13 September 2025 - by their fruit

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Jesus had previously warned of blind guides. There was the risk of teachers who were not capable or qualified to teach the way that led to life, but who nonetheless taught it with full confidence and assurance. There were people who spoke who spoke in ignorance, those who spoke convenient fictions, and those who lied maliciously. Many of these spoke so persuasively as to seem prophetic. But how to sort out the false prophets from those who spoke the word of God accurately? 

A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

The way they could be known was by watching for the results they produced. It wouldn't be enough to assess their own curriculum vitae however. Many would be skilled enough in dissembling and deception to conceal the sickness within that causing them to rot away. Better, if possible, to see how their teaching affected their disciples. Did it make them more committed to loving God and neighbor? Or did it serve to provide them with convenient excuses to pursue their own base desires and self-interest? Since one wouldn't have direct access into the minds and hearts of others they would need to infer much from how they spoke, since "from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks". But all of this would still be liable to both misunderstanding and deception. The real final analysis was how the teachings of another affected oneself. Did they empower him to increasingly bear good fruit? Or did they seem to be the initial stages of an inner sickness sapping his spiritual life? The important idea was to not take the promises of a teacher at face value, or on the basis of his persuasiveness or his rhetorical skill, but to be on the watch for the results, and to make sure those results were aligned with one's own higher priorities.

I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.

How do we explain the fact that there are so many disciples of the one who is the teacher par excellence, and who nevertheless bear bad fruit? After all, if we judged Jesus exclusives on the merits of his modern disciples we would at best have an assessment that was mixed. But the disciples of Jesus are never in the wrong for their adherence to the teachings of Jesus. They are, however, often at fault for failing to live up to them. Even their failures are evidence for the veracity of teachings they should have taken more seriously. 

We ourselves can avoid the risk of false teachers and self-deception by rooting ourselves in Jesus, and building our lives upon him as upon a rock foundation. It is not enough to hear. We connect ourselves to him only to the degree that we build our lives on him.

Even if we have succumbed to deception and false promises, or even if we ourselves have taught inaccurately or falsely, it is not too late to begin building upon Jesus as our one foundation. After all, Paul was persuaded of things that were antithetical to the Gospel. But this did not stand in the way of him receiving mercy. In fact, it only served to make him among the greatest examples of the greatness of God's love.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.

Pat Barrett Featuring Chris Tomlin - Build My Life

12 September 2025 - blind guides

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?

One's first thought might be, 'Why choose a blind guide?' But the answer is evident, since it would not be obvious to the blind person whether or not a potential guide could see. No doubt such a guide would need to validate himself in some way. But this could come down to luck that his lack of sight had not yet been revealed by some inevitable crash or collision. This presents a real problem for those seeking instruction. By definition they do not know what they do not know.  

Blind guides might attempt to captivate potential disciples by promoting speculation, appealing to curiosity rather than reason. Curiositas is a negative in the traditional sense of the term. But in our modern sense curiosity can be considered neutral. When it leads us to seek for solid truth it is a positive. But its makes us prefer being led into ever deeper layers of mystery or conspiracy such that we don't actually even want to know the truth it is a negative. There are some truths which, it is true, are above our ability to understand with natural human reason. But it is not these that draw curiosity. Curiosity prefers to correlate lots of lower things in ways that give us the thrill of being insiders with a special understanding. Truth is something in which we can rest, but not ultimately something for which we can take credit. And this is especially true of faith, which we do not arrive at in virtue of the strength of our mental prowess, but which is rather a gift.

How do we discern good teachers from those who speak good game but whose aim is merely to increase the count of their disciple for the sake of pride and vainglory? Teachers who are not blind can actually see the path. And they can convey that sight, virtually, to those who cannot yet see it in ways that help them to avoid accidents along their journey. Their teaching will actually work. They will call something sinful, which time and the evidence of those who neglect their warnings will bear it out. Take contraception or no fault divorce as examples of warnings made that were unheeded which are now bearing rotten fruit. Closer to home, we may need to be told that our own vices, from lying, to gluttony, to lust, to gambling, will have consequences that make them not worth whatever petty gains they give. When we test these claims we may journey on a while longer without stumbling but we will inevitably discover them to be true, at least with sufficient self-reflection.

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

- CS Lewis 

Jesus asked why we are predisposed to notice the minor imperfections in our neighbors while ignoring our own blatant failings. No doubt this is because we don't want to see ourselves as we are. We prefer the illusion of ourselves as competent guides to the reality that we too impaired too travel safely, much less provide guidance to others. We preoccupy ourselves with others so that we can evade our own scrutiny. It is not that it is inherently wrong to want to provide guidance to others. However, we must first make sure that we are sufficiently grounded to do so, and that our motivation is for their sake.

You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

Jesus is the only guide with perfectly clear vision, with not even a splinter or a speck in his eye. His guidance that reveals us to ourselves. Our temptations to hypocrisy, our readiness to believe falsehood, only helps to demonstrate his claim. As the one who is Truth itself he alone is worthy of absolute trust. He can do even more than guide the blind in ways that are level and smooth. He himself can give them sight, he who is the light of the world.

Songs In His Presence - In Your Light

11 September 2025 - tough love

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.

If we were actually able to love our enemies they would lose a lot of the power that they have over us. It would imply that they were no longer able to manipulate us with violence and threats. Such things would no longer necessarily represent loss or failure on our part. We could follow the example of Jesus who, in receiving violent abuse peacefully, exposed the lie at the root of violence, and ultimately transformed it into life and forgiveness. 

The point we want to examine today is not so much about becoming a doormat or a punching bag for abuse. It is not loving to help to confirm someone and their deeply entrenched viciousness by supplying a willing victim. We're looking at a kind of love that can actually break the cycle. This is a love that can maintain compassion, kindness, humility, and gentleness toward others no matter how they behave toward us. This is important because although most of us think of ourselves as nice people, most of us also tend to have our limits, beyond which what you get back from us is something other than compassion and kindness. When asked about this, if we don't overthink it, we may answer that the person who pushed us too far proved they didn't deserve the normal rules of civility. This implies that we secretly believe that kindness is for the deserving only, gentleness only for those who are at least somewhat gentle in return. What does it even mean to be gentle in the face of aggression? What indeed! It is possible, in spite of how we may feel. And it can be quite wonderful in its effect. We can become evidence of the Lord's forgiveness, and instruments of his forgiveness to others.

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

When we remove the terms and conditions that others have to follow to receive our own love we also at the same time free ourselves from the need to perform to earn God's favor. We know intellectually that we don't ultimately earn anything from him, that all is in fact grace. But if we ourselves refuse to become channels of mercy freely given we won't really even receive it ourselves. We'll always secretly believe it to be a nice fiction, one we repeat to ourselves while we continue to try to somehow do enough to merit God's grace. But when we love others freely it will be because God himself is loving them freely through us. And when this grace is flowing we can't help but have confidence in his love for us as well.

And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.

In order to be able to love our enemies we have to walk in peace to a degree that is supernatural. We need the peace of Christ to be in control or else our knee-jerk response to threats and violence will quickly cause us to deviate from the path of love. We want this peace to describe us. It is obviously desirable. So why do we often fall short of it?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.

In order to dwell in the peace of Christ we need the word of Christ to dwell in us. This means it needs to characterize our lives in a more thick and dense way than is typical of our engagement with it. We're often content to hear it at mass and then forget about it. Or, perhaps, if we're going for extra credit, mass, podcasts, and bible studies. But it still never seems to connect up with our actual real quotidian existence. It does not become so much a part of us that we sing it as a way to express our deepest desires. It is not a regular part of the advice we receive or give. But we need help. There is only so much we can do on our own. We need a community with which to sing, and that is not singing merely to avoid awkward silence, but is rather motivated by love and by prayer. We need a community who cares about us enough to admonish us with the word when we need to be admonished and who would welcome such wisdom and as we can offer in turn.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

It is actually not that easy to have lives so consistent with the Gospel that we feel that everything we do is worthy of doing in the name of Jesus. Sometimes that is because we doubt Jesus is actually OK with us enjoying our lives. Sometimes it is because we're doing things that we know are below our calling as Christians. But Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full (see John 10:10). Because of this we can trust that, even if our lives are not perfectly in conformity with him now, that it would be good for them to be so, that it is worthy of our desire.

Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.

Matt Redman - Let Everything That Has Breath

10 September 2025 - not a poor excuse

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.

The beatitudes weren't just ways for those who were underprivileged to re-frame the negative aspects of their lives. Much less were they propaganda to control the neglected by contenting them with what they had on the basis of the promise of some future reward. Though it was clear that not everyone who was poor automatically always possessed the Kingdom of God it was nevertheless guaranteed by Jesus that it was possible for them to possess it. For those who made an idol of riches and sought their ultimate reward on earth it was impossible. But the poor was in a good position to seek the things of heaven.

Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

It is evident, as we have said, that the poor did not automatically seek or possess the Kingdom. Some would succumb to the idea that all of their problems could be solved if they had enough of what is on earth. It was natural for them to believe it, since they had a right to the things they lacked, and since having them would go a long way to eliminate their lack of comfort. But the poor were nevertheless capable of understanding that joy and fulfillment were possible with or without those things and the level of comfort they provided. 

We are all called to embrace a spiritual poverty wherein we refuse to make wealth an idol. It is easy to imagine that sufficient financial resources could solve all of our problems and grant us our idealized vision of a perfect life. But this illusion enslaves us to things that are less than ourselves. It prevents us from appropriating and appreciating the true treasure that is ours in Christ. If we do not learn to live from the reality that our life is hidden with Christ in God we are going to end up frustrated, no matter how rich we manage to become. Earthly riches come with an expiration date. They bring with them the nagging awareness that we can't cling to them forever. But we can cling to Christ forever. The promise of riches becomes ever more clearly false the more we pursue them. But the promise of Christ only becomes more real the more we seek him.

When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

It's hard to imagine that there is any particular virtue in being hungry, sad, or being hated. But there is in fact immense virtue in not being controlled by our hunger, our desire for immediate gratification, or our need to fit in. Those who are controlled by hunger, by their need to be always and only happy, or their need to never upset or displease anyone are not really free. They may feel alright in a moment when all of those desires are met. But it will always be a passing moment. That is why Jesus proclaimed woe to those who were experiencing those things during their earthly lives. They were too preoccupied to seek first the things of heaven. And the things they sought instead were destined to leave them disappointed.

We are called to put to death the parts of us that are earthly, that is, the parts that are overly dependent and fixated on the rewards of this life. Immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed are all permutations of seeking the things of earth in the wrong way and to the wrong degree. Doing so requires lying to one another since it does not respect the reality of the limitations of earthly things. But this ought not describe the behavior of Christians, although even Christians sometimes fall back into it. We have taken off the old self, but sometimes the old self still rises up within us. We have put on the new self. But we don't always invest in the renewal of knowledge it is meant to bring about in us. Part of that renewal is helping us to see clearly the things of earth in light of the things of heaven. When we do see clearly in that way we can seek what matters most without the risk of being fooled by that which matters so much less as to matter not at all in the grand scheme of things. It is only in the light of Christ that the divisions between peoples can finally cease. Without him we are all ultimately out for ourselves. But in him we become one.

Here there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all and in all.

Newsboys - Joy

9 September 2025 - empty, seductive philosophy

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy
according to the tradition of men

There are abundant examples of philosophies created by human beings and promising freedom in one way or another. Such political philosophies as communism and fascism both did this, identifying and absolutizing a problem, and making the eventual defeat of that problem the solution and the key to peace. We perhaps more frequently encounter philosophies of life make this promise of freedom. Whether we speak of relativism, hedonism, scientism, or many others, they all seem to promise freedom from constraints, and, in that freedom, fulfillment. Yet what these philosophies according to the tradition of men have in common is that they cannot deliver on what they promise. They tend to make one fragmentary element bear the weight of absolute importance, whether economics, pleasure, or something else. Not only does such a fragment always fail to bear such weight but the insistence that it should do so leads to a kind of spiritual captivity "to the elemental powers of the world". In seeking something less than God we find ourselves also seeking something that is less than human, or not human in the fullest and divinely revealed sense of the word. We thus allow ourselves to be dragged down by the elements, inanimate and lifeless things, like idols that cannot speak, see, or hear.

For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,
and you share in this fullness in him,
who is the head of every principality and power.

We need not become captivated by the vain philosophy because we have everything we need in Christ. In him dwells the fullness of divinity. And he shares that divinity with us. It is for this that our hearts truly long. And if we open ourselves to it we won't be at risk of submitting to substitutes. 

Apart from Christ we first find ourselves with a predisposition to follow after elemental powers and misguided philosophies because of the problem of sin in our hearts. This sin renders us dead in transgressions, and causes us to look to dead idols for fulfillment. But Jesus transforms our hearts with a spiritual circumcision and brings us to new life along with him. Until this moment we are more our less fair game for the elemental powers because of the bond against us which we signed by our complicity in sin. Fortunately, Jesus took this bond so seriously that we read that he obliterated it by the power of his cross. In doing so he destroyed the claim the powers of darkness had on us and led them away in triumph.

Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.

When we read of the healings performed by Jesus we are meant to understand not only the external miracle, but also and especially the inner transformation. If we understand this then we will know that we need not envy those who were privileged to receive particularly spectacular external signs. For what Jesus has done within us, canceling out our debt of sin, transforming our hearts from death to life, and making us to share in his own divinity- all of this is greater than any merely physical blessing.

Matt Maher - Alive Again

8 September 2025 - no accident

 

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Today we celebrate the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We do so because this birth was not incidental to God's plans to bring forth the messiah, destined to rule all of Israel, whose origin was from of old. Micah wrote that not just anyone would be given the privilege of giving birth to the savior, but that is was rather reserved for the one whom he called "she who is to give birth". 

Mary was the one destined to become a new Eve, succeeding in obedience where the first Eve failed through disobedience. The first Eve squandered the grace she had been given, choosing to decide right and wrong for herself, letting her trust in her creator die in her heart (see paragraph 397 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church). But the new Eve lived in a way that remained faithful to the fullness of grace she had been given (see Luke 1:28), and did so throughout every moment of her life. When she didn't understand she chose to trust rather than to decide for herself apart from God. She remained an active part of his plan, staying involved by asking for clarification, but never doubting that the God who made the universe could in fact clarify what was ambiguous or hidden. The first Eve had succumbed to the wiles of the serpent in the garden. The new Eve was the one who, through her offspring, would crush the head of that same servant. Her obedience was the first step in opening a new and still better paradise to humanity.

And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.

Mary was a part of God's plan of blessing for the world. As with all who received a special election or who were chosen in a particular and exalted way, she was chosen not for herself alone but for the sake of the world. She was Israel in miniature, blessed in order to become a light to the nations. And the particular task for which she received these blessings was that of motherhood. She was blessed to be the mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we receive salvation. But her blessings extend also to the fact that she is meant to be our mother as well, just as we are meant to be brothers and sisters of Christ. John the Evangelist was the first disciple who was asked to take Mary into his home as his mother. But he would not be the last. She continues to fulfill her role of mother in bringing Christ to birth within the hearts of believers. She continues to help open the way to a new heavenly paradise for those who entrust themselves to her care. Wherever she is welcomed the serpent continues to experience defeat.

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea (see Revelation 12:17).

We see in the genealogy of Jesus how meticulously God planned every detail that resulted in the eventual birth of the one who was to be his mother. When Joseph realized what he was dealing with he tried to extricate himself from the scene because he feared the holiness that was present and his own sense that he was unworthy. But not only Joseph, but we too, in spite of our more significant flaws, are invited to welcome Mary into our hearts and into our homes. As for Joseph, so too for us, she desires to reveal the savior. She longs for us to see the face of the one who is known as Emmanuel, God with us.

Jim Cowan - This Is Jesus

7 September 2025 - counting the cost

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?

The decision of whether or not to follow Jesus was a big one. It was more than a mere abstract question about whether one would put love first in his life. It was a question of whether one would go all the way with such a commitment as Jesus did, whether or not he would take up his own cross and come after Jesus. Jesus may have felt the need to express things in these terms because people were taking too lightly the decision to come along in his company. They were there for the highlight reel of good times, from the healings and exorcisms he performed, to the humbling of the scribes and the Pharisees through his wise responses to their testing. In short, they were there as observers. They wanted to be associated with him because they liked to imagine themselves as the sort of people who would be. They liked the self-image of people who were near to the popular and successful Jesus. And who wouldn't? But to follow Jesus, it was necessary to have a commitment that extended beyond the easy times. It was important to resolve in advance to be committed to his calling, lest the dark hour of the cross utterly overwhelm the naive sensibilities of fair-weather disciples.

Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?

What was asked of the followers of Jesus was actually something that was humanly impossible, like being asked to fight a battle without an insufficient number of soldiers. It was an invitation that ought to only be accepted in faith. Acting in faith Gideon was able to defeat a much larger army with a small number of troops. But God made it clear to him and those involved that it was only possible because God made it possible. In short, if we think discipleship within the range of our normal human abilities we will take the decision about whether or not to undertake it lightly, and therefore end in failure. The only way to achieve success is to take the question so seriously that we understand that what is being asked is far beyond us and therefore only undertake it because of our faith in the one who calls us. It is not possible for us alone. But the one who calls us makes it possible. 

In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.

If we don't renounce our own possessions in this way we will try to rely on them, along with our own abilities, our wisdom and cleverness, in our walk of discipleship. And this is a recipe for repeated disappointment. It is true that Jesus may well put to use all of our time, talent, and treasure. But none of these is enough, unless he is the one giving directions. It wasn't because of our resume that he invited us to discipleship. Rather, he wants to reveal his own power manifested in each of us. Let's give him the the committed consent of our hearts, making his desire our own.

Newsboys - Way Beyond Myself