16 March 2026 - believing and seeing

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

Jesus said this in order to call those who heard to deeper faith. The royal official in particular might have been uncertain of whether or not Jesus could help, desperate to try anything with a possibility of saving his son. Even when Jesus critiqued those who had to see in order to believe he persisted in his initial request. He asked him to go to the place where the child was so that the healing could be accomplished in a manifest and observable way. He intensified the request, and perhaps also his faith, by addressing Jesus as Lord. It was as though he was admitting the critique of Jesus was correct but also that he didn't know any other way to ask.

Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”

The response of Jesus was almost certainly a challenge to the royal official's faith. He called him Lord. But what did that really mean? Jesus responded to the effect that he would not and need not come but that the beloved son of the official would nevertheless be healed. If the official put his faith in the words of Jesus, he could believe in order to receive the desire of his heart. It reminds us of the lepers who were told by Jesus to show themselves to the priests and who were healed as they were obedient to his command. One might have thought that in his desperation the royal official would have pressured Jesus to come to be physically present to his son, to take every possible measure to see and make sure that the healing was accomplished. But it seemed rather that his desperation, which was certainly real, actually made him open to deeper faith. There was no indication of an argument with Jesus. Rather, he was told "You may go" and he went. As a consequence he received news along the way that what he had asked had been granted, precisely in the moment that Jesus had said, "Your son will live", precisely in the moment he believed.

and he and his whole household came to believe

The way that Jesus orchestrated the healing of the official's son brought him and his whole household to a deeper level of faith than if he had merely come and performed the healing in person. They now had every reason to trust the primacy of belief and understand how faith attains its goal. Yet stories such as this do also serve as signs for others. They are able to understand, not only that a sick child was healed, but also that a family was transformed, and it was through faith that it came about.

What Jesus did for the royal official's son was in fact a preview of coming attractions. The faith of the royal official called a little bit of the future described by Isaiah into the here and now of his present moment. He came to experience that:

I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;

Matt Maher - Lord, I Need You

 

15 March 2026 - blindsided

Today's Readings
(Audio)

In our readings today we have several examples of people who think they can see but cannot see as God sees. In the first reading the prophet Samuel seems to judge that Eliab is the Lord's anointed on the basis of his appearance. He has to be led by the Lord not to choose on that basis but to instead keep looking for what he would not have found on his own. In the Gospel we first have the disciples who saw the blind man and assumed the presence of sin. They had to be led by Jesus to see the man in a new way and understand his situation differently. His blindness was not about sin, but was rather to serve a purpose greater than himself in manifesting the works of God to the world. He who had every appearance of disadvantage would prove to be one for whom and through whom God could do great things, reversing the normal order of expectations. The crowds were not able to see beyond how things appeared to be. They defined the man by his blindness and so, once he could see, it was as though they themselves could no longer see him, as others said, "No, he just looks like him". 

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this 
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”

The Pharisees, who in virtue of their position as teachers, ought to have seen the most clearly of anyone, were in fact the most intractably blind. They assumed that Jesus was a sinner and therefore could not have performed the healing miracle attributed to him. They refused to see what was in fact the case based on the preconceptions. They ought to have recognized that Jesus was, more than David, the Lord's anointed. But they were so invested in the belief that he was not that they already had a rule in place "that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue". They claimed to be disciples of Moses, and therefore implied that they could not be disciples of Jesus, since they did not know from where he came. But this fact, which they saw as a strike against him, was really the whole point that they were missing. They did not know where he was from, since he himself was the Word of God who had been sent by the Father and become incarnate. The word of revelation of from Father that Moses had delivered to the people was now standing before them in human form.

Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin; 
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

Blindness itself is never a problem for God. The problem is an obstinate and willful refusal to recognize one's blindness in order to be healed. The blind man was sufficiently vulnerable before Jesus that he not only had his physical blindness healed but also his spiritual vision. He gained a more accurate insight, a clearer view, into the identity of Jesus than either the crowds or the Pharisees possessed.

“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.

People who had every appearance of vision proved to be the ones who were truly blind. The one who was truly blind was revealed to see things with absolute clarity. Thus continued the great reversal Jesus came to bring about, in which the proud were humbled, and the humble were exulted.

You were once darkness, 
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light, 
for light produces every kind of goodness 
and righteousness and truth.

Our lives do not end when we are enlightened at baptism, but rather begin. We must then choose to live on the basis of that new reality. We attain clarity about what is truly of the light and what is not. But we must learn to think and act in a way that is in keeping with the light. As new creations in Christ we must no longer be people who feel the need to hide in darkness to conceal the shameful nature of our deeds. Rather we should try to live in such a way that the light feels like where we belong. We do this by trying "to learn what is pleasing to the Lord". The more this is our chief motivation and the basis of our actions the less we will want to slip back into the darkness. In some ways it is easier to live in the darkness, but it always leads to disappointment. It's works are always fruitless. But the light, is, as it were, inevitable. And for those whom the Lord enlightens, and those who abide in that light, there is no greater joy.

 

DC Talk - In The Light

 

14 March 2026 - fast and loose

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.

Those who are convinced of their own righteousness have often managed to convince themselves of something they do not believe at a deeper level. Thus, they must meditate, like the Pharisee, on all of the awesome things they do, and use that list to compare themselves favorably to others. Since they have no vested interest in the righteousness of others they more readily see their flaws and tend to despise them. 

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself

There isn't much room for God in hearts like that of this Pharisee. God's presence is too unpredictable and dangerous to the ego for someone like that to risk opening himself too much to him. Thus, for the Pharisee, God was the recipient of an elaborate show-and-tell of all of the things the Pharisee did right, and how these seemed to make him compare favorably to the rest of humanity. He seemed to imply that if anyone went away justified it ought to be him.

But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

If we saw such individuals in our own churches we might easily mistake whether it was the modern version of the tax collector or of the Pharisee whose soul was in good shape. There might be individuals among us who do a sufficient number of superficially religious things to appear to be devout. They might not engage in any obvious public sin. They may know the faith well and never fail to check a required box in terms of their practice. By contrast, there may also be people who don't understand the faith so well and whose practice of the faith looks less pristine. Yet it may be these later are the ones who have truly opened themselves to God. Sometimes this is in fact easier for those who have achieved less, since they don't have an elaborate facade to present. They are, as it were, exposed before God. Their need for mercy has not been covered over by various pious practices. Even regular struggle with sin doesn't disqualify them if it makes them aware of their need for God. They often know all too well of their flawed and fallible human nature, against which they are unable to achieve victory apart from God's grace.

I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.

The fact that the Pharisee fasted and paid tithes ought to have been commendable. But he attributed these good works to himself, rather than God working within him. Thus the power that they ought to have been able to unleash in his life was negated by pride. This is why it is important for us to remember that it is God who produces good fruit within us. 

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13).

Thanksgiving for the grace we receive helps prevent our good works from inverting us, and directing our focus down toward our ego. It opens us to the presence of God and does not numb us to our ongoing need of his mercy. When we remember that all that we have and all that we are is from him we won't risk running from his presence. Instead we will be motivated to heed the words of the prophet Hosea:

Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!

Tom Booth - The Jesus Song

 

13 March 2026 - in the first place

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"Which is the first of all the commandments?"

Without an overriding priority there would be no way to settle a dispute when two commandments appeared to conflict. Thus, for example, we see that some Pharisees would even go so far as to set love of God and love of one's parents in opposition. They did this, not for God's sake, but to provide an easy way out of the responsibility toward one's parents. They gave the appearance of giving priority to honoring God. But their overarching principle was actually based on their egos. They knew the letter of the law, but that letter proved more than able to bring death rather than life, when in the wrong hands.

Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!

Putting God first was indeed the correct answer. It wasn't merely a matter of degrees, or a balancing act. Rather all one's love, with one's entire entire, soul, mind, and strength, ought to belong to God. But what then of one's neighbor? Would not such all-consuming love for God cause neglect for our duty toward others? For this reason, Jesus did not stop by mentioning love of God, even though, properly understood, it was sufficient.

The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.

Or, as in another Gospel, the "second is like it" (see Matthew 22:39). The greatness of these commandments exists when they are upheld together in harmony with one another. One cannot love God, whom one cannot see, while neglecting those creatures whom he has created in his own image and likeness. Indeed, one cannot even benefit God by loving him. God already possesses all perfections. He commands us to love him precisely so that we can become free, as he is free, to love others. We become like what we love. So, in truly loving God, we must become like him in his selflessness toward his creatures. Without love of neighbor our love for God can slip into subtle forms of idolatry, in which we worship God, not as he is, but rather as we wish him to be. Love for neighbor gives a concrete reality to the externality and otherness that is even more true of God himself. It isn't necessarily convenient, or what we would decide if left to us. Therefore love of neighbor can help purify us of idolatry. 

It is, however, also possible to love our neighbors poorly. We do this when we encourage them to settle for less than all God has for them, when we act as enablers of sinful behavior, like people providing alcohol to addicts. It is often easier for us to help and encourage others toward their immediate goals, even if those goals are harmful. We still see the reward of momentary satisfaction. And we are free to look away when the resultant self-destruction begins to spiral out of control. This is why it is not any love of neighbor whatever to which we are called. Rather, we must love them as God loves them, that is, unto himself. He, the Lord our God and Lord alone, is the goal of our lives and theirs. Only in remembering this do we love in a way that is worthy of the name.

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

It was the perfect obedience of Jesus that proved to be worth more than all offerings and sacrifices, both fulfilling them and surpassing them. Because he perfectly brought together in himself love of God and love of humanity we now set aside that whole former sacrificial economy in favor of the one sacrifice of the lamb of God. And not only that, but as we share in the fruit of his sacrificial love we become like him. We in turn becoming offerings to God for the sake of the world.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (see Romans 12:1).

Bob Fitts - One God

 

12 March 2026 - bad influences?

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."

It should have been obvious that Jesus driving out a demon is not something that the prince of demons would appreciate, nor something to which he would give the assistance of his power. But people in the crowd were looking for reasons to undermine Jesus, to impugn his ever growing reputation. They insinuated that he was too good to be true. This was in keeping with people's normal experience of the world. There really was no comparison. There was no one as selfless as Jesus, and none with such power. Because it was not normal they had some level of justification being a little defensive. But they went too far when they refused to recognize the finger of God at work in their midst. To discount that power they made implicit one of their assumptions, which was that real power was more likely to originate from the forces of darkness than elsewhere. Jesus rightly pointed out that their own people drove out demons by means of the same power at work in him. But clearly there was something different about what was happening through Jesus compared to those other exorcists, something that demanded explanation.

Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?

Jesus was entirely united within himself in his mission to seek the will of the Father and the salvation of humanity. Satan was completely opposed to this plan, and desired to prevent Jesus from his mission of gathering the human race together into his Kingdom. It was the crowds who were lingering between the two ultimate alternatives. Jesus thus reminded them, or tried to, that they were in fact on the same side, or should be, when he asked, "by whom do your own people drive them out?" He tried to demonstrate that the fact that they were scattering what he was trying to gather meant that they and not he were the ones succumbing to the influence of the evil one.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.

The reason Jesus was able to bring freedom was not because he was in league with the prince of darkness, but rather, because he was, at last, one stronger than the prince of darkness. This implied that apart from him the possessions of the evil one were relatively safe. Without him, it wasn't possible to get free on one's own or to make much of a dent in the armor of the powers of darkness. That implied that the only good way forward was not one of dividing people against Jesus, which would only play into the plan of the enemy. The only way was to join him in his mission of gathering. But this meant that Jesus must ultimately be the head, the center, and the cornerstone of the people who were gathered. This implied the need to break free, not only from the devil, but even from one's own ego which would not readily relinquish the leading role in one's life. The stories we make up and tell ourselves are shallow and unfulfilling. The story that can truly captivate and satisfy us is the Theo-drama that God is telling. May we set aside our insistence on creating our own private stories so that we may find our place in the larger meta-narrative of God's good plan.

Hillsong Worship - Stronger

 

11 March 2026 - fulfilled

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Not fulfill in the sense of finishing and setting aside. Jesus took upon himself the curses that were invoked by the way the law that had been violated in the past. He himself lived in perfect obedience to the law. He did this, not merely for our sakes, so that we wouldn't have to worry about obedience ourselves, but so that "the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (see Romans 8:4). John summarized the difference Jesus made when he wrote that "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (see John 1:17). The law was fulfilled by Jesus as though it were waiting on him to finally achieve the purpose for which it was given. 

Circumcision was never meant to be a merely external reality but point to the need of an inner transformation. Yet the law had to content itself with merely external obedience until Jesus came to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. People set one aspect of the law against another in order to justify themselves and their behavior until Jesus made it possible for his followers to seek first the Kingdom, which meant taking up their own crosses and following him. We need faith to please God (see Hebrews 11:6) since we know that "to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace" (see Romans 8:6). Our fallen flesh fends for itself. We need access to a higher mode of reality, and a better way of being, to which faith is the doorway. It allows us to share what Jesus did for us, but especially what he now wants to do in and through us.

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus deepened and internalized many aspects of the law, from the prohibition against killing, to that against committing adultery, to that against swearing falsely. This helped to illustrate that the point of the law was not merely to regulate external behavior, but to point to the sort of people we should want to become. It contained not only prohibited behaviors. When analyzed, it revealed genuine goods those prohibitions were designed to protect. Yet the condition of the people at the time required that exceptions sometimes be made for the hardness of their hearts (see Matthew 19:8). And these, not the law proper, were set aside by Jesus, as no longer necessary in the new economy of grace.

For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?

The law was meant to be received as a blessing, and the people did in fact receive it that way. However, preoccupation with the letter of the law allowed individuals to use it to insulate themselves from God's true plan and intention for them. Jesus incinerated that insulation in the fire of truth so that the law could achieve what Moses had so long ago said that it could: helping to draw near to God. Therefore may we too obey and teach it.

Maranatha! Music - I Will Delight (In The Law Of The Lord)

 

10 March 2026 - attitude adjusment

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”

We may think we're being generous when we suggest seven times as a limit to our forgiveness. But we are actually looking for an upward bound, a maximum that we need never exceed, a final degree after which we are free to cut others off from our mercy.

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’

The servant had some degree of self-interested, imperfect contrition. He had regret because of the order of punishment that was given. Yet even this imperfect plea was enough to move his master with compassion. He was not forgiven because he managed to manifest some kind of perfect attitude or complete conversion of heart. Up to and including the point that he begged for mercy it would not have been unthinkable for him to treat his fellow servants without it. It was once the master had shown mercy, once he had been forgiven, that change was not only possible, but expected. The mercy of the master ought to have been enough to drive his partial conversion to completion, to move him from self-interested mercy to share in his master's unlimited mercy. At that point he himself had been forgiven an unpayable debt. This experience of mercy that was not limited by the amount of the debt, nor based on performance, nor dependent on anything particularly good or noble about himself as a person, ought to have been transformative. It ought to have been an existential lesson that allowed him to show mercy to others. Indeed, we may speculate that part of the reason the master showed this servant mercy was partly so that he would in turn show mercy to the fellow servants of his who owed him much less than he himself had owed the master. It ought to have seemed easy by comparison, and something clearly expected of him.

His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’

When we begin our journey in our own experience of God's forgiveness we often do so with some measure of selfishness mixed in with our contrition. Our initial motivation is not often our inability to show mercy, but our immediate need to receive it. If we try to persist as Christians using only the resources and attitude with which we begin there is a real possibility that we will eventually come up short. We'll hit our seven forgiveness maximum beyond which we will feel free and justified in our selfishness. Even Peter posited such a limit until his own heart was healed by the Lord to go beyond it. We too, if we wish to live as the Lord's disciples, must be healed of the artificial limits on mercy we try to impose. It isn't automatic. In fact, we are sometimes frightened enough by our existential vulnerability to try to assuage our anxiety by getting what we can from this world, and from others. The better way to overcome such anxiety is to experience the abundance of God, beyond all limits, flowing through us into the world. A great example of one who knew this was Daniel could have pleaded for special protection for himself, as one who was genuinely not himself guilty, but who rather took the part of his people, knowing that it was not enough for he himself to be spared if others were lost. 

But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.

Vineyard - Help Us Our God