21 May 2014 - real fruit flavour
Remain in me
Jesus tells us to remain in him. The implication is to do so requires some participation on our part. It is something which we (assisted by grace) do.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
We can remain in him because he is already with us.
Remain in me
But how?
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
We need his words to remain in us. Jesus remains in us. He continues to speak. But we have to listen. We have to internalize. We have to treasure these things in our hearts like Mary does. We have to actively read his word because it is here that we hear him speaking to us.
For one who completely shapes his life and worldview according to this word can count on the promise of Jesus, "ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you." This is true precisely because Jesus remains in him and his words remain in him to such a great extent that this presence literally begin to shape what the man wants. Not happening for us? Delve more deeply into the word!
There are times when the word we have received isn't clear to us. Our practice at such times should imitate Paul and Barnabas. We should take our questions and "go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters". We should take it to Jerusalem where we will be "welcomed by the Church" who will help us to understand. The Church is enjoys a "compact unity" as a result of the Holy Spirit guiding it into all truth. We are called to this unity but our understanding sometimes need to be pruned so that we can bear more fruit. This isn't always enjoyable. Yet, when we avail ourselves of the Church's help here, we should "go rejoicing to the house of the Lord." Truth is here because this is the place where God most perfectly dwells. He prunes us not to destroy us but so that we can bear much fruit. He prunes us so that the life that flows from the sacraments can fill us more and more. When it does he can use us to build his kingdom.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
20 May 2014 - peacemeal
20 May 2014 - peacemeal
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
How does the world give peace? When we get exactly what we want when we want it we may experience fleeting peace in the world. Even when there are good things happening to us there is usually something at the peripheries that keeps us from experiencing complete peace. We may be walking in nature somewhere beautiful. The temperature may be perfect. The rivers and birdsong may be music to our ears. Even the breeze can seem like a gentle caress. That is when the mosquito buzzes by our ear. The fleeting peace of the moment is shattered. But we don't always get what we want. And we often get what we don't want. And even when we do get exactly what we want we can't hold on to it forever. Just as quickly the world promises peace somewhere else. It always keeps us looking from one thing to the next. It tries to keep us from noticing that it can never fully satisfy us.
The peace of the world is a peace dependent on circumstances. Circumstances in a fallen world can never give us lasting peace. Jesus has the ability to give us a deep peace the persists in spite of circumstances, in spite of our own feelings, a peace that is always available if we just trust him to give it to us.
How else does Paul get up after being stoned almost to death and yet re-enter the same city? When our circumstances do this to us we might try a different city. Or we might give up the mission entirely. Yet there are cities which we are called to enter. We are called to fulfill our mission in these places. But in these cities stones have already been thrown. We can't even think about these places without anxiety about the people within and the stones they are all too ready to throw. Paul has these human feelings, too. It isn't that he doesn't feel them. But there is something at a deeper level that empowers his decision making. There is a deeper peace that knows that circumstances don't have the last word. He knows that, ultimately, even death is defeated and can't beat him. He has the peace that comes from knowing the risen LORD. After all, we aren't promised perfect circumstances:
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
We need the peace of Christ to face these hardships. The peace of Christ can guard our hearts even in spite of these hardships. We need to use prayer and supplication to make our needs known to God. We don't deny our circumstances. But we entrust them to him. And then his peace guards us no matter what we encounter (cf. Phi. 4:6-7). We can easily imagine Paul doing this. He gets up from being stoned and immediately feels called back into the city. His mission there isn't finished. But he is afraid. His wounds are still fresh and painful. And every sting of pain is also the promise of a new stone thrown if he does return. So how does he do it? How does he go back? He must make this request of God. He must say, 'LORD, let me re-enter this city with the strength to do your will. I am afraid but you are the Risen One and you are with me.' He casts all his cares on Jesus who first cares for him (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7). Because he does this, trusting in the LORD in spite of his own feelings, the LORD is able to accomplish the purpose he has for him.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
The other aspect of living in the peace of Jesus which we shouldn't overlook is thanksgiving.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
We need to rejoice over what God does for us. When we treasure these things in our hearts (cf. Luk. 2:19) we seal the memories within us and prevent the enemy from tampering with them. If we don't give thanks it is easy for the enemy to steal these memories from us. Then when we face new trials it is harder for us to look back on his fidelity. When we face difficult we ought to say, "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done" (cf. Psa. 143:5).
Even when it seems like Jesus is distant, when it seems like he is moving away from us, we need to trust that he is moving toward the Father and bringing with him all who believe. We need to trust that, no matter how things look, the ruler of this world has no power of Jesus. Jesus within us is greater than the one who is in the world (cf. 1 Joh. 4:4). He has overcome the world (cf. Joh. 16:33). The context of the promise of peace from Jesus is precisely his imminent apparent absence and defeat. It is precisely here that we can claim his promise of peace. Circumstances change but this kingdom does not pass away.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
How does the world give peace? When we get exactly what we want when we want it we may experience fleeting peace in the world. Even when there are good things happening to us there is usually something at the peripheries that keeps us from experiencing complete peace. We may be walking in nature somewhere beautiful. The temperature may be perfect. The rivers and birdsong may be music to our ears. Even the breeze can seem like a gentle caress. That is when the mosquito buzzes by our ear. The fleeting peace of the moment is shattered. But we don't always get what we want. And we often get what we don't want. And even when we do get exactly what we want we can't hold on to it forever. Just as quickly the world promises peace somewhere else. It always keeps us looking from one thing to the next. It tries to keep us from noticing that it can never fully satisfy us.
The peace of the world is a peace dependent on circumstances. Circumstances in a fallen world can never give us lasting peace. Jesus has the ability to give us a deep peace the persists in spite of circumstances, in spite of our own feelings, a peace that is always available if we just trust him to give it to us.
How else does Paul get up after being stoned almost to death and yet re-enter the same city? When our circumstances do this to us we might try a different city. Or we might give up the mission entirely. Yet there are cities which we are called to enter. We are called to fulfill our mission in these places. But in these cities stones have already been thrown. We can't even think about these places without anxiety about the people within and the stones they are all too ready to throw. Paul has these human feelings, too. It isn't that he doesn't feel them. But there is something at a deeper level that empowers his decision making. There is a deeper peace that knows that circumstances don't have the last word. He knows that, ultimately, even death is defeated and can't beat him. He has the peace that comes from knowing the risen LORD. After all, we aren't promised perfect circumstances:
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
We need the peace of Christ to face these hardships. The peace of Christ can guard our hearts even in spite of these hardships. We need to use prayer and supplication to make our needs known to God. We don't deny our circumstances. But we entrust them to him. And then his peace guards us no matter what we encounter (cf. Phi. 4:6-7). We can easily imagine Paul doing this. He gets up from being stoned and immediately feels called back into the city. His mission there isn't finished. But he is afraid. His wounds are still fresh and painful. And every sting of pain is also the promise of a new stone thrown if he does return. So how does he do it? How does he go back? He must make this request of God. He must say, 'LORD, let me re-enter this city with the strength to do your will. I am afraid but you are the Risen One and you are with me.' He casts all his cares on Jesus who first cares for him (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7). Because he does this, trusting in the LORD in spite of his own feelings, the LORD is able to accomplish the purpose he has for him.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
The other aspect of living in the peace of Jesus which we shouldn't overlook is thanksgiving.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
We need to rejoice over what God does for us. When we treasure these things in our hearts (cf. Luk. 2:19) we seal the memories within us and prevent the enemy from tampering with them. If we don't give thanks it is easy for the enemy to steal these memories from us. Then when we face new trials it is harder for us to look back on his fidelity. When we face difficult we ought to say, "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done" (cf. Psa. 143:5).
Even when it seems like Jesus is distant, when it seems like he is moving away from us, we need to trust that he is moving toward the Father and bringing with him all who believe. We need to trust that, no matter how things look, the ruler of this world has no power of Jesus. Jesus within us is greater than the one who is in the world (cf. 1 Joh. 4:4). He has overcome the world (cf. Joh. 16:33). The context of the promise of peace from Jesus is precisely his imminent apparent absence and defeat. It is precisely here that we can claim his promise of peace. Circumstances change but this kingdom does not pass away.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
Monday, May 19, 2014
19 May 2014 - the big reveal
19 May 2014 - the big reveal
The disciple in today's reading wonders why Jesus will reveal himself to him but not to the world. Jesus reveals himself to us, too. But often we wish he would be more quick to reveal himself to the world. We ask the same question which the other Judas asks this morning. Does this disciple marvel at his apparent position of exclusivity? Or does wish to share what he has found with the world?
He hears Jesus say he will not be with him much longer. He knows that he needs the words of Jesus to open him to the grace in which he stands. He thinks that if Jesus will only be around for a short time then there will be no way for the world to know the grace that this Judas knows. They won't be able to experience Jesus and the Father making their dwelling with them because it all starts with keeping the word of Jesus. We ourselves hear Jesus speak at moments of conversion moments of profound intimacy and conversion. He speaks the words that open us to love him and keep his commandments. But then, later, in what we come to think of as the real world, when we want to share his good news, we don't know how to find him in order that he might speak these words to others. We take come to take it for granted that he is gone and that he revelation is something which is just for us. It is now something in the past. It is something we treasure, to be sure. It is still something on which we base our lives. But it is no longer a living word that can actually speak into our circumstances with power.
But Jesus tells us how to find his living word at any moment we desire:
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
Even though his concrete and visible presence is restricted to a certain point in history, to a certain people and culture, he nevertheless wants to speak to all men in all ages. Even before Jesus comes to us God "did not leave himself without withness" among the Gentiles. But now he speaks to them directly. He does so through his Spirit alive in his Church. He wants his relationship, where he dwells in us and we in him, to be just as real for us as for those who walk with him in Palestine.
This is the Spirit that fills Paul and Barnabas. It anoints their healing and their preaching. It speaks so directly to the circumstances in which they find themselves that those around them are tempted to worship them. They tell the crippled to stand in the power of the Spirit and the crippled don't just stand. They leap to their feet. The Holy Spirit manifests in Paul and Barnabas so strongly that the crowd is tempted to sacrifice to them. The humility that allows them to be so filled with the Spirit quickly turns aside any praise directed at them to the LORD who is the source of all mercy, truth, and blessing.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
But this is not meant just for them. God uses Paul and Barnabas to speak to that generation. He wants to equip us with his Spirit so that we can speak just as directly to this one until all peoples say with the psalmist, "Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory."
The disciple in today's reading wonders why Jesus will reveal himself to him but not to the world. Jesus reveals himself to us, too. But often we wish he would be more quick to reveal himself to the world. We ask the same question which the other Judas asks this morning. Does this disciple marvel at his apparent position of exclusivity? Or does wish to share what he has found with the world?
He hears Jesus say he will not be with him much longer. He knows that he needs the words of Jesus to open him to the grace in which he stands. He thinks that if Jesus will only be around for a short time then there will be no way for the world to know the grace that this Judas knows. They won't be able to experience Jesus and the Father making their dwelling with them because it all starts with keeping the word of Jesus. We ourselves hear Jesus speak at moments of conversion moments of profound intimacy and conversion. He speaks the words that open us to love him and keep his commandments. But then, later, in what we come to think of as the real world, when we want to share his good news, we don't know how to find him in order that he might speak these words to others. We take come to take it for granted that he is gone and that he revelation is something which is just for us. It is now something in the past. It is something we treasure, to be sure. It is still something on which we base our lives. But it is no longer a living word that can actually speak into our circumstances with power.
But Jesus tells us how to find his living word at any moment we desire:
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
Even though his concrete and visible presence is restricted to a certain point in history, to a certain people and culture, he nevertheless wants to speak to all men in all ages. Even before Jesus comes to us God "did not leave himself without withness" among the Gentiles. But now he speaks to them directly. He does so through his Spirit alive in his Church. He wants his relationship, where he dwells in us and we in him, to be just as real for us as for those who walk with him in Palestine.
This is the Spirit that fills Paul and Barnabas. It anoints their healing and their preaching. It speaks so directly to the circumstances in which they find themselves that those around them are tempted to worship them. They tell the crippled to stand in the power of the Spirit and the crippled don't just stand. They leap to their feet. The Holy Spirit manifests in Paul and Barnabas so strongly that the crowd is tempted to sacrifice to them. The humility that allows them to be so filled with the Spirit quickly turns aside any praise directed at them to the LORD who is the source of all mercy, truth, and blessing.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
But this is not meant just for them. God uses Paul and Barnabas to speak to that generation. He wants to equip us with his Spirit so that we can speak just as directly to this one until all peoples say with the psalmist, "Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory."
Sunday, May 18, 2014
18 May 2014 - something greater
18 May 2014 - something greater
At one time or another we all feel that we are meant to be a part of something greater than ourselves. There are many ways we try to fill this longing for purpose. But no matter what we build here we find that it does not last. We find that the stones which the builders select don't yield the results we seek. We try to build these edifices of earthly satisfaction with dead stones. Fitting people who are meant to live for more than just this present life into these structures which pass away is to treat them as dead stones. We force ourselves into places where we aren't designed to fit.
If we are to truly find purpose and meaning we will only find it in a structure which is built on living stones from top to bottom. Jesus invites us to come and be a part of this.
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
He is inviting us to lay aside the projects that can never really make us happy in favor of that which can give us the purpose that we are meant to have. This purpose can fill our very being and give us a strength of which we don't even imagine ourselves to be capable. The sense that we have since we are children, the sense that we are special, has become true in Jesus Christ.
You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises” of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
We are being built into a temple holy to the LORD (cf. Eph. 2:21). Our very bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19). Without Jesus we build on shifting sands. All our efforts are cast into the wind. Our hard work is washed away. The inexorable tides of change take it away. Entropy makes it harder and harder to recapture. But with the Risen One as the cornerstone we are being built into a temple which, while it is in the world, is not of the world. It is a temple of those whose citizenship is in heaven (cf. Phi. 3:20). It is a tree whose seed is imperishable (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23). As Paul tells us, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (cf. 1 Cor. 15:19).
That isn't us because this temple is built from the ground up with living stones. Living stones are animated by the Holy Spirit. And so Paul reminds us that "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life" to the members of this temple.
Jesus himself prepares the finishing touches of this temple by his death and resurrection:
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
We are united to Jesus. Because he is the cornerstone on which we are built we are part of something which stretches beyond this life. We do not yet experience it fully. We long for the places he prepares for us in heaven. Yet even now our connection to heaven defines us. It is the source of our life and our strength. This connection is Jesus himself, with whom we are united.
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
What the psalmist dimmly suggests we now realize fully.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
This temple is not just for us. It has everything for which the world hungers within its walls. Let us seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom as are the seven reputable men selected in today's reading from Acts. Literal widows in the world hunger for their bread. But it is not just them, we all feel abandoned and hungry. Everyone longs for this bread which is only found in the new temple. When the Spirit leads the Church is animated and able to welcome all of us. She is empowered to feed us the food only she can offer.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
At one time or another we all feel that we are meant to be a part of something greater than ourselves. There are many ways we try to fill this longing for purpose. But no matter what we build here we find that it does not last. We find that the stones which the builders select don't yield the results we seek. We try to build these edifices of earthly satisfaction with dead stones. Fitting people who are meant to live for more than just this present life into these structures which pass away is to treat them as dead stones. We force ourselves into places where we aren't designed to fit.
If we are to truly find purpose and meaning we will only find it in a structure which is built on living stones from top to bottom. Jesus invites us to come and be a part of this.
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
He is inviting us to lay aside the projects that can never really make us happy in favor of that which can give us the purpose that we are meant to have. This purpose can fill our very being and give us a strength of which we don't even imagine ourselves to be capable. The sense that we have since we are children, the sense that we are special, has become true in Jesus Christ.
You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises” of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
We are being built into a temple holy to the LORD (cf. Eph. 2:21). Our very bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19). Without Jesus we build on shifting sands. All our efforts are cast into the wind. Our hard work is washed away. The inexorable tides of change take it away. Entropy makes it harder and harder to recapture. But with the Risen One as the cornerstone we are being built into a temple which, while it is in the world, is not of the world. It is a temple of those whose citizenship is in heaven (cf. Phi. 3:20). It is a tree whose seed is imperishable (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23). As Paul tells us, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (cf. 1 Cor. 15:19).
That isn't us because this temple is built from the ground up with living stones. Living stones are animated by the Holy Spirit. And so Paul reminds us that "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life" to the members of this temple.
Jesus himself prepares the finishing touches of this temple by his death and resurrection:
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
We are united to Jesus. Because he is the cornerstone on which we are built we are part of something which stretches beyond this life. We do not yet experience it fully. We long for the places he prepares for us in heaven. Yet even now our connection to heaven defines us. It is the source of our life and our strength. This connection is Jesus himself, with whom we are united.
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
What the psalmist dimmly suggests we now realize fully.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
This temple is not just for us. It has everything for which the world hungers within its walls. Let us seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom as are the seven reputable men selected in today's reading from Acts. Literal widows in the world hunger for their bread. But it is not just them, we all feel abandoned and hungry. Everyone longs for this bread which is only found in the new temple. When the Spirit leads the Church is animated and able to welcome all of us. She is empowered to feed us the food only she can offer.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
Saturday, May 17, 2014
17 May 2014 - all the ends of the earth
17 May 2014 - all the ends of the earth
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
We can't just look at the Father. We want to see him, of course. We sense that if we see him we will finally find an answer to all the longings of our hearts. But who shall climb the mountain of the LORD and stand in his holy place? Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart! (cf. Psa. 24:3). Without holiness no one can see God (cf. Heb. 12:14). We are like Moses who will surely die if we look upon his glory directly. What an impasse! Purpose and meaning, but it will kill us to behold directly! But Jesus tells us that the pure of heart shall see God. They shall have their longings fulfilled. And while for man this level of purity is impossible with God all things are possible (cf. Mat. 19:26).
Philip asks Jesus to show them Father and in doing so reveals that the disciples don't see Jesus clearly either. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father. To see Jesus is a transformative thing. There are many levels of seeing with him. We imagine to see and walk with the physical Jesus at that time would be so helpful. But the crowds see a mere person from Nazareth. Yet if they continue to look they will be changed from one degree of glory to the next (cf. 2 Cor 3:18). As we fix our gaze on Jesus in the places he is present to us we are more and more purified to see him. Looking at him is the very thing that provides the light to see him. He teaches us to see with the eyes of our hearts (cf. Eph 1:18) that he is present in the poor and disadvantaged, present in his people gathered, present in his word, and above all present in the Eucharistic species. When we see this way we begin to behold him not just as he appears at a superficial level but as he truly is. Only gazing upon the adorable Trinity itself could enlighten us like this. Only the act of beholding that bond of love could transform us like this. How could selfishness and pride do anything but melt away before this vision?
Is it any wonder that the whole city gathers to hear Paul talk about this? Jesus is a light to the nations and the nations are tired of darkness. It is good to know that the world wants what Jesus gives. When we realize this we are more quick to offer it to them. Hopefully even today the world can see that the "disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." That's us they're talking about! Hopefully the world will seek the source of that joy and that light themselves until:
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
We can't just look at the Father. We want to see him, of course. We sense that if we see him we will finally find an answer to all the longings of our hearts. But who shall climb the mountain of the LORD and stand in his holy place? Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart! (cf. Psa. 24:3). Without holiness no one can see God (cf. Heb. 12:14). We are like Moses who will surely die if we look upon his glory directly. What an impasse! Purpose and meaning, but it will kill us to behold directly! But Jesus tells us that the pure of heart shall see God. They shall have their longings fulfilled. And while for man this level of purity is impossible with God all things are possible (cf. Mat. 19:26).
Philip asks Jesus to show them Father and in doing so reveals that the disciples don't see Jesus clearly either. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father. To see Jesus is a transformative thing. There are many levels of seeing with him. We imagine to see and walk with the physical Jesus at that time would be so helpful. But the crowds see a mere person from Nazareth. Yet if they continue to look they will be changed from one degree of glory to the next (cf. 2 Cor 3:18). As we fix our gaze on Jesus in the places he is present to us we are more and more purified to see him. Looking at him is the very thing that provides the light to see him. He teaches us to see with the eyes of our hearts (cf. Eph 1:18) that he is present in the poor and disadvantaged, present in his people gathered, present in his word, and above all present in the Eucharistic species. When we see this way we begin to behold him not just as he appears at a superficial level but as he truly is. Only gazing upon the adorable Trinity itself could enlighten us like this. Only the act of beholding that bond of love could transform us like this. How could selfishness and pride do anything but melt away before this vision?
Is it any wonder that the whole city gathers to hear Paul talk about this? Jesus is a light to the nations and the nations are tired of darkness. It is good to know that the world wants what Jesus gives. When we realize this we are more quick to offer it to them. Hopefully even today the world can see that the "disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." That's us they're talking about! Hopefully the world will seek the source of that joy and that light themselves until:
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
Friday, May 16, 2014
16 May 2014 - way better
16 May 2014 - way better
In Romans we read that Jesus is "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead" (cf. Rom 1:4). This is what Paul is preaching about in Antioch this morning. He tells us because he is risen Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Then he quotes the second psalm.
You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
'This day' for Jesus is the day of the resurrection. Jesus is revealed as the one begotten of God. He is not begotten at the resurrection but from all eternity. It is in the resurrection that his relationship with the Father is revealed and vindicated. This is why Paul refers to the second psalm when he talks about it. This psalm is used for enthroning a king. All the kings of Israel are meant to have a filial relationship to the Father. But for all of them prior to Jesus it is a metaphor, and one which is always lived imperfectly.
In those kings and for ourselves sin and death keep us from the Father. Only the one who has come down from heaven, the one who is without sin, truly knows the Father, and only he can reveal him (cf. Luk. 10:22, Mat. 11:27). "No one comes to the Father except through me", as he tells us. It is an unbridgeable gap for us on our own.
But Jesus is willing to bridge that gap in his very flesh. He is will to unite heaven and earth in himself. He wants to be "the way and the truth and the life" for you and for me. When Jesus is on the cross we wonder where this way can lead. It is a bridge disappearing into darkness. His claims of kingship seem equally insubstantial as he suffers before our eyes. He seems impotent before the inexorable power of death.
All of Israel sees this death happen. They're pretty sure that Jesus is dead, just another revolutionary or zealot. They think that he can't be a way which goes anywhere. If this is his power, they think, how can he be king? And we think these same things when Jesus doesn't act when we expect him to do so. That is why we need to hear Paul tell us:
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
Because of the resurrection all of the claims which Jesus makes are proven. He is the King of kings. He is the Son of God, for the Father himself has spoken for him by raising him up. Even his humanity is now enthroned by this resurrection. We can now see why he himself is the way. He is the way beyond death to life eternal. All of this is revealed by his resurrection! Imperfect metaphor gives way as the true king is revealed in all his glory.
“I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.”
Since we have such a great king, a king who only takes reveals himself out of love for us, let us serve him with joy!
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
Jesus, reveal yourself as the risen one to us! Show us why you are the way so that we can follow you with reckless abandon!
In Romans we read that Jesus is "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead" (cf. Rom 1:4). This is what Paul is preaching about in Antioch this morning. He tells us because he is risen Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Then he quotes the second psalm.
You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
'This day' for Jesus is the day of the resurrection. Jesus is revealed as the one begotten of God. He is not begotten at the resurrection but from all eternity. It is in the resurrection that his relationship with the Father is revealed and vindicated. This is why Paul refers to the second psalm when he talks about it. This psalm is used for enthroning a king. All the kings of Israel are meant to have a filial relationship to the Father. But for all of them prior to Jesus it is a metaphor, and one which is always lived imperfectly.
In those kings and for ourselves sin and death keep us from the Father. Only the one who has come down from heaven, the one who is without sin, truly knows the Father, and only he can reveal him (cf. Luk. 10:22, Mat. 11:27). "No one comes to the Father except through me", as he tells us. It is an unbridgeable gap for us on our own.
But Jesus is willing to bridge that gap in his very flesh. He is will to unite heaven and earth in himself. He wants to be "the way and the truth and the life" for you and for me. When Jesus is on the cross we wonder where this way can lead. It is a bridge disappearing into darkness. His claims of kingship seem equally insubstantial as he suffers before our eyes. He seems impotent before the inexorable power of death.
All of Israel sees this death happen. They're pretty sure that Jesus is dead, just another revolutionary or zealot. They think that he can't be a way which goes anywhere. If this is his power, they think, how can he be king? And we think these same things when Jesus doesn't act when we expect him to do so. That is why we need to hear Paul tell us:
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
Because of the resurrection all of the claims which Jesus makes are proven. He is the King of kings. He is the Son of God, for the Father himself has spoken for him by raising him up. Even his humanity is now enthroned by this resurrection. We can now see why he himself is the way. He is the way beyond death to life eternal. All of this is revealed by his resurrection! Imperfect metaphor gives way as the true king is revealed in all his glory.
“I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.”
Since we have such a great king, a king who only takes reveals himself out of love for us, let us serve him with joy!
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
Jesus, reveal yourself as the risen one to us! Show us why you are the way so that we can follow you with reckless abandon!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
15 May 2014 - as promised
15 May 2014 - as promised
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king;
of him he testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
David has an amazing heart. He is a man after God's own heart. God's priorities are his priorities. He loves God and God's people with profound dedication. Most of the time he even manages to put them before himself. Because of this he can more truly say to God, "You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior" than anyone who lives before him. His heart and his life show the DNA of God.
But David is just a prelude. His life, while good, is marred by sin. He repents quickly, showing again the goodness of his heart, but even ignoring that fiasco his reign still ultimately ends in death. He is still only human. Even though he is so good we see that his reign is still temporary. It still calls out for something more.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
David's life is a preview of the love which Jesus displays even more perfectly when he washes the feet of his disciples, the love which comes not to be served but to serve. It is the love which gives its life as a ransom for many. David shows us how good goodness can be in order to teach our hearts to long for that goodness in an even more perfect and enduring way. We see how good it is our hearts realize that it is still meant to be even more.
John the Baptist is quick to say of himself, "I am not he" so that we can fully hear Jesus when he steps on to the scene.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Jesus is the one for whom humanity waits. He is the only one that can fully embody the goodness for which David teaches us to long. This is because, far more than David, Jesus can call God his Father (cf. Wis. 2:16). Like David, like ourselves, he is tempted. But unlike all before him he does not sin (cf. Heb. 4:15). He has the same sympathy for the rest of us that David has. But since he doesn't fall into these snares himself he is able to lift up the rest of us. Like David, he is made the head of God's kingdom. But unlike David, "of his reign there will be no end" (cf. Luk 1:33). Finally, we find the goodness for which we long. "No one is good but God alone" (cf. Mar. 10:8) which is why this can only be "I AM" himself. Finally in him we find the place where our hearts can dwell secure. In every other thing and every other person no matter how very good they might be there is always an underlying current of anxiety because we know that we will eventually experience a failing of that goodness or the sadness when it ends. In Jesus, the Son, the great I AM himself, we can finally know rest. This is the deep truth of which the book of Hebrews reminds us when it says that "there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (cf. Heb. 4:9). This is the rest we can have because, in Jesus, God definitively says "My kindness is established forever".
So let us receive Jesus and the one who sends him. He is our resting place. To that end he tells us that we must also receive the messengers he himself sends to us. His messengers are no mere preludes as David is. Instead they bring us very presence. To reject them is to reject Jesus himself. To persecute them is to persecute him. They share in the divine Sonship in a way that even David does not. Through the Holy Spirit they cry out "Abba! Father!" (cf. Gal. 4:6, Rom. 8:15). And, perhaps frighteningly, we share in this authority to the degree that we receive it. Which means that we can't stop at receiving the messengers of Jesus. We can't stop at receiving Jesus or even the Father who sends him. We must go out and make him known! This rest, this peace, is not just for us. If we try to grasp it so closely we will lose it. We can only keep it if we give it away.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king;
of him he testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
David has an amazing heart. He is a man after God's own heart. God's priorities are his priorities. He loves God and God's people with profound dedication. Most of the time he even manages to put them before himself. Because of this he can more truly say to God, "You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior" than anyone who lives before him. His heart and his life show the DNA of God.
But David is just a prelude. His life, while good, is marred by sin. He repents quickly, showing again the goodness of his heart, but even ignoring that fiasco his reign still ultimately ends in death. He is still only human. Even though he is so good we see that his reign is still temporary. It still calls out for something more.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
David's life is a preview of the love which Jesus displays even more perfectly when he washes the feet of his disciples, the love which comes not to be served but to serve. It is the love which gives its life as a ransom for many. David shows us how good goodness can be in order to teach our hearts to long for that goodness in an even more perfect and enduring way. We see how good it is our hearts realize that it is still meant to be even more.
John the Baptist is quick to say of himself, "I am not he" so that we can fully hear Jesus when he steps on to the scene.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Jesus is the one for whom humanity waits. He is the only one that can fully embody the goodness for which David teaches us to long. This is because, far more than David, Jesus can call God his Father (cf. Wis. 2:16). Like David, like ourselves, he is tempted. But unlike all before him he does not sin (cf. Heb. 4:15). He has the same sympathy for the rest of us that David has. But since he doesn't fall into these snares himself he is able to lift up the rest of us. Like David, he is made the head of God's kingdom. But unlike David, "of his reign there will be no end" (cf. Luk 1:33). Finally, we find the goodness for which we long. "No one is good but God alone" (cf. Mar. 10:8) which is why this can only be "I AM" himself. Finally in him we find the place where our hearts can dwell secure. In every other thing and every other person no matter how very good they might be there is always an underlying current of anxiety because we know that we will eventually experience a failing of that goodness or the sadness when it ends. In Jesus, the Son, the great I AM himself, we can finally know rest. This is the deep truth of which the book of Hebrews reminds us when it says that "there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (cf. Heb. 4:9). This is the rest we can have because, in Jesus, God definitively says "My kindness is established forever".
So let us receive Jesus and the one who sends him. He is our resting place. To that end he tells us that we must also receive the messengers he himself sends to us. His messengers are no mere preludes as David is. Instead they bring us very presence. To reject them is to reject Jesus himself. To persecute them is to persecute him. They share in the divine Sonship in a way that even David does not. Through the Holy Spirit they cry out "Abba! Father!" (cf. Gal. 4:6, Rom. 8:15). And, perhaps frighteningly, we share in this authority to the degree that we receive it. Which means that we can't stop at receiving the messengers of Jesus. We can't stop at receiving Jesus or even the Father who sends him. We must go out and make him known! This rest, this peace, is not just for us. If we try to grasp it so closely we will lose it. We can only keep it if we give it away.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
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