is set on it so much as to exclude receiving from the LORD.

I called to my wife and said: “Where did this goat come from? 
Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back to its owners; 
we have no right to eat stolen food!”

The LORD wants much more trust from Tobit.  Even though the LORD permits Tobit to suffer cataracts he still wants to provide for him.  Tobit's real blindness isn't from the cataracts, but rather from a failure to see the image of God in his wife as God uses her to provide for him in his time of trial.  Like the Pharisees he can only see the temporal aspect of things and so has trouble accepting that the larger purpose of God is at work.

They were utterly amazed at him.

May the words of Jesus shake us out of our old ways of looking at things.  May we see that they all belong to God.  May we accept the myriad ways in which he uses them to build his kingdom.  Whether for blessing or apparent curse, even if he works through the abilities of pagans, the LORD can build his kingdom if we just make room and allow him to do so.  So let us trust him more since we believe him when he tells us that he will work all things for our good.

An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

3 June 2013 - don't quit wine-ing

3 June 2013 - don't quit wine-ing

At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants
to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.

The LORD entrusts to us the great responsibility of spreading the Good News of his love to the world.  He longs to give the world joy through produce of this vineyard.  We must therefore heed the warnings he gives us.  He sends us many blessings to use along the way but they often require humility.  Without humility they become a liability for judgment as we take them into our own hands and misuse them.

So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.

We must keep in mind that this is the LORD's vineyard.  The most important thing is that he gets the produce that is his due.  We must not setup shop here as if we own the place.  We must be humble and faithful so that we can recognize the LORD in our midst.

He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

Remembering that we work in a vineyard that is not our own, for something more than our own pleasure, is fundamental.  Fear of the LORD makes it possible.  In this context, to fear him is synonymous with remembering his rights as the LORD of the vineyard.  He is generous to allow us to help him in producing the wine that will sate the worlds thirst.  Do we realize what a blessing this is?  Or do we merely feel pushed to work we don't want.  Our hearts must become generous like his for partnership to truly flourish.

His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just. 

We must become like Tobit, who easily forgets his own comfort to see to his kinsman

I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;

The LORD visits us to look for the fruit of our harvest.  Yet, being selfish, we tend to view him as a competitor rather than as the source of all that we have.  We tend to see him merely as someone who wants resources which are ours.  But he is the source of our resources.  He is the only place where their purposes can truly be fulfilled. Let us trust him when he comes to us.

Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.

2 June 2013 - get in line

2 June 2013 - get in line

In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,

The LORD works throughout history to prepare us for all he wants to do for us in Jesus Christ.  Here we have an example of this.  Melchizedek's name means king of righteousness.  He is the king of Salem and therefore the king of peace.  He is a priest of God.  He is clearly someone important as he is in a position to offer blessing to Abram and collect a tithe from him.  So even though his offering of bread and wine might seem to come out of the blue we take note of it anyway.  God put this priest here in a position to bless Abram and therefore, in turn, his entire family.  He put him here to prepare us for still greater blessings to come.  For Melchizedek's line of priesthood is to continue.

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

Jesus restores the priesthood of Melchizedek, the priesthood of the firstborn which the Israelites lost by worshipping the golden calf.  He is perfectly the king of righteousness because he is without sin.  He is perfectly the king of peace because he puts an end to sin which is the cause of discord.  And because  he is the sinless offering which overcomes death his priesthood abides forever.  This is the one sacrifice which takes away sin for all time.  It does not need to be repeated, only made present to each time and place.  He is a priest forever because he offers this sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary of eternity.  On earth our priests make this one perfect sacrifice present to us.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, 
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

He works through his priesthood to make this sacrifice available to every man, woman, and child just as he works through the disciples to feed them with the bread and fishes.

he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

And there is more than enough for the crowd, more than enough for the whole world.  Do we believe in the ability of the LORD to feed his people?  Or do we fall back on our own resources as the disciples  momentarily do?  Let us trust the LORD, knowing that after all are fed there will still be baskets left over.

They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.

1 June 2013 - the beginning of wisdom

1 June 2013 - the beginning of wisdom

When I was young and innocent,
I sought wisdom openly in my prayer
I prayed for her before the temple,
and I will seek her until the end,

The LORD stands ready to give us his wisdom in abundance.  We neglect it mainly because we think we don't need it.  Our human cleverness is doing the job so far, right?  We navigate the decisions of our lives without crashing and burning.  Or at least it looks this way when times are good.  It appears this way when the decisions are easier.

But even now we are missing the blessings we can know if we allow our lives to be more directed by God's wisdom.

My heart delighted in her,
My feet kept to the level path
because from earliest youth I was familiar with her.

The starting place for this wisdom is the fear of the LORD.  This is the awe before the all-powerful Father that allows us to truly take his words to heart, knowing that they are not like any other words we hear.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

When the Pharisees try to entrap Jesus with a difficult question he turns the tables because the wisdom of God dwells so perfectly in him.

“By what authority are you doing these things?

The first thing wisdom helps him with is to know that they are not asking him sincerely.  If we ask Jesus sincerely about his authority he tells us that it is from the Father (cf. John 5:37).  But he will not waste words of truth on people who aren't listening.  That would just make them used to hearing the words without hearing the meaning behind them.  Ultimately it could push them further from the truth.

And Jesus has the wisdom to trip them up in their own insincere question.  He makes the Pharisees subject their question to the popular consensus about John the Baptist.  Because pride is important to the Pharisees and not the truth they cannot bear to lose the crowd's approval.

Let us turn away from the Pharisaic pride within ourselves which wants to be wise without relying on God moment to moment.  Let us seek the wisdom that God delights to pour out so that the truth may be our lasting joy.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.