14 September 2026 - God so loved

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

  

No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.

Fallen humanity often expressed the desire to go up to heaven in order to make a name for themselves, as was first recorded at the tower of Babel (see Genesis 11:4). But this project of bridging the gap between humanity and divinity, of transcending our own limitations and weaknesses by our own effort and ingenuity, was never going to succeed. Thus, while our knowledge of earthly things was  incomplete but real, our knowledge of heavenly realities was only possible if one from heaven revealed them to us. It was for this reason that Jesus came. He unveiled the mystery of the new birth of baptism to which human birth pointed, and explained to Nicodemus that it was the only way to enter the kingdom of God. Yet there was more above and beyond individual heavenly mysteries and their earthly counterparts. What Jesus came to reveal above all else was his Father, and the love of the Triune God for mankind.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

In the time of Moses the serpents were sent as punishment for disobedience, leading to death for those bitten by them. In this they were a sign of sin itself, of which death was unavoidable consequence. But we may infer that God was not merely expecting the serpents to destroy his people. He was counting on people turning toward him in there affliction and on Moses interceding for forgiveness and life for his people. So too in the case of Adam and Eve: death was not merely issued as a punishment from a vindictive and angry God. Rather it was meant to be medicinal, preventing people from seeking permanence in impermanent things. For hearts made for immortality it presented two choices: turn to God in hope or despair. God intended to nourish precisely this longing for himself in his creatures so that he could ultimately satisfy it.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.

God the Father deeply desired that people would receive his Son, and through him salvation and eternal life. But this was about more than simply listening to his teaching, though that came from heaven. It was about seeing him lifted up, first on the cross, and then risen and glorified. But the severity of sin made it so that the cross was not optional or accidental. There was no way to Easter that did not proceed through the cross. Salvation made it normatively necessary for people to reckon with what the cross meant for them specifically. It revealed exactly what we were being saved from, just as did the seraph serpents. It did this precisely to reveal the depths of the love of God who did not abandon us even in spite of the price of our disobedience for his beloved only Son. Indeed, even seeing the suffering of his Son from his vantage point of eternity, his love for humanity never wavered. He never second guessed his plan to save us through him.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

In terms of what God asked of humanity in order to receive salvation we can say it was pretty minimal compared to what might have been. Basically it came down to believing in Jesus and allowing that belief to change our lives. He didn't demand pilgrimages or penances or any other great works of ours, much less the building of a tower to heaven. He offered us salvation as a free gift and an open invitation. But the reality of the situation was that it was a rescue mission. And those who willfully and obstinately refused to welcome it would remain unrescued. It was terrifyingly possible to go down with the sinking ship of the world in its present form. Yet some might prefer to do this because we know the alternative is to have the attitude and follow the example set for us by Christ Jesus, who did not cling to what was his own by right, but trusted in his Father to care for him and provide for him. We too must surrender our own lives into the hands of the Father in humility if we hope to be raised up with Jesus and to live with him forever. We could call that difficult. But the only thing harder, ultimately, is any other path.

But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.

 

 

We The Kingdom - God So Loved

 

13 September 2026 - learning the right lesson

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan. 

It is possible to receive forgiveness but take a lesson from it that is entirely wrong, the opposite of what we ought learn. We all stand before God with a debt even larger than the massive debt of the servant in this parable. Hopefully we all do in fact come to God for forgiveness. But some of us come to see this forgiveness in such a way that we believe that we have discharged our obligations toward our heavenly King, that we no longer stand in a relationship of dependence toward him. The idea that gets us in trouble is that our lives are ours to do with what we please once we have forgiveness. This has an initial appeal. But it leads to existential terror when we realize that on our own we have nothing to protect us from the various negative circumstances that might occur in life. We must, as it were, become the gods of our own lives, jobs to which we are not well suited. Without remaining rooted in the compassion of the king we can only root our identity in changing and corruptible things. We can't shake the vague sense that we our very selves might be destroyed by any negative change of our fortune. And so we become desperate, even though we have been forgiven and should know better.

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount. 
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’

If we want to know how deeply we have received the mercy of God into our own hearts we ought to look at how we treat others more than our subjective feelings about it or whether we enjoy singing songs praising him for it. We are more than able to plaster over the exterior of our hearts, but still try to extract all we can from others as though our very continued existence depends upon it. The point of forgiveness is not that we can henceforth be independent of God and then flail around desperately as we try to fend for ourselves. It is so that we will learn to trust his love and remain rooted in it. Given that we know all this, and yet still sometimes demand from creatures what we ought to receive from God alone, how can we take precautions against such flawed tenancies? Our first and second readings have some pointed suggestions.

remember death and decay, and cease from sin!

If we remember our own finitude we won't try to extract from creatures a security or certainty that they cannot offer. We will thus be more free to show them compassion, to let the mercy we first receive from God flow through us to them.

For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;

If we remember that our lives are no longer meant to be about us but about Jesus we will not make the mistake of forgetting his agenda to pursue our own. We will treat our brothers and sisters as those who should be shown mercy and love since this is God's will for them just as it is for us.

remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.

If we remember the covenant of the Lord we will recognize that the entire story of salvation history is built on the tender mercy of our loving heavenly Father. We won't attempt or desire to be free and independent of one who has loved us so constantly and so well. We will see the story would have ended long ago if God was committed to strict justice, but which continues precisely because his heart is one of mercy. His mercy is meant to be the firm foundation of our own lives, and the basis of our own relationship with others. This should not become for us a mere obligation or a duty to avoid certain kinds of stingy behavior. It is at least that. But it is meant to give us the confidence in God's love that transforms our own hearts so that we genuinely want to show others the love we have received from him.

The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion

 

Songs In His Presence - So Bless The Lord

 

12 September 2026 - saying vs doing

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Many people have philosophies of life or religious beliefs that apparently have little to no direct impact on how they actually live. These are more like aesthetic choices than convictions that result in concrete actions in the lives of those who profess them. For example, people, particularly in the West, may claim to be Buddhist because they like the chill vibes, but without undertaking the moral rigor that be required of a real traditional practitioner. They like it because they believe they can continue to be conformed to the culture and morality of the world around them while still holding beliefs that they can rehearse to comfort themselves. We expect that the lack of rigorous moral standards is also what makes the new age movement and the modern variations of paganism to be as popular as they seem to have become. Professing these beliefs is like a life style choice by which people create themselves as characters in their own fantasy stories. Yet it is doubtless better than staring into the void of an uncaring universe. They desire the comfort of self-expression, and the comfort of knowing that there truly is a spiritual aspect of reality, but without being forced to do anything difficult, anything that contravenes their natural instincts and desires. People in the world being this way is not surprising. More sad, however, is that there are also Christians who treat their own religion this way. Many of us use it more as an accessory of self-expression and a story to comfort ourselves in difficult times but without any concrete reality in our lives. 

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?

We may claim to care about the words of Jesus, even to study them and learn their meaning. But we often do so without putting his words into practice in our lives. It is not at all clear that we can truly call such a response faith. The words themselves are only one part of what we need for a solid foundation for our lives. The other part is to let those words change us in such a way that our lives and actions are actually different as a consequence. If we do not do this his words may provide some emotional comfort but will not withstand the real storms of our lives. Only when we hear his word, believe it, and respond, do we actually begin to build a foundation that is adequate to the difficult life circumstances we will also inevitable face eventually. And it is definitely better to do this building while the weather is still pleasant than when after the floods are already here.

We are often easily convinced that we not only believe the words of Jesus, but that are also doing them. Or, if not doing them exactly, at least not egregiously transgressing them. But we ought to inspect ourselves more closely. It isn't important only that we do not murder others, or that we don't insult them. We must be kind. It isn't important only that we don't commit adultery, or that we avoid pornography. We must be chaste. We should look to ourselves to see if we are bearing the fruit that Paul tells us should be normal for Christians filled with the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (see Galatians 5:22-23).

Importantly, we ourselves are not the source of the fruits we hope to bear, even though the actions that produce them are our own genuinely human actions. They are called fruits of the Spirit for a reason. We can't hope to produce them without his presence in our hearts. He himself is in  fact "the store of goodness" in and "the fullness of the heart" about which Jesus speaks in today's Gospel. The Holy Spirit is already within those of us who are baptized. What remains is to let him out.

Let's take a page from Paul and refuse to participate in the false spiritualities that still surround us in our world (including all versions of Christianity lite). We have in Jesus a better feast.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons.
You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.

Brandon Lake - Son Of Heaven

 

11 September 2026 - misguided?

 

 

Today's Readings

(Audio)

 

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

If the teacher has a wooden beam in his eye, as did the Pharisees, it is inevitable that he will lead his students into a pit. The Pharisees were exceptionally practiced at finding all of the splinters in the eyes of others, but were unable to recognize the beams occluding their own vision. They pointed out all of the subtle and nuanced ways in which others did not meet their standards for adherence to the law. But they failed to recognize the corruption in their own hearts. There was no way for students who were being fed a curriculum like this to become superior to the teachers from whom they received it. They would instead become like their teacher. With the Pharisees this was not what one would want. But in the case of the disciples of Jesus it was good news indeed that his disciples could become like him. Only Jesus had the clarity of vision to help others remove the beams from their eyes, since his own eyes were not affected by any splinter of sin. This clarity that was within him was what made him light to others, not to all, but to those who would accept him (see John 1:9-13) and walk by his light.

The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going (see John 12:35).

Who is our teacher? We would like to say that it is Jesus. But are our lives becoming more like his? Are we first addressing the issues in our own lives and in our own hearts so that we can have a similar clarity of vision to that of Jesus? Or are we distracting ourselves from our own issues by focusing on those of others? We do want to be able to be of assistance to others working through their own moral issues. But in order to do more harm than good for them we must first ensure that our motives are as pure as possible. If we act in ways that seem superficially helpful but are intrinsically selfish we will do damage to both them and to ourselves.

We want to be sufficiently free from our own sinful compulsions that they don't interfere with our ability to preach the Gospel, since we all might say with Paul, "woe to me if I do not preach it!". Rather than being controlled by our own egos and living for ourselves we need the freedom to give ourselves to others "for the sake of the Gospel" in order to "win over as many as possible". Doing so take diligence and discipline. But it is worth it since the reward a crown that is"imperishable".

 

Vineyard Music - Shine Jesus Shine

 

10 September 2026 - the other cheek

 

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.

Jesus didn't add, "Unless they are a politician", or "Unless they should know better", or "Unless we gave them several chances already". He would not have excluded any forum, family, the public square, or comments section on social media. Our real enemies are not necessarily those with whom we are at war. Often we prefer not even to address our enemies as enemies so that we can think of ourselves as people too nice to have them. But generally, other people could probably identify our enemies from how we speak about them and behave toward them. They are the ones toward whom we refuse to do good because, we imagine, they don't deserve it. They are the ones that we would rather curse than say anything nice about, those we would rather publicize their failures rather than to pray for them.

To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.

In our own day these individuals are not often striking us physically or demanding our actual clothing of us. But they do these things in ways that are metaphorical and yet still quite real. They insult our dignity and make it harder for us to get by in an already challenging world. Left to our own devices, our first strategies would probably involve dodging, if not hitting back. We would try clinging to the cloak, not letting go even of the tunic. The command of Jesus to do otherwise doesn't make sense to us and in fact probably seems dangerous or foolish. But we should consider if his command could in fact be the truly loving path, not because it empowers the enemy to do whatever he wants for as long as he wants, but because it might expose and interrupt his patterns of sin. We can reveal that we stand on higher ground and are playing a different game when we heed the words of Jesus. If real injury were possible we would not stick around to be maimed or crippled. But if the risk is mostly to our pride we can remain present for the sake of the other, giving him the opportunity to see that our dignity does not depend on anything he can do to us. It also shows that we care enough not to stick around rather than choosing an option that would be easier for us.

Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.

There are valid reasons not to give to others if we suspect that we would be enabling dangerous behavior or if we put our own livelihood at risk. But the real reason we are often afraid to do so is because we don't want to be compelled by others to do so. We want to be the ones that determine where and how we give. We don't want to feel as though we are giving power over ourselves to others who shouldn't have it. And yet, if we can stand above this in a way that demonstrates that we are in fact free in spite of appearances to the contrary it has the potential to change those who see it. They think they are in charge because they make demands? What if we love them by giving them even more than they ask? Who is truly the most free then?

Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

Our criteria are often excuses to exclude others and to not show love when showing love would be difficult. We condemn others to excuse ourselves. But when we create categories of those unworthy of love, acceptance, and forgiveness, we create parts of our own hearts that are worthy of condemnation. We need to counteract this tendency by doing the opposite of what our impulses dictate:

Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.

When we do so we not only serve others but also eliminate barriers in our own hearts to receiving all that God has for us.

For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.

 

Newsboys - Breathe (Benediction)

 

9 September 2026 - plainly speaking

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

 

Today's Gospel reading gives us Jesus's Sermon on the Plain, similar, but not identical to the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew. This suggests to us that the Jesus referred to the same general teachings at multiple times, but in slightly different forms, modified to meet the needs of a specific time and place. Since the content of this sermon is considered to be among the most important of the core teachings of Jesus it should not surprise us if he preached about it more than once.

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

The blessings of the beatitudes all refer to people who are blessed now and will attain a better state in the future. The more surprising part of that is the  idea that the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and those hated for the sake of the Son of Man are all already blessed even while the negative conditions continue. We can understand why it is fair to say that people who will be satisfied, laugh, and receive a great reward in heaven, will be blessed when those things come to pass. But it is harder to grasp in what way they are already blessed. Is it based simply on the fact that they have promises to which they can look forward? We can interrogate this idea better if we look at the contrary woes presented next by Luke.

But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.

Those who are rich, filled, laugh, and are well spoken of now would seem to be the ones that are blessed now. But the point is that this is not actually the case. They are like people who are too anesthetized to realize the danger of their condition. They are enjoying the ride on the first half of a collapsed bridge, or appreciating the light from an oncoming train. They are too numbed by what they have to realize how briefly they can hold it. They live as the this world is the final reality, but, as Paul tells us, "the world in its present form is passing away". This will, of course, be bad for them in the future. But it is also bad now. It is actually beneath human dignity to live at the level of appearances, to indulge in a shadow play as though it will never end. When we see no connection between our lives in the present and our eternal destiny, when we forget that, "time is running out", we begin to act in ways that are not only unsustainable, but also pathetic and sad. We begin to treat the sources of our riches, our food, our joy, and our reputation, as idols that can offer us ultimate happiness. Yet all they ever do is string us along. 

By contrast, those who are not rich, or at least not dominated by their riches, have the freedom to live lives of meaning and dignity. They have consolation amidst their current trials of the rewards that will one day be theirs. Not only that, faith makes it possible for them to experience those rewards even here and now. It does this, not through the health and wealth Gospel giving them winning lottery tickets or sports cars, but by helping them to see wealth differently, to recognize the true riches that are theirs in Christ and in his Church. They may still be hungry, but at the same time they receive the food of eternal life that is the end of all hunger. They may still mourn, and that for many valid reasons. But they do so with the deeper underlying joy of the Spirit to sustain them. They may lose our worldly reputation. But they discover their true worth in the eyes of Christ and in his love for them.

They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.

 

 

Matt Maher - Lay It Down

 

8 September 2026 - part to play

Today's Readings
(Audio)

 

We don't celebrate many birthdays on the liturgical calendar. There is John the Baptist, and of course Jesus himself, and today's feast of the Nativity of Mary. And that's it. This ought to lead us to conclude that her birthday is a big deal. However, the emphasis of the celebration is different from the modern cultural institution which, if it has any meaning, is something like affirming the existence and worth of the individual. Fine and good. But biblical birthdays are important because of what the represent in the plan of God for salvation history. 

We can see the emphasis on the divine plan in our first reading, which is a prophetic prediction of the role that the son of Mary was to play as one who would shepherd the flock of Israel "by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God" leading to a time when "his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth". According to Micah what was the watershed moment when things in the world will finally begin to change? He tells us that it was "the time when she who is to give birth has borne". Therefore, if the birth of her Son is so significant, we can by no means underestimate her own birth. It was a sign of the imminence of the coming kingdom of God.

The alternative first reading from Romans also emphasized the divine plan of God that would be realized in his Son. Part of the reality that was to be realized in Jesus was the way that many brothers would be conformed to his image. They would become sons (and daughters) in the Son. But if this primarily implied that they would come to experience the Fatherhood of God in a special way it also alluded to the way in which Mary's role was always meant to be the mother, not only of Jesus, but also "those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (see Revelation 12:17). 

Both readings want us to appreciate the Mary's involvement in the story of Jesus was not incidental, much less accidental. It was an important part of the divine plan. Thus when we celebrate her birth we honor her by recognizing it as among the most important milestones in the story of our salvation. The role played by Mary could not have been filled by just anyone. It had to be the one who God knew would accept his call, cooperate with his grace, and give the full assent of her mind and heart in her fiat. Few births (in fact, only one) changed the world more than hers, and so it is worthy of celebration.

No doubt the reason our Gospel includes the genealogy is also to emphasize the fulfillment of a plan that always existed in the heart of God since before time began. Once Joseph realized that something supernatural was happening in his betrothed, in the moment when she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit, he began to question whether he himself could possibly be a part of that plan without bringing shame as a result of his own imperfection. But, although he was not immaculately conceived as Mary was, he was nevertheless also always meant to be a part of that plan. From him we can learn to not allow our own weakness to overcome us, but to be willing to do whatever part God has assigned for us. Although we are not righteous men and women to the degree that Joseph was, we nevertheless all have a part to play. We too are predestined and called to be brothers and sisters of Jesus, sons and daughters both of the Father and the mother of God. We must not shrink from this calling since in Jesus we have the presence of God in human flesh, "Emmanuel" meaning "God is with us". Therefore the promise of Micah is perfectly realized in him in a way that would be possible for no one else, "he shall be peace".

John Michael Talbot - Holy Is His Name

 Maranatha! Music - He Is Our Peace