30 September 2013 - flower power
Note: Sorry to start talking about Therese of Lisieux a day early when we have a really great saint like Jerome today. The readings lend themselves more toward the Little Flower. But let us ask St. Jerome to intercede for the rebuilding of the Church. through the rediscovery of the word of God.
An argument arose among the disciples
about which of them was the greatest.
Do we follow Jesus because of self-image? It might not be obvious but this sort of motivation always taints our discipleship. When our weakness becomes evident and when we fall, do we regret the hurt we do to God or do we really regret that we are revealed as imperfect? This is part of the secret which Therese of Lisieux reveals when she says, "How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy." Most of us either aren't striving for holiness or can't tolerate our failures. But are we secretly competing to be the greatest?
For this reason Jesus reveals the little child as the model of kingdom greatness. One does not compete for this kind of greatness. The littleness, dependence, and self-forgetfulness of children is not something that one can easily make competitive. Yet we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless we let go of our pride and become like children (cf. Mat 18:3).
“Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name
and we tried to prevent him
because he does not follow in our company.”
In this case the concern of the disciples is not to preserve the unity of the Church or the integrity of her teaching. Their concern is that they themselves are excluded. Their pride wants the credit for these legitimate miracles. They can't bear to see them performed without getting the credit. But the LORD often works outside of the boundaries he himself establishes to bring blessings to his people. And it is a shame to see "someone casting out demons" and to not rejoice. This reveals that we not living the spiritual childhood to which we are called.
When we realize just how far from childhood we are we may be tempted to despair. We come to think that our cynical and prideful adulthood is something that cannot be undone.
Even if this should seem impossible
in the eyes of the remnant of this people,
shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also,
says the LORD of hosts?
The LORD rebuilds the city of Zion from the living stones of the people of God (1 Pet. 2:4). He will therefore heal our hearts by bringing us into his presence, making us fit dwelling places for him.
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
The Lord will build up Zion again,
and appear in all his glory.
Let us heed the advise of Therese of Lisieux to remain "little before God" knowing that:
“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily
do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm.
If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.”
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
29 September 2013 - don't get comfortable
29 September 2013 - don't get comfortable
Are we complacent? Even if we are dwelling in Zion, the Church, it doesn't mean we are free to be seek primarily after our own comfort.
The LORD is concerned for the hungry, the captive, the blind, those are are bowed down, strangers, the fatherless and the widows.
Are we
Lying upon beds of ivory,
stretched comfortably on their couches,
Are we getting too comfortable in Zion when the Church is under siege and the world is starving for the bread of life, captive to sin, blind to the truth of God, bowed down under the cares of this world, strangers to God and one another (cf. Eph 2:19), with no one to support them?
Are we "dressed in purple garments and fine linen" and feasting day by day when the poor, like Lazarus, are at our doorstep?
If this is true than our pursuit of the kingdom is largely an illusion. We should abandon our self seeking ways and instead heed Paul's advice to Timothy.
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
It is true that we can't solve these problems completely before the kingdom comes. But if the LORD isn't changing our hearts to be like his heart how will we have a place in that kingdom? The LORD wants even the rich man in his kingdom, but he must be willing to surrender his own kingdom to attain it.
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Even though Moses and the prophets should be enough God still sends Jesus to us from the dead so that we may repent and not end "suffering torment in these flames." On his cross he reveals the full depravity of our indifference toward others. In his resurrection he empowers a new and invincible love to flow forth from the hearts of those who believe as springs of living water, the Holy Spirit (cf. Joh 7:38).
Those who believe what? Those who believe what Jesus Christ "will make manifest at the proper time". His is the only true kingdom and he is the only true king. We must not be the steward of Gondor, unwilling to surrender his throne.
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Let us take delight in the LORD who has such love for us. We must realize that in so many ways we too are poor and in need of his mercy and rejoice that he is so ready to supply it.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
Are we complacent? Even if we are dwelling in Zion, the Church, it doesn't mean we are free to be seek primarily after our own comfort.
The LORD is concerned for the hungry, the captive, the blind, those are are bowed down, strangers, the fatherless and the widows.
Are we
Lying upon beds of ivory,
stretched comfortably on their couches,
Are we getting too comfortable in Zion when the Church is under siege and the world is starving for the bread of life, captive to sin, blind to the truth of God, bowed down under the cares of this world, strangers to God and one another (cf. Eph 2:19), with no one to support them?
Are we "dressed in purple garments and fine linen" and feasting day by day when the poor, like Lazarus, are at our doorstep?
If this is true than our pursuit of the kingdom is largely an illusion. We should abandon our self seeking ways and instead heed Paul's advice to Timothy.
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
It is true that we can't solve these problems completely before the kingdom comes. But if the LORD isn't changing our hearts to be like his heart how will we have a place in that kingdom? The LORD wants even the rich man in his kingdom, but he must be willing to surrender his own kingdom to attain it.
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Even though Moses and the prophets should be enough God still sends Jesus to us from the dead so that we may repent and not end "suffering torment in these flames." On his cross he reveals the full depravity of our indifference toward others. In his resurrection he empowers a new and invincible love to flow forth from the hearts of those who believe as springs of living water, the Holy Spirit (cf. Joh 7:38).
Those who believe what? Those who believe what Jesus Christ "will make manifest at the proper time". His is the only true kingdom and he is the only true king. We must not be the steward of Gondor, unwilling to surrender his throne.
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Let us take delight in the LORD who has such love for us. We must realize that in so many ways we too are poor and in need of his mercy and rejoice that he is so ready to supply it.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
28 September 2013 - urban renewal
28 September 2013 - urban renewal
I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length.”
Is there enough room within the walls of the holy city for all peoples? Is the embrace of God wide enough to keep us all in his care? Not if we look to physical walls for protection. From that perspective it looks no different than a field or open country. We seem exposed on every side.
But the LORD measures the city a different way when he spreads out his arms upon the cross. There is no limit to the embrace of his love.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.”
So though Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem we need not fear.
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
Our one and only hope is headed toward certain destruction and yet we need not fear. He goes to reveal the full measure of God's love for us. Only in this way can he show us the greatness of the length and width of his love. Because he stretches out his arms on the cross to reveal it we can know "what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge," and " thereby "be filled with all the fullness of God" (cf. Eph 3:18-19) so that he may be "the glory in her midst."
He is the good shepherd who guards us from every threat. He brings back the lost and the wounded.
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Though sorrow comes it only comes to give way to still greater joy.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
Dance then, for the joy of the LORD is our strength!
I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length.”
Is there enough room within the walls of the holy city for all peoples? Is the embrace of God wide enough to keep us all in his care? Not if we look to physical walls for protection. From that perspective it looks no different than a field or open country. We seem exposed on every side.
But the LORD measures the city a different way when he spreads out his arms upon the cross. There is no limit to the embrace of his love.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.”
So though Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem we need not fear.
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
Our one and only hope is headed toward certain destruction and yet we need not fear. He goes to reveal the full measure of God's love for us. Only in this way can he show us the greatness of the length and width of his love. Because he stretches out his arms on the cross to reveal it we can know "what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge," and " thereby "be filled with all the fullness of God" (cf. Eph 3:18-19) so that he may be "the glory in her midst."
He is the good shepherd who guards us from every threat. He brings back the lost and the wounded.
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Though sorrow comes it only comes to give way to still greater joy.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
Dance then, for the joy of the LORD is our strength!
Friday, September 27, 2013
27 September 2013 - peaced together
27 September 2013 - peaced together
And take courage, all you people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
We can take courage and have the strength to work because the LORD of Hosts is with us. His promise to the people coming forth from Egypt is that he will be with them as their God and they will be his people. He promises the same thing to those of us coming forth from our own Egypt of sinfulness. He will be with us. We will be his. He will be ours.
And my spirit continues in your midst;
do not fear!
He promises to be with us always, unto the end of the age (cf. Mat 28:20). If we look at house of God in the world and it seems like nothing in our eyes we don't need to fear. We look for signs of his presence and find ruins. We find structures that don't nearly do his glory justice. Fear not! He isn't finished yet.
One moment yet, a little while,
and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
This earthquake is the one which shakes the ground at the crucifixion of Jesus. This is when the veil of the temple is torn in two. The tearing of this veil represents the wall between Jew and gentile being broken down (cf. Eph 2). This is indeed the wall between all human selfishness and separation. It cannot withstand the power of the king. This is why the "treasures of all the nations will come in" and with the psalmist we will rejoice. There is now no barrier keeping us from his presence.
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
We need to fix our hearts on the dwelling place of God. Our only true joy and peace is in his presence. Knowing this joy, we will magnify him and reveal his glory. The human family will be united around our heavenly Father. This unity reveals God and his glory to the world. Hence we see Jesus prayer in the Gospel of John:
Greater will be the future glory of this house
than the former, says the LORD of hosts;
The resurrection of Jesus is the inbreaking of the kingdom into a world under the dominion of darkness. But all is not yet complete. As we await his return we must remember above all that Jesus is "The Christ of God" as Peter confesses. No servant is greater than his master and we too must bear our crosses. But now, trusting in him, the resurrection is now more than a wish, it is an assurance.
He himself is the new temple where we are all united. He himself is our victory over death. He gives us peace but not as the world gives it. And for this reason it is the only true peace to be found.
And in this place I will give you peace,
says the LORD of hosts!
And take courage, all you people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
We can take courage and have the strength to work because the LORD of Hosts is with us. His promise to the people coming forth from Egypt is that he will be with them as their God and they will be his people. He promises the same thing to those of us coming forth from our own Egypt of sinfulness. He will be with us. We will be his. He will be ours.
And my spirit continues in your midst;
do not fear!
He promises to be with us always, unto the end of the age (cf. Mat 28:20). If we look at house of God in the world and it seems like nothing in our eyes we don't need to fear. We look for signs of his presence and find ruins. We find structures that don't nearly do his glory justice. Fear not! He isn't finished yet.
One moment yet, a little while,
and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
This earthquake is the one which shakes the ground at the crucifixion of Jesus. This is when the veil of the temple is torn in two. The tearing of this veil represents the wall between Jew and gentile being broken down (cf. Eph 2). This is indeed the wall between all human selfishness and separation. It cannot withstand the power of the king. This is why the "treasures of all the nations will come in" and with the psalmist we will rejoice. There is now no barrier keeping us from his presence.
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
We need to fix our hearts on the dwelling place of God. Our only true joy and peace is in his presence. Knowing this joy, we will magnify him and reveal his glory. The human family will be united around our heavenly Father. This unity reveals God and his glory to the world. Hence we see Jesus prayer in the Gospel of John:
The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.This glorious unity which Jesus gives us is the unity which shakes the earth and tears the veil. It is for this reason that the glory of God's house will be greater than ever before.
Greater will be the future glory of this house
than the former, says the LORD of hosts;
The resurrection of Jesus is the inbreaking of the kingdom into a world under the dominion of darkness. But all is not yet complete. As we await his return we must remember above all that Jesus is "The Christ of God" as Peter confesses. No servant is greater than his master and we too must bear our crosses. But now, trusting in him, the resurrection is now more than a wish, it is an assurance.
He himself is the new temple where we are all united. He himself is our victory over death. He gives us peace but not as the world gives it. And for this reason it is the only true peace to be found.
And in this place I will give you peace,
says the LORD of hosts!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
26 September 2013 - never alone
26 September 2013 - never alone
“The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”
(Then this word of the LORD came through Haggai, the prophet:)
Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses,
while this house lies in ruins?
Priorities, people. Are we investing in temporary things or in eternal things? Yet on some level it is only natural. Our home, our family, our self- these seem like the starting place. It seems like we have no choice but to engage here first, make progress, work the kinks out, and then finally use the resources we have leftover to rebuild the house of the LORD. There is nothing to which we can hold fast if we do not place God first in our hearts.
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages
earned them for a bag with holes in it.
Do we really need the fancy panels on these shelters we are building? Will we really ever finish here and move on to building the house of God? We can see that we aren't just concerned about necessities. At a certain point we are building a temple to ourselves rather than to God. But a temple to ourselves is the loneliest of temples. There is room for no one but oneself in such a place. The temple of the LORD is a place of joy greater than what any isolated individual can experience. People don't often dance festively when alone.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
We can unite in joyful worship of the LORD or we can struggle along as isolated and lonely individuals. The choice is ours. The LORD wants us to build ourselves, our families, and our nations as temples to his presence. Even in our own soul we are never alone if we are a temple for God in the Spirit. He is the one who knows that we need food, drink, and clothes and he will add these to us if we seek his kingdom first (cf. Mat 6:33). If we don't seek the kingdom (which, of course, isn't a kingdom of one but of the whole people of God) first we find ourselves anxious about all of these material things because we don't have anything or more specifically anyone lasting can hold.
Herod is an example of someone who is profoundly isolated. His temple is truly only to himself. He is trying to rouse himself for the drudgery and meaninglessness of such a life by vain curiosities. And this is almost enough of a crack in the door for Jesus to enter.
But Herod said,
“John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
We have a higher calling than mere curiosities about the supernatural. Herod isn't really interested in anyone entering into relationship with him. He is just seeking stimulation. Let us instead take our delight in the Lord who takes delight in us, his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
“The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.”
(Then this word of the LORD came through Haggai, the prophet:)
Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses,
while this house lies in ruins?
Priorities, people. Are we investing in temporary things or in eternal things? Yet on some level it is only natural. Our home, our family, our self- these seem like the starting place. It seems like we have no choice but to engage here first, make progress, work the kinks out, and then finally use the resources we have leftover to rebuild the house of the LORD. There is nothing to which we can hold fast if we do not place God first in our hearts.
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages
earned them for a bag with holes in it.
Do we really need the fancy panels on these shelters we are building? Will we really ever finish here and move on to building the house of God? We can see that we aren't just concerned about necessities. At a certain point we are building a temple to ourselves rather than to God. But a temple to ourselves is the loneliest of temples. There is room for no one but oneself in such a place. The temple of the LORD is a place of joy greater than what any isolated individual can experience. People don't often dance festively when alone.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
We can unite in joyful worship of the LORD or we can struggle along as isolated and lonely individuals. The choice is ours. The LORD wants us to build ourselves, our families, and our nations as temples to his presence. Even in our own soul we are never alone if we are a temple for God in the Spirit. He is the one who knows that we need food, drink, and clothes and he will add these to us if we seek his kingdom first (cf. Mat 6:33). If we don't seek the kingdom (which, of course, isn't a kingdom of one but of the whole people of God) first we find ourselves anxious about all of these material things because we don't have anything or more specifically anyone lasting can hold.
Herod is an example of someone who is profoundly isolated. His temple is truly only to himself. He is trying to rouse himself for the drudgery and meaninglessness of such a life by vain curiosities. And this is almost enough of a crack in the door for Jesus to enter.
But Herod said,
“John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
We have a higher calling than mere curiosities about the supernatural. Herod isn't really interested in anyone entering into relationship with him. He is just seeking stimulation. Let us instead take our delight in the Lord who takes delight in us, his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
25 September 2013 - build the church, bless the nation
25 September 2013 - build the church, bless the nation
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”
Let us not be too disheartened when we see ruins around us. Whether, society, church, family, or even self, God wants to give us new life and restore these ruins. He wants all of them to be a dwelling place for his very presence. He does this in spite of the fact that we don't deserve it on any level. Even though "our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads" yet does he want to brighten our eyes and give us relief from our servitude. The LORD may allow us to experience the slavery that our failures of obedience entail. But he never withdraws his presence from us. He empowers renewal with the rebuilding of his temple as the starting place. He does not first restore the secular society, power, or wealth of Ezra and the Israelites. He first empowers them to rebuild his temple. He does so even in the context of domination by the Persians, through unexpected secular means beyond their control.
he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
He wants us to have the attitude of the psalmist who will praise him even in the land of his exile. He wants us to know that it isn't any secular action upon which the health of society ultimately rests. It isn't that we must first create good social structures by our own effort so that there will be a place for God. We must first build the Church to bless the nation as Al Kresta has been saying (plug for the WDEO pledge drive).
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
It is this attitude which underlies the command of Jesus to his disciples.
He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
He needs them to understand the complete primacy that he and his gospel have. It isn't ultimately dependent on preparations or supplies or anything else. It is rather dependent on the power and authority of Jesus.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He is generous in pouring out this power to build up his Church. He loves his bride and will not fail to support her even in her exile. For her part, she must turn to him as her pillar of support. She often looks every other direction first, but only his love for her can give her salvation.
Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”
Let us not be too disheartened when we see ruins around us. Whether, society, church, family, or even self, God wants to give us new life and restore these ruins. He wants all of them to be a dwelling place for his very presence. He does this in spite of the fact that we don't deserve it on any level. Even though "our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads" yet does he want to brighten our eyes and give us relief from our servitude. The LORD may allow us to experience the slavery that our failures of obedience entail. But he never withdraws his presence from us. He empowers renewal with the rebuilding of his temple as the starting place. He does not first restore the secular society, power, or wealth of Ezra and the Israelites. He first empowers them to rebuild his temple. He does so even in the context of domination by the Persians, through unexpected secular means beyond their control.
he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
He wants us to have the attitude of the psalmist who will praise him even in the land of his exile. He wants us to know that it isn't any secular action upon which the health of society ultimately rests. It isn't that we must first create good social structures by our own effort so that there will be a place for God. We must first build the Church to bless the nation as Al Kresta has been saying (plug for the WDEO pledge drive).
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
It is this attitude which underlies the command of Jesus to his disciples.
He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
He needs them to understand the complete primacy that he and his gospel have. It isn't ultimately dependent on preparations or supplies or anything else. It is rather dependent on the power and authority of Jesus.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He is generous in pouring out this power to build up his Church. He loves his bride and will not fail to support her even in her exile. For her part, she must turn to him as her pillar of support. She often looks every other direction first, but only his love for her can give her salvation.
Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
24 September 2013 - mary's other children (hint: they're us)
24 September 2013 - mary's other children (hint: they're us)
“My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
This is no slight to Mary. For in this sense she is doubly his mother. She hears the word of God from an angel and is able to act on it saying, "May it be done unto me according to your word." Mary literally gives birth to the word of God. It happens through her obedience to and acceptance of God's word. All other hearing and acting on the word of God that we can do as men is secondary to this. Indeed, it is only valid to the degree that it participates in Mary's fiat. That is why other's who "keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus" are considered "the rest of her offspring" (cf. Rev 12:17).
Still, Jesus needs to elevate the crowd's minds from the merely natural bonds of flesh and blood which he does indeed share with Mary to the relationships made possible by faith which he and Mary also share share par excellence, but to which we also may enter.
Mary herself is the new temple. She is the ark wherein the fullness of the presence of God is contained. His shekinah glory cloud is even more present in her than it ever was in the old temple (cf. Luk 1:35).
Therefore, even more than the ancient Israelites, let us rebuild the temple, that is, our relationship with Mary. Even more than them, let us celebrate it with joy.
The children of Israel–priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles–
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Mary unites us all because we are her children through our faith in her son.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
Without Mary our obedience is imperfect. It cannot bring Jesus to birth in the world. But Jesus allows us to participate in Mary's fiat. This grace brings Jesus to birth within us and within the world "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (cf. Eph. 4:13).
But of course even Mary does nothing to earn the grace by which she obeys. It is given for Jesus. And Jesus is in turn given for her and for us. Mary and Jesus represent the receptive and active aspects of grace and we participate in both. Both are equally unmerited wondrous gifts. And so let us go to her an receive the word of God in our own lives. We will not find him apart from her nor she apart from him.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
“My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
This is no slight to Mary. For in this sense she is doubly his mother. She hears the word of God from an angel and is able to act on it saying, "May it be done unto me according to your word." Mary literally gives birth to the word of God. It happens through her obedience to and acceptance of God's word. All other hearing and acting on the word of God that we can do as men is secondary to this. Indeed, it is only valid to the degree that it participates in Mary's fiat. That is why other's who "keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus" are considered "the rest of her offspring" (cf. Rev 12:17).
Still, Jesus needs to elevate the crowd's minds from the merely natural bonds of flesh and blood which he does indeed share with Mary to the relationships made possible by faith which he and Mary also share share par excellence, but to which we also may enter.
Mary herself is the new temple. She is the ark wherein the fullness of the presence of God is contained. His shekinah glory cloud is even more present in her than it ever was in the old temple (cf. Luk 1:35).
Therefore, even more than the ancient Israelites, let us rebuild the temple, that is, our relationship with Mary. Even more than them, let us celebrate it with joy.
The children of Israel–priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles–
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Mary unites us all because we are her children through our faith in her son.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
Without Mary our obedience is imperfect. It cannot bring Jesus to birth in the world. But Jesus allows us to participate in Mary's fiat. This grace brings Jesus to birth within us and within the world "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (cf. Eph. 4:13).
But of course even Mary does nothing to earn the grace by which she obeys. It is given for Jesus. And Jesus is in turn given for her and for us. Mary and Jesus represent the receptive and active aspects of grace and we participate in both. Both are equally unmerited wondrous gifts. And so let us go to her an receive the word of God in our own lives. We will not find him apart from her nor she apart from him.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Monday, September 23, 2013
23 September 2013 - nothing to hide
23 September 2013 - nothing to hide
No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
In other words, if we want the light, we also need to have a clean room. The light is going to expose all of the impurity in us. We like the idea of the light but we don't like the idea of cleaning so we try to have it both ways. But the lamp is made for the lamp stand.
It is initially unpleasant. No discipline seems pleasant at the time (cf Heb 12:11). It isn't so much that the cleaning of these rooms is work on our part. God is pruning every branch that bears fruit (cf. Joh. 15:2). With these analogies we can understand why a process like this can feel like such a hassle. As the lights go up our impurities are revealed. We are so invested in these that we feel like part of us is being condemned and destroyed. After all, it's been cluttering our floors for so long. We're used to tripping over it now and then.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
This is the LORD's project. He is planting a vineyard with seeds of faith. He gives it growth with the grace of the Holy Spirit. He is cleaning the rooms of our lives that we may be built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (cf. Eph 2:22). He is leading us back from the exile of sin to be built into his house in the new Jerusalem.
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah.
Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!
It is so good that it is almost hard to believe.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
But it is true, so let us say with Isarel, "The LORD has done great things for us".
No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
In other words, if we want the light, we also need to have a clean room. The light is going to expose all of the impurity in us. We like the idea of the light but we don't like the idea of cleaning so we try to have it both ways. But the lamp is made for the lamp stand.
It is initially unpleasant. No discipline seems pleasant at the time (cf Heb 12:11). It isn't so much that the cleaning of these rooms is work on our part. God is pruning every branch that bears fruit (cf. Joh. 15:2). With these analogies we can understand why a process like this can feel like such a hassle. As the lights go up our impurities are revealed. We are so invested in these that we feel like part of us is being condemned and destroyed. After all, it's been cluttering our floors for so long. We're used to tripping over it now and then.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
This is the LORD's project. He is planting a vineyard with seeds of faith. He gives it growth with the grace of the Holy Spirit. He is cleaning the rooms of our lives that we may be built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (cf. Eph 2:22). He is leading us back from the exile of sin to be built into his house in the new Jerusalem.
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah.
Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!
It is so good that it is almost hard to believe.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
But it is true, so let us say with Isarel, "The LORD has done great things for us".
Sunday, September 22, 2013
22 September 2013 - accountable
22 September 2013 - accountable
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
The LORD gives us many blessings but if we are honest we realize that we sometimes squander them. We certainly don't always use them to build the kingdom in the ways to which the LORD calls.
The wealth of his blessings knows no limit. We must therefore be even less hesitant to give them away than the dishonest steward is with his master's wealth. He ultimately realizes that relationship can get him further than money. He helps his master's debtors to freedom. Ultimately, he is able to do this by forgoing his own self-interest and abandoning profit he could have otherwise made.
The LORD wants to welcome all of us into eternal dwellings. He knows our dishonest wealth fails eventually. He wants us to learn from it that what really matters is relationship. Whether earthly wealth or heavenly blessing, we can't be selfish with it. If wealth turns us inward and we come to rely on it we will eventually be called to account for our stewardship and we will have nothing to say for ourselves and no one to speak for us. We will hear him say, "Never will I forget a thing they have done!"
Instead, let us use the wealth of blessings from the LORD to build the kingdom on earth.
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
The LORD gives blessings so that they may be shared. If he gives wealth to some it is so that they may use it for all.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.
He does so because of the immense love he has for everyone. He will not abandon one of his own. He will seek every lost sheep.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
The LORD gives us many blessings but if we are honest we realize that we sometimes squander them. We certainly don't always use them to build the kingdom in the ways to which the LORD calls.
The wealth of his blessings knows no limit. We must therefore be even less hesitant to give them away than the dishonest steward is with his master's wealth. He ultimately realizes that relationship can get him further than money. He helps his master's debtors to freedom. Ultimately, he is able to do this by forgoing his own self-interest and abandoning profit he could have otherwise made.
The LORD wants to welcome all of us into eternal dwellings. He knows our dishonest wealth fails eventually. He wants us to learn from it that what really matters is relationship. Whether earthly wealth or heavenly blessing, we can't be selfish with it. If wealth turns us inward and we come to rely on it we will eventually be called to account for our stewardship and we will have nothing to say for ourselves and no one to speak for us. We will hear him say, "Never will I forget a thing they have done!"
Instead, let us use the wealth of blessings from the LORD to build the kingdom on earth.
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
The LORD gives blessings so that they may be shared. If he gives wealth to some it is so that they may use it for all.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.
He does so because of the immense love he has for everyone. He will not abandon one of his own. He will seek every lost sheep.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
21 September 2013 - follow the leader
21 September 2013 - follow the leader
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
This is what it is all about. He calls and we need to follow. Matthew is able to respond immediately whereas most of us respond hesitantly and by degrees. What is his secret? He is as tied up in the world as any of us. He is making good money is a tax collector. Apparently he has plenty of tax collector friends in lieu of all of the other people from whom his profession has alienated him. Yet, surprisingly, it is he and his friends who are able to fully grasp their need for Jesus whereas the Pharisees have trouble.
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
The implication isn't that the Pharisees are not sick, of course. The implication is that it is the sinners and the tax collectors who realize it. A lot of what the Pharisees do and are stems from a prideful sense of righteous entitlement. They have themselves convinced that they don't actually need to repent. They believe their own show which they put on for the world. That is why Jesus calls them whitewashed tombs (cf. Mat 23:27). They keep focused on that coat of paint lest they see what is inside.
The tax collectors have surely been at least comparably sinful to the Pharisees, but with less self delusion. They see the barriers, division, and strife that their sin causes. Their lack of fulfillment calls out for more than the this way of life.
The "sinners" desire a unity and peace which can only come through supernatural means.
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
Openness to the Spirit who gives this gift allows us to be transformed into people Jesus can use to spread his message. He wants the world to know that he desires "mercy and not sacrifice."
Hence he gives us amazing gifts through his Holy Spirit which not only unite us be empower us to proclaim that same message of unity and peace.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
The gospel is the message which the whole world needs. Creation proclaims it, but that is insufficient.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
We ourselves must join in until our message "goes out through all the earth."
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
This is what it is all about. He calls and we need to follow. Matthew is able to respond immediately whereas most of us respond hesitantly and by degrees. What is his secret? He is as tied up in the world as any of us. He is making good money is a tax collector. Apparently he has plenty of tax collector friends in lieu of all of the other people from whom his profession has alienated him. Yet, surprisingly, it is he and his friends who are able to fully grasp their need for Jesus whereas the Pharisees have trouble.
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
The implication isn't that the Pharisees are not sick, of course. The implication is that it is the sinners and the tax collectors who realize it. A lot of what the Pharisees do and are stems from a prideful sense of righteous entitlement. They have themselves convinced that they don't actually need to repent. They believe their own show which they put on for the world. That is why Jesus calls them whitewashed tombs (cf. Mat 23:27). They keep focused on that coat of paint lest they see what is inside.
The tax collectors have surely been at least comparably sinful to the Pharisees, but with less self delusion. They see the barriers, division, and strife that their sin causes. Their lack of fulfillment calls out for more than the this way of life.
The "sinners" desire a unity and peace which can only come through supernatural means.
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
Openness to the Spirit who gives this gift allows us to be transformed into people Jesus can use to spread his message. He wants the world to know that he desires "mercy and not sacrifice."
Hence he gives us amazing gifts through his Holy Spirit which not only unite us be empower us to proclaim that same message of unity and peace.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
The gospel is the message which the whole world needs. Creation proclaims it, but that is insufficient.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
We ourselves must join in until our message "goes out through all the earth."
Friday, September 20, 2013
20 September 2013 - different kind of kingdom
20 September 2013 - different kind of kingdom
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
The world's kingdoms have not delivered on their promises of earthly paradise. Jesus speaks of a different kind of kingdom. It is outside of the laws of entropy and decay that afflict us here. Its dawning becomes manifests in people being "cured of evil spirits and infirmities".
The nature of the kingdom is why Paul can say with all assurance.
Whoever teaches something different
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the religious teaching
is conceited, understanding nothing,
and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.
The kingdom of God is not a matter of empty words but of the Spirit and power (cf. 1 Cor 2:4). Being argumentative and prideful about words or ideas is completely beside the point. This kind of attitude results in all sorts of divisions. It misses the point of the kingdom and can even try to use religion for selfish reasons.
Paul tells us that the true profit of religion is to be content and not to get caught up in all of that.
But you, man of God, avoid all this.
Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion,
faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
We will thereby avoid the traps of the world and enjoy the peace that the psalmist describes.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
The world's kingdoms have not delivered on their promises of earthly paradise. Jesus speaks of a different kind of kingdom. It is outside of the laws of entropy and decay that afflict us here. Its dawning becomes manifests in people being "cured of evil spirits and infirmities".
The nature of the kingdom is why Paul can say with all assurance.
Whoever teaches something different
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the religious teaching
is conceited, understanding nothing,
and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.
The kingdom of God is not a matter of empty words but of the Spirit and power (cf. 1 Cor 2:4). Being argumentative and prideful about words or ideas is completely beside the point. This kind of attitude results in all sorts of divisions. It misses the point of the kingdom and can even try to use religion for selfish reasons.
Paul tells us that the true profit of religion is to be content and not to get caught up in all of that.
But you, man of God, avoid all this.
Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion,
faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
We will thereby avoid the traps of the world and enjoy the peace that the psalmist describes.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
He won't be so foolish as to trust in himself for the salvation that only can come from God.
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Thursday, September 19, 2013
19 September 2013 - revolution, not evolution
19 September 2013 - revolution, not evolution
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
It isn't that this woman is forgiven because of her weeping. She isn't forgiven because she anoints Jesus with oil. She isn't forgiven because she wipes his feet with her hair. Jesus is clear: these things are a result, not the cause.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
She is uniquely blessed to understood her own brokenness and utter reliance on Jesus. The Pharisee calls all of this in to question. He thinks he knows "what sort of woman this is". He doesn't believe that people can change or that forgiveness is possible. But Jesus assures her that the forgiveness she experienced is real.
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
And he doesn't just say it for her. He says it for the benefit of everyone who doesn't believe that people can change. Normally, that may be true. But God's grace is a game changer. We are often both the Pharisee and the woman, telling ourselves that we know how we are. We don't believe in our own ability to change. But faith can through these barriers.
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The world is always setting these conditions for grace. It says that it can't work in the heart of a habitual sinner like the woman above. It also thinks that youth is a barrier.
Let no one have contempt for your youth,
but set an example for those who believe,
in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
But the Spirit can change even someone who is young into an exemplar of "speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity." It can in fact make them into leaders who can exhort and teach the people of God. In all cases grace can do this because it does not depend on any natural preconditions.
Do not neglect the gift you have,
which was conferred on you through the prophetic word
with the imposition of hands by the presbyterate.
And just as Jesus makes the woman and example of the power of grace to change a sinner so Paul wants Timothy to be an example of just what the Spirit can do in the life of even a young believer so that his "progress may be evident to everyone".
The woman and Timothy both start from the same point.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
And therefore they both won't hesitate to proclaim with the psalmist, "How great are the works of the Lord!"
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
It isn't that this woman is forgiven because of her weeping. She isn't forgiven because she anoints Jesus with oil. She isn't forgiven because she wipes his feet with her hair. Jesus is clear: these things are a result, not the cause.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
She is uniquely blessed to understood her own brokenness and utter reliance on Jesus. The Pharisee calls all of this in to question. He thinks he knows "what sort of woman this is". He doesn't believe that people can change or that forgiveness is possible. But Jesus assures her that the forgiveness she experienced is real.
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
And he doesn't just say it for her. He says it for the benefit of everyone who doesn't believe that people can change. Normally, that may be true. But God's grace is a game changer. We are often both the Pharisee and the woman, telling ourselves that we know how we are. We don't believe in our own ability to change. But faith can through these barriers.
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The world is always setting these conditions for grace. It says that it can't work in the heart of a habitual sinner like the woman above. It also thinks that youth is a barrier.
Let no one have contempt for your youth,
but set an example for those who believe,
in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
But the Spirit can change even someone who is young into an exemplar of "speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity." It can in fact make them into leaders who can exhort and teach the people of God. In all cases grace can do this because it does not depend on any natural preconditions.
Do not neglect the gift you have,
which was conferred on you through the prophetic word
with the imposition of hands by the presbyterate.
And just as Jesus makes the woman and example of the power of grace to change a sinner so Paul wants Timothy to be an example of just what the Spirit can do in the life of even a young believer so that his "progress may be evident to everyone".
The woman and Timothy both start from the same point.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
And therefore they both won't hesitate to proclaim with the psalmist, "How great are the works of the Lord!"
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
18 September 2013 - wisdom vindicated
18 September 2013 - wisdom vindicated
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
There is a time for dancing and there is a time for weeping. But they often aren't when we want them to be. We are called to rejoice amidst worldly affliction and to weep amidst spiritual poverty even in the midst of worldly affluence. In many ways, Jesus afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.
We must look beyond our own preferences and appetites for a standard by which we can judge. We must look to the Church, which is "the pillar and foundation of truth." We have an unbelievable capacity for self-delusion. The Church is an objective standard which can save us from this risk. If we try to figure everything out on our own our disordered desires will corrupt the results little by little. The ways will be so subtle we won't even realize it until we find ourselves set in opposition to the teaching of Jesus and his Church. But if we form ourselves according to the Church from the beginning this will not be an issue.
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Jesus is ultimately vindicated by the resurrection. As Paul says, he is "vindicated in the spirit". This is the proof that his view on about what to weep and dance is worthy of our trust. The working of the Spirit in the lives of believers also vindicates the teachings as Jesus as he bears his good fruit within us. It is the resurrected life of Jesus being made manifest in us even now.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
His works are great indeed, worth of all our trust.
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
There is a time for dancing and there is a time for weeping. But they often aren't when we want them to be. We are called to rejoice amidst worldly affliction and to weep amidst spiritual poverty even in the midst of worldly affluence. In many ways, Jesus afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.
We must look beyond our own preferences and appetites for a standard by which we can judge. We must look to the Church, which is "the pillar and foundation of truth." We have an unbelievable capacity for self-delusion. The Church is an objective standard which can save us from this risk. If we try to figure everything out on our own our disordered desires will corrupt the results little by little. The ways will be so subtle we won't even realize it until we find ourselves set in opposition to the teaching of Jesus and his Church. But if we form ourselves according to the Church from the beginning this will not be an issue.
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Jesus is ultimately vindicated by the resurrection. As Paul says, he is "vindicated in the spirit". This is the proof that his view on about what to weep and dance is worthy of our trust. The working of the Spirit in the lives of believers also vindicates the teachings as Jesus as he bears his good fruit within us. It is the resurrected life of Jesus being made manifest in us even now.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
His works are great indeed, worth of all our trust.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
17 September 2013 - familiar themes
17 September 2013 - familiar themes
The LORD wants to transform us from isolated individuals into his people, the members of his family.
My eyes are upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of integrity
shall be in my service.
But this world is affected by original sin and even family life is not immune.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
This was likely a situation with which Jesus is all to familiar. Joseph disappears from the stage of Scripture long before Mary. It is likely that he is older than her and dies much sooner. Mary is then the widow who relies on her only son. Jesus knows that soon he too will be taken from her, leaving her just like this widow. Is it any wonder he has compassion on her?
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
The life of the family is so important. It is so formative. No wonder Paul insists on good skills leading a family as prerequisites for office in the Church.
He must manage his own household well,
keeping his children under control with perfect dignity;
for if a man does not know how to manage his own household,
how can he take care of the Church of God?
A bishop should be temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, gentle, a good husband and father, humble, and even well-reputed. All of these virtues are essential within the life of the family and it is there that they are tested and refined. The vices which Paul mentions are correspondingly damaging to family life. Love of drink, money, and argument can all be huge problems.
Family is a school of holiness. The Holy Family exemplifies the perfection of this life. It is from this family that Jesus comes. His compassion on this young man and his mother cannot be fully understood without reference to it.
“Young man, I tell you, arise!”
This might seem like enough. He raises the dead. What more can we ask? But he dose not leave the situation at that because everything he does is personal, informed by the family life from which he comes.
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
No doubt Jesus looks forward to when his body is given to his mother. He longs hereby to offer comfort to all mothers. Let us proclaim with all the people:
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst,”
and “God has visited his people.”
The LORD wants to transform us from isolated individuals into his people, the members of his family.
My eyes are upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of integrity
shall be in my service.
But this world is affected by original sin and even family life is not immune.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
This was likely a situation with which Jesus is all to familiar. Joseph disappears from the stage of Scripture long before Mary. It is likely that he is older than her and dies much sooner. Mary is then the widow who relies on her only son. Jesus knows that soon he too will be taken from her, leaving her just like this widow. Is it any wonder he has compassion on her?
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
The life of the family is so important. It is so formative. No wonder Paul insists on good skills leading a family as prerequisites for office in the Church.
He must manage his own household well,
keeping his children under control with perfect dignity;
for if a man does not know how to manage his own household,
how can he take care of the Church of God?
A bishop should be temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, gentle, a good husband and father, humble, and even well-reputed. All of these virtues are essential within the life of the family and it is there that they are tested and refined. The vices which Paul mentions are correspondingly damaging to family life. Love of drink, money, and argument can all be huge problems.
Family is a school of holiness. The Holy Family exemplifies the perfection of this life. It is from this family that Jesus comes. His compassion on this young man and his mother cannot be fully understood without reference to it.
“Young man, I tell you, arise!”
This might seem like enough. He raises the dead. What more can we ask? But he dose not leave the situation at that because everything he does is personal, informed by the family life from which he comes.
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
No doubt Jesus looks forward to when his body is given to his mother. He longs hereby to offer comfort to all mothers. Let us proclaim with all the people:
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst,”
and “God has visited his people.”
Monday, September 16, 2013
16 September 2013 - to receive you
16 September 2013 - to receive you
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
There are untold blessings waiting to be unleashed if we turn to God and ask for them. There are all kinds of problems in the world right now. Syria is just the most prominent. We see the power of prayer when Pope Francis calls us to pray to prevent war and incidental statements by government figures cascade and violence may actually be averted. Let us take heart from this and redouble our efforts to lift up our Church, our nation, and our families and friends to God.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
We probably know better than to come before the LORD saying, "I deserve to have you do this for me" But when we are lifting up friends who inspire us with their walk of holiness we may be more presumptuous. Yet none of us deserve that love by which Jesus "gave himself as ransom for all."
The centurion knows this. He does not plead his worth when he comes before Jesus asking for his slave to be healed.
“Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
And for this humility and conviction Jesus praises him.
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Now his words are immortalized in the mass of the Roman rite. We all profess them together before we approach Jesus in the eucharist. We all confess are absolute unworthiness of the great gift he chooses to give.
The centurion isn't ultimately asking for something for himself. He is asking for something for his slave. But even so he doesn't try to talk to Jesus about deserving anything. Instead, he confesses his belief that Jesus has the absolute power to do what he asks. In that confession is an implicit trust in the love that will do what it can do.
We may not believe in the power of prayer to actually make a difference in any significant way. We may believe that prayer is largely something we do to affect our subjective state or maybe the subjective state of others. But let us be assured that it can make a difference writ large in the world. The concrete facts of reality are no match for prayer and the power of God.
Let us come before him with empty hands upraised. We do not plead our merits. Are merits are all impure and tarnished in his site. Let us plead his own power and goodness. He is the "one mediator" and he has proven his love for us.
Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you,
lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.
For he truly is "the strength of his people, the saving refuge of his anointed."
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
There are untold blessings waiting to be unleashed if we turn to God and ask for them. There are all kinds of problems in the world right now. Syria is just the most prominent. We see the power of prayer when Pope Francis calls us to pray to prevent war and incidental statements by government figures cascade and violence may actually be averted. Let us take heart from this and redouble our efforts to lift up our Church, our nation, and our families and friends to God.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
We probably know better than to come before the LORD saying, "I deserve to have you do this for me" But when we are lifting up friends who inspire us with their walk of holiness we may be more presumptuous. Yet none of us deserve that love by which Jesus "gave himself as ransom for all."
The centurion knows this. He does not plead his worth when he comes before Jesus asking for his slave to be healed.
“Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
And for this humility and conviction Jesus praises him.
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Now his words are immortalized in the mass of the Roman rite. We all profess them together before we approach Jesus in the eucharist. We all confess are absolute unworthiness of the great gift he chooses to give.
The centurion isn't ultimately asking for something for himself. He is asking for something for his slave. But even so he doesn't try to talk to Jesus about deserving anything. Instead, he confesses his belief that Jesus has the absolute power to do what he asks. In that confession is an implicit trust in the love that will do what it can do.
We may not believe in the power of prayer to actually make a difference in any significant way. We may believe that prayer is largely something we do to affect our subjective state or maybe the subjective state of others. But let us be assured that it can make a difference writ large in the world. The concrete facts of reality are no match for prayer and the power of God.
Let us come before him with empty hands upraised. We do not plead our merits. Are merits are all impure and tarnished in his site. Let us plead his own power and goodness. He is the "one mediator" and he has proven his love for us.
Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you,
lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.
For he truly is "the strength of his people, the saving refuge of his anointed."
Sunday, September 15, 2013
15 September 2013 - heart of mercy
15 September 2013 - heart of mercy
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
How far out of Egypt can we get before we turn to idols? The LORD delivers us miraculously from bondage and yet we turn aside. The idols of empty entertainments and pleasures come first. Eventually we're attributing even the supernatural salvation God gives us to a result of serving these idols. We mistake the joy of our salvation for just one more earthly pleasure. Doing so, we begin to seek pleasure all the more. This is the sort of attitude that can reason, 'Mass just isn't entertaining enough.' That is not to say it shouldn't be joyful. But confusing joy and entertainment can be a serious problem.
Fortunately, God is all about mercy. He often raises up leaders who have to depend on it themselves.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Seeing their example we too can come to trust in the mercy of God.
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
The leaders of his people must understand this mercy. They must have hearts that plead, not for what the people deserve, but for what God wants to bestow upon them in his love. As with Abraham pleading for Sodom, in today's first reading we see Moses pleading for his people.
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
God is teaching his leaders to have a heart like his heart. He longs for his people to cry out:
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
This is because he is the one who searches for the lost sheep
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
He is the one who sweeps the house for the lost coin
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
And above all, he is the father longest for the return of his son
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him,
and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
God's heart really isn't in wrath and anger. He manifests these at times so that he can move us toward mercy. He isn't some despotic king that we can only just keep satisfied. He is a father who loves us can't tolerate the distance that sin keeps between us.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
We know the feast of the Son who was dead and is now risen. Let us enter in to this feast with full joy, calling to all the lost sheep to join us.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
How far out of Egypt can we get before we turn to idols? The LORD delivers us miraculously from bondage and yet we turn aside. The idols of empty entertainments and pleasures come first. Eventually we're attributing even the supernatural salvation God gives us to a result of serving these idols. We mistake the joy of our salvation for just one more earthly pleasure. Doing so, we begin to seek pleasure all the more. This is the sort of attitude that can reason, 'Mass just isn't entertaining enough.' That is not to say it shouldn't be joyful. But confusing joy and entertainment can be a serious problem.
Fortunately, God is all about mercy. He often raises up leaders who have to depend on it themselves.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Seeing their example we too can come to trust in the mercy of God.
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
The leaders of his people must understand this mercy. They must have hearts that plead, not for what the people deserve, but for what God wants to bestow upon them in his love. As with Abraham pleading for Sodom, in today's first reading we see Moses pleading for his people.
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
God is teaching his leaders to have a heart like his heart. He longs for his people to cry out:
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
This is because he is the one who searches for the lost sheep
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
He is the one who sweeps the house for the lost coin
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
And above all, he is the father longest for the return of his son
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him,
and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
God's heart really isn't in wrath and anger. He manifests these at times so that he can move us toward mercy. He isn't some despotic king that we can only just keep satisfied. He is a father who loves us can't tolerate the distance that sin keeps between us.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
We know the feast of the Son who was dead and is now risen. Let us enter in to this feast with full joy, calling to all the lost sheep to join us.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
14 September 2013 - personally grateful
14 September 2013 - personally grateful
“No one has gone up to heaven
This is a fairly significant statement. Heaven is sealed. The human race cannot enter while this is true. What alternatives do we have? None that we want to consider. At this point we are probably thinking about how most people aren't so bad and how we really deserve heaven. Isn't it fair? We didn't choose to come into this broken world ourselves. Shouldn't someone compensate us for all of our suffering? We already begin to devalue God's gifts with this attitude. Rather than being grateful for life and being we become resentful and demanding.
We're like the people of God in the dessert who complain, "We are disgusted with this wretched food!" We find ourselves on pilgrimage through the dessert of life and rather than trust in God to lead us to the promised land we find ourselves criticizing his provisions. We think that we're entitled, not only to the promised land, but to a nice limousine to drive us there, preferably with cable and champagne.
If we can't even recognize God's providential care in our lives he sometimes takes steps to open our eyes. He must reveal the illusion of our apparent self-sufficiency.
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
The people now see that without God's care they will never make it to the promised land. They will die on the way. Without God's providence even to exist for another moment is impossible. Fortunately, he is rich in mercy and heals all who acknowledge their sin and turn to him.
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
And, although we really do our best to merit condemnation
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.
But to give us life he takes a step that reveals the magnitude of the depravity that all of us not-so-bad people share.
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.”
This is what sin does. This is what our sin does. We must look upon him whom we have pierced (cf. Joh 19.37). We must be personally grateful for the mercy whereby
he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
We must not "forget the works of the Lord!" We must remember that he is our rock and redeemer. He wants to give us life! But to receive it we have to come to grips with the reality of our situation and turn to him with deeper and deeper trust in his mercy and providence.
“No one has gone up to heaven
This is a fairly significant statement. Heaven is sealed. The human race cannot enter while this is true. What alternatives do we have? None that we want to consider. At this point we are probably thinking about how most people aren't so bad and how we really deserve heaven. Isn't it fair? We didn't choose to come into this broken world ourselves. Shouldn't someone compensate us for all of our suffering? We already begin to devalue God's gifts with this attitude. Rather than being grateful for life and being we become resentful and demanding.
We're like the people of God in the dessert who complain, "We are disgusted with this wretched food!" We find ourselves on pilgrimage through the dessert of life and rather than trust in God to lead us to the promised land we find ourselves criticizing his provisions. We think that we're entitled, not only to the promised land, but to a nice limousine to drive us there, preferably with cable and champagne.
If we can't even recognize God's providential care in our lives he sometimes takes steps to open our eyes. He must reveal the illusion of our apparent self-sufficiency.
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
The people now see that without God's care they will never make it to the promised land. They will die on the way. Without God's providence even to exist for another moment is impossible. Fortunately, he is rich in mercy and heals all who acknowledge their sin and turn to him.
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
And, although we really do our best to merit condemnation
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.
But to give us life he takes a step that reveals the magnitude of the depravity that all of us not-so-bad people share.
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.”
This is what sin does. This is what our sin does. We must look upon him whom we have pierced (cf. Joh 19.37). We must be personally grateful for the mercy whereby
he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
We must not "forget the works of the Lord!" We must remember that he is our rock and redeemer. He wants to give us life! But to receive it we have to come to grips with the reality of our situation and turn to him with deeper and deeper trust in his mercy and providence.
Friday, September 13, 2013
13 September 2013 - beam me up
13 September 2013 - beam me up
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
We're not blind are we? Well it would explain all these pits we keep falling in. On our own we can't avoid even the largest pit that yawns hungrily before us. Even those of us on the path are more like the man who is healed in stages where first he sees blurry shapes like trees rather than things as they are (cf. Mar. 8:24).
Our reason is blind to the deeper truths of existence. We think we see, but if our vision doesn't penetrate to the essence of things it only perceives the shifting accidents of appearance. We have trouble penetrating so deeply because we are blinded by all of the wooden beams in our eyes.
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
When we see other people sinning we like to think that if they just took our advice they would be able to avoid the pit. But none of us has eyes which are entirely clear. We are all blind guides until we become "fully trained". Paul is an example of someone who thinks he has clear sight but is in fact blind. Being struck blind at his conversion on the road to Damascus merely makes his internal condition externally real. But the LORD is not content to leave him thus. Nor is he with us.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
The LORD knows of our blindness and ignorance and he responds with mercy and strength for us so that one day "every disciple will be like his teacher." The teacher is the one who sees clearly. We begin to see clearly when we fix our gaze on him.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
As we look upon him he guides our vision to see as we are meant to see.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
We're not blind are we? Well it would explain all these pits we keep falling in. On our own we can't avoid even the largest pit that yawns hungrily before us. Even those of us on the path are more like the man who is healed in stages where first he sees blurry shapes like trees rather than things as they are (cf. Mar. 8:24).
Our reason is blind to the deeper truths of existence. We think we see, but if our vision doesn't penetrate to the essence of things it only perceives the shifting accidents of appearance. We have trouble penetrating so deeply because we are blinded by all of the wooden beams in our eyes.
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
When we see other people sinning we like to think that if they just took our advice they would be able to avoid the pit. But none of us has eyes which are entirely clear. We are all blind guides until we become "fully trained". Paul is an example of someone who thinks he has clear sight but is in fact blind. Being struck blind at his conversion on the road to Damascus merely makes his internal condition externally real. But the LORD is not content to leave him thus. Nor is he with us.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
The LORD knows of our blindness and ignorance and he responds with mercy and strength for us so that one day "every disciple will be like his teacher." The teacher is the one who sees clearly. We begin to see clearly when we fix our gaze on him.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
As we look upon him he guides our vision to see as we are meant to see.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
13 September 2013 - teaching by example
13 September 2013 - teaching by example
God loves us while we are yet sinners (cf. Rom 5:8). That is how he can tell us, "love your enemies".
He himself blesses us even when we stand in the crowd before Pilate cursing him. He is famous for praying for our forgiveness even as we crucify him. He does not turn his cheeks away from our blows. He literally does not withhold his tunic from us as we take it and role dice for it.
Jesus gives to everyone who asks, "for power went out from Him and healed them all" (cf Luk. 6:19). Jesus gives us grace that we can never repay. The debt he forgives is something we can never afford (cf. Mat 18:21-25).
Now we can see why Jesus says that we "will be children of the Most High" when we act this way. It is because to act this way is humanly impossible. The only way to do so is for Jesus to do it within us. We literally can't be so completely selfless without being so united to Jesus that we share in his own Sonship.
And so we need to enter more and more into this Sonship. Paul tells us how:
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.
Oh man. We have to admonish one another? That doesn't sound very PC. And yet we are called to be responsible for one another. We are not called to walk this road alone. The LORD uses our brothers and sisters to guide us so that we can do "everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Unity with our fellow man is the school wherein the selflessness of the LORD is perfected in us. The reward for pursuing this unity is great:
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
The LORD is good indeed so, "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!"
God loves us while we are yet sinners (cf. Rom 5:8). That is how he can tell us, "love your enemies".
He himself blesses us even when we stand in the crowd before Pilate cursing him. He is famous for praying for our forgiveness even as we crucify him. He does not turn his cheeks away from our blows. He literally does not withhold his tunic from us as we take it and role dice for it.
Jesus gives to everyone who asks, "for power went out from Him and healed them all" (cf Luk. 6:19). Jesus gives us grace that we can never repay. The debt he forgives is something we can never afford (cf. Mat 18:21-25).
Now we can see why Jesus says that we "will be children of the Most High" when we act this way. It is because to act this way is humanly impossible. The only way to do so is for Jesus to do it within us. We literally can't be so completely selfless without being so united to Jesus that we share in his own Sonship.
And so we need to enter more and more into this Sonship. Paul tells us how:
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.
Oh man. We have to admonish one another? That doesn't sound very PC. And yet we are called to be responsible for one another. We are not called to walk this road alone. The LORD uses our brothers and sisters to guide us so that we can do "everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Unity with our fellow man is the school wherein the selflessness of the LORD is perfected in us. The reward for pursuing this unity is great:
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
The LORD is good indeed so, "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!"
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
11 September 2013 - head in the clouds
11 September 2013 - head in the clouds
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
The earthly things which we suffer, hunger, sadness, hatred, and insults, are all preparing us heaven. They teach us to seek and rely on the things which are above.
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Keeping our eyes on heaven amidst the sufferings of this world gives us the strength to rid ourselves of the things to which we are too attached, which have become idols in our lives.
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and the greed that is idolatry.
The danger in being filled, laughing, and being well liked, is that we won't have any need to lift our eyes to heaven. The danger is that our treasure will be here on earth where moth and rust destroy instead of in heaven (cf. Mat 6:19).
The antidote is to realize that his kingdom is not just something which we experience at the end of our lives or at the end of time.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus the power of his kingdom his breaks through into this world. It bridges the gap between our present sufferings and the joy of heaven. It is why the paradox of the beatitudes ultimately has meaning. Without the resurrection, those who weep now don't have anything to which to look forward. But the power of the resurrection empowers our weeping, hunger, and the abuse we receive, to make it transformative. Heaven breaks through even in the very midst of such pain.
Since our lift is hidden with Christ in God we need to live like it is true. The old self still tries to rear its ugly head but it need not hold sway. We "have put on the new self which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator." This is the reality from which we need to live our lives.
We want to join the psalmist and God's praise. We want to know his glory and might so vividly that we can't help but rejoice.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
But if we truly speak up for the LORD we know that some will denounce our names "as evil on account of the Son of Man." Only the power of the resurrection in our lives will be sufficient at such times. Realizing that the "Lord is compassionate toward all his works" we can endure with joy.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
The earthly things which we suffer, hunger, sadness, hatred, and insults, are all preparing us heaven. They teach us to seek and rely on the things which are above.
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Keeping our eyes on heaven amidst the sufferings of this world gives us the strength to rid ourselves of the things to which we are too attached, which have become idols in our lives.
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and the greed that is idolatry.
The danger in being filled, laughing, and being well liked, is that we won't have any need to lift our eyes to heaven. The danger is that our treasure will be here on earth where moth and rust destroy instead of in heaven (cf. Mat 6:19).
The antidote is to realize that his kingdom is not just something which we experience at the end of our lives or at the end of time.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus the power of his kingdom his breaks through into this world. It bridges the gap between our present sufferings and the joy of heaven. It is why the paradox of the beatitudes ultimately has meaning. Without the resurrection, those who weep now don't have anything to which to look forward. But the power of the resurrection empowers our weeping, hunger, and the abuse we receive, to make it transformative. Heaven breaks through even in the very midst of such pain.
Since our lift is hidden with Christ in God we need to live like it is true. The old self still tries to rear its ugly head but it need not hold sway. We "have put on the new self which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator." This is the reality from which we need to live our lives.
We want to join the psalmist and God's praise. We want to know his glory and might so vividly that we can't help but rejoice.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
But if we truly speak up for the LORD we know that some will denounce our names "as evil on account of the Son of Man." Only the power of the resurrection in our lives will be sufficient at such times. Realizing that the "Lord is compassionate toward all his works" we can endure with joy.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
10 September 2013 - wise beyond our age
10 September 2013 - wise beyond our age
See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
What is captivating about empty philosophy? How can something as dry as that be seductive? There can be a certain smugness and secureness to having everything figured out. When we reason our way to something apart from faith we feel like we can take credit for it. We can have pride in it. We can look down on other people that haven't figured it out.
This is why Paul tells us, "the world did not know God through wisdom". In fact, he goes so far as to call his message "folly" to those looking for wisdom. When a teaching of Christianity seems like folly to us we must be on our guard. It may be our pride talking. To surrender our right to be the ultimate arbiter of truth does seem like folly from one point of view. It is a dying to self. Dying always seems to be folly. But the proclamation is of "Christ crucified". And though it seems like folly to the world, to those who are called Christ himself is "the power of God and the wisdom of God" because:
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 lay down our claims to understand on our own. Yet this doesn't ultimately leave us as fools because Jesus himself becomes our wisdom, the only true wisdom. Again, it is about proper ordering of ideas. With him at the top, all other ideas find their place. Yet he cannot be statically at the top. We must be in a living relationship with him wherein we subject everything else we know and believe to his lordship. We would be wrong to imagine that Jesus is at the top of our hierarchy if we decide how everything else fits without reference to him.
Jesus himself gives us an example of how this works. Being omnipotent and omniscient you would think he could appoint apostles without hesitation. And yet, first we hear:
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
Only after does he call the twelve.
We need to acknowledge that we have all been infected by the spirit of the age to one degree or another.
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
If we don't want to be ensnared by these kinds of ideas we need the power of the resurrection.
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
Let us reach out to Jesus, the living Jesus, the Jesus who wants to reign in us.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
What is captivating about empty philosophy? How can something as dry as that be seductive? There can be a certain smugness and secureness to having everything figured out. When we reason our way to something apart from faith we feel like we can take credit for it. We can have pride in it. We can look down on other people that haven't figured it out.
This is why Paul tells us, "the world did not know God through wisdom". In fact, he goes so far as to call his message "folly" to those looking for wisdom. When a teaching of Christianity seems like folly to us we must be on our guard. It may be our pride talking. To surrender our right to be the ultimate arbiter of truth does seem like folly from one point of view. It is a dying to self. Dying always seems to be folly. But the proclamation is of "Christ crucified". And though it seems like folly to the world, to those who are called Christ himself is "the power of God and the wisdom of God" because:
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 lay down our claims to understand on our own. Yet this doesn't ultimately leave us as fools because Jesus himself becomes our wisdom, the only true wisdom. Again, it is about proper ordering of ideas. With him at the top, all other ideas find their place. Yet he cannot be statically at the top. We must be in a living relationship with him wherein we subject everything else we know and believe to his lordship. We would be wrong to imagine that Jesus is at the top of our hierarchy if we decide how everything else fits without reference to him.
Jesus himself gives us an example of how this works. Being omnipotent and omniscient you would think he could appoint apostles without hesitation. And yet, first we hear:
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
Only after does he call the twelve.
We need to acknowledge that we have all been infected by the spirit of the age to one degree or another.
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
If we don't want to be ensnared by these kinds of ideas we need the power of the resurrection.
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
Let us reach out to Jesus, the living Jesus, the Jesus who wants to reign in us.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
Monday, September 9, 2013
9 September 2013 - uniqueness of Christianity - the meaning of suffering
9 September 2013 - uniqueness of Christianity - the meaning of suffering
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
His right hand is the source of his livelihood. It represents all of his ability to be self-directed and provide for himself. But it is withered and he cannot use it. Imagine the frustration. Even if our dominant hand works we can all relate to being unable to successfully do the things we intend to do. We can't create the world we would like to create. We can't even create the families or the lives we want to create. In this way we sympathize with the man with the withered hand.
“Stretch out your hand.”
He did so and his hand was restored.
Only is Jesus do we find the healing we need. Only his grace can give us the strength to build lasting structures in our world. But the man in this passage doesn't get healed until he finally meets Jesus. How does a reconcile with the suffer of his whole life to this point? Does he actually accuse Jesus of not coming sooner?
For that matter, how does Paul cope with all the struggles he faces in his ministry? They are not trivial:
For I want you to know how great a struggle I am having for you
and for those in Laodicea
and all who have not seen me face to face,
But Paul at least knows "mystery hidden from ages and from generations past." This is literally something that the world before Jesus cannot know. In fact, it is only true at all because of the cross of Christ. And it is this secret that makes all the difference in human life.
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
Paul knows that his suffering has value precisely because of Christ within him, "the hope for glory." The sufferings of Jesus are entirely sufficient for the salvation of the entire world. But they are, in a sense, lacking to the degree that they do not reach and apply to each individual. The sufferings of Christ are intended to renew the whole world. They make our petty, meaningless, and banal sufferings into critical means of salvation and sanctification. This is the full effect they are designed to have.
When Jesus stretches out his hands upon the cross he empowers the man with the withered hand. Now when the withered hand is stretching and straining in hope toward Jesus this gesture can be full of meaning. Even before healing is received it can bring salvation into the world.
So let us be reassured. In the midst of our suffering God wants to be the rock of peace for our souls. He allows us to find the rest we need. Even before the healing comes (which _will_ come, even if at the resurrection of the body) if we put our trust in him we can enjoy his peace.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
His right hand is the source of his livelihood. It represents all of his ability to be self-directed and provide for himself. But it is withered and he cannot use it. Imagine the frustration. Even if our dominant hand works we can all relate to being unable to successfully do the things we intend to do. We can't create the world we would like to create. We can't even create the families or the lives we want to create. In this way we sympathize with the man with the withered hand.
“Stretch out your hand.”
He did so and his hand was restored.
Only is Jesus do we find the healing we need. Only his grace can give us the strength to build lasting structures in our world. But the man in this passage doesn't get healed until he finally meets Jesus. How does a reconcile with the suffer of his whole life to this point? Does he actually accuse Jesus of not coming sooner?
For that matter, how does Paul cope with all the struggles he faces in his ministry? They are not trivial:
For I want you to know how great a struggle I am having for you
and for those in Laodicea
and all who have not seen me face to face,
But Paul at least knows "mystery hidden from ages and from generations past." This is literally something that the world before Jesus cannot know. In fact, it is only true at all because of the cross of Christ. And it is this secret that makes all the difference in human life.
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
Paul knows that his suffering has value precisely because of Christ within him, "the hope for glory." The sufferings of Jesus are entirely sufficient for the salvation of the entire world. But they are, in a sense, lacking to the degree that they do not reach and apply to each individual. The sufferings of Christ are intended to renew the whole world. They make our petty, meaningless, and banal sufferings into critical means of salvation and sanctification. This is the full effect they are designed to have.
When Jesus stretches out his hands upon the cross he empowers the man with the withered hand. Now when the withered hand is stretching and straining in hope toward Jesus this gesture can be full of meaning. Even before healing is received it can bring salvation into the world.
So let us be reassured. In the midst of our suffering God wants to be the rock of peace for our souls. He allows us to find the rest we need. Even before the healing comes (which _will_ come, even if at the resurrection of the body) if we put our trust in him we can enjoy his peace.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
8 September 2013 - give us wisdom
8 September 2013 - give us wisdom
Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
Our plans are certainly timid and unsure. With these kinds of strategies we won't be able to reason our way to God's plan for us. So let's not attempt it. Instead, let us receive the wisdom that he wants to give us.
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
The wisdom that God gives put this world in its proper perspective. It is good but temporary.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
Nothing, therefore, must take precedence over our relationship with the LORD.
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
We need to put to death in ourselves all of the attachments that we place before God.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
And this is a big deal. We need to recognize just how massively impossible it is so that we make an informed choice.
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?
In fact, we will see that it is impossible without Jesus. And so we will surrender and let him win the battle in us.
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
But neither does the LORD win this battle apart from us. Again, he wins it _within us_ just as Paul tries to do for Philemon.
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
He raises us up, little by little.
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
Our plans are certainly timid and unsure. With these kinds of strategies we won't be able to reason our way to God's plan for us. So let's not attempt it. Instead, let us receive the wisdom that he wants to give us.
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
The wisdom that God gives put this world in its proper perspective. It is good but temporary.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
Nothing, therefore, must take precedence over our relationship with the LORD.
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
We need to put to death in ourselves all of the attachments that we place before God.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
And this is a big deal. We need to recognize just how massively impossible it is so that we make an informed choice.
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?
In fact, we will see that it is impossible without Jesus. And so we will surrender and let him win the battle in us.
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
But neither does the LORD win this battle apart from us. Again, he wins it _within us_ just as Paul tries to do for Philemon.
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
He raises us up, little by little.
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
Friday, September 6, 2013
6 September 2013 - marching reordered
6 September 2013 - marching reordered
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
and
no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Our old paradigms aren't necessarily wrong. The one drinking the old wine says, "The old is good." But they are ill-suited for interpreting the gospel. The gospel will not allow us to subvert it to any other ideas or paradigms.
It itself is the highest idea which orders and gives value to all the others. When we say, "Jesus is before all else that is," it isn't mainly a chronology to which we refer. It is a hierarchy, a preeminence.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
He himself is the principle whereby anything adheres in existence.
and in him all things hold together.
No matter their kind, our failures are always failures to respect this order. His death and resurrection is our gateway to enter into it more fully.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
We know that we often allow lesser ideas dominate us. They are often noble: comfort, peace, stability, happiness. But any idea at all apart from Jesus will reveal inadequacy. It will ultimately become tyrannical. The only idea about which this is not the case is love. But that is precisely because he himself is love.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
He wants to set right all we've messed up by placing other ideas and priorities above him. Let us recognize who he is...
Know that the LORD is God;
...who we are...
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
...and what he does for us.
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
Then, whether the time comes for fasting or feasting, we will be able to do so with joy.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
and
no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Our old paradigms aren't necessarily wrong. The one drinking the old wine says, "The old is good." But they are ill-suited for interpreting the gospel. The gospel will not allow us to subvert it to any other ideas or paradigms.
It itself is the highest idea which orders and gives value to all the others. When we say, "Jesus is before all else that is," it isn't mainly a chronology to which we refer. It is a hierarchy, a preeminence.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
He himself is the principle whereby anything adheres in existence.
and in him all things hold together.
No matter their kind, our failures are always failures to respect this order. His death and resurrection is our gateway to enter into it more fully.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
We know that we often allow lesser ideas dominate us. They are often noble: comfort, peace, stability, happiness. But any idea at all apart from Jesus will reveal inadequacy. It will ultimately become tyrannical. The only idea about which this is not the case is love. But that is precisely because he himself is love.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
He wants to set right all we've messed up by placing other ideas and priorities above him. Let us recognize who he is...
Know that the LORD is God;
...who we are...
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
...and what he does for us.
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
Then, whether the time comes for fasting or feasting, we will be able to do so with joy.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
5 September 2013 - conditioned response
5 September 2013 - conditioned response
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
We often feel this way. We exhaust our own efforts. We do everything we can, humanly, and get nothing for it. We have skill and expertise but we cannot ultimately fulfill ourselves. We may feel there is no hope left. But having exhausted our resources, let us give Jesus a chance.
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
He longs to reveal himself to us if we are willing to simply look beyond ourselves. We just need to lay down our pride and look up.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
It is, of course, about more than even supernatural fulfillment of our natural needs. But first, he reveals more about our current condition than we can easily accept.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
The power of darkness? Isn't that a little harsh? But if we can accept this we can also accept the salvation he offers. Once we realize both from what and for what we are set free we will naturally "break into song" before him.
and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We hear about the Kingdom all the time and it begins to sound abstract and irrelevant. What's so great about the kingdom? Precisely that in it we are free from the powers of darkness. We are free from the domination of sin, which, if we're honest, dominates all of us when we are outside that kingdom. He makes us to share "in the inheritance of the holy ones in light." It is inheritance because he himself becomes our Father. It is light because in his presence is the source of light. How blessed are we.
Indeed, when we see the superabundance of the salvation he offers we may be tempted to say with Simon Peter, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
Let us take heart when Jesus tells us, "Do not be afraid". Let us leave "everything" that holds us back and follow him. And, when he desires to use us to fish for men and thereby to spread his salvation throughout the world, let us do so with gratitude and thanksgiving. By our thankful praise we spread his fame and glory.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
We often feel this way. We exhaust our own efforts. We do everything we can, humanly, and get nothing for it. We have skill and expertise but we cannot ultimately fulfill ourselves. We may feel there is no hope left. But having exhausted our resources, let us give Jesus a chance.
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
He longs to reveal himself to us if we are willing to simply look beyond ourselves. We just need to lay down our pride and look up.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
It is, of course, about more than even supernatural fulfillment of our natural needs. But first, he reveals more about our current condition than we can easily accept.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
The power of darkness? Isn't that a little harsh? But if we can accept this we can also accept the salvation he offers. Once we realize both from what and for what we are set free we will naturally "break into song" before him.
and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We hear about the Kingdom all the time and it begins to sound abstract and irrelevant. What's so great about the kingdom? Precisely that in it we are free from the powers of darkness. We are free from the domination of sin, which, if we're honest, dominates all of us when we are outside that kingdom. He makes us to share "in the inheritance of the holy ones in light." It is inheritance because he himself becomes our Father. It is light because in his presence is the source of light. How blessed are we.
Indeed, when we see the superabundance of the salvation he offers we may be tempted to say with Simon Peter, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
Let us take heart when Jesus tells us, "Do not be afraid". Let us leave "everything" that holds us back and follow him. And, when he desires to use us to fish for men and thereby to spread his salvation throughout the world, let us do so with gratitude and thanksgiving. By our thankful praise we spread his fame and glory.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
4 September 2013 - more than a brand
4 September 2013 - more than a brand
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
The demons know that Jesus is the Christ. The believe it and they tremble (cf. Jam. 2:19). Yet we are surprised to hear that their proclamation of that fact must be silenced. They aren't proclaiming this because it is true. They are demons after all. They are shouting it precisely so that in the midst of all of the consolation and enthusiasm it may be misunderstood. They want to subvert this most important of truths to other ends.
Jesus is unwilling to let his fame spread as a consequence of crowd mentality. He wants to reach each person individually. He is not just a brand name that heals. Being the Son of God means much more than to just be a healer. He is God from God. He isn't ultimately just repairing this reality. He is recreating it.
Rather than hearing the hype and hysteria we need to focus on the word of truth.
Of this you have already heard
through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.
It isn't that this word excludes healings and mighty deeds. Rather, it empowers them. But it does this precisely by being personal. This word is relational. It brings a relationship, of course. But it is also shared within relationships.
as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave,
who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf
and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Note the relationship between Epaphras and the Colossians. He brings them the word of truth within the context of a relationship with them where he can also talk about their "love in the Spirit."
Having heard the word of truth we are thankful. But it isn't an inward thankfulness. It is a thankfulness that engenders trust and the proclamation of God's name.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
This word does not and cannot stop with us.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
He is sent to bring the love of God to all mankind. Let us not be afraid when he goes out to the other towns. Let us trust in God's mercy forever!
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
The demons know that Jesus is the Christ. The believe it and they tremble (cf. Jam. 2:19). Yet we are surprised to hear that their proclamation of that fact must be silenced. They aren't proclaiming this because it is true. They are demons after all. They are shouting it precisely so that in the midst of all of the consolation and enthusiasm it may be misunderstood. They want to subvert this most important of truths to other ends.
Jesus is unwilling to let his fame spread as a consequence of crowd mentality. He wants to reach each person individually. He is not just a brand name that heals. Being the Son of God means much more than to just be a healer. He is God from God. He isn't ultimately just repairing this reality. He is recreating it.
Rather than hearing the hype and hysteria we need to focus on the word of truth.
Of this you have already heard
through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.
It isn't that this word excludes healings and mighty deeds. Rather, it empowers them. But it does this precisely by being personal. This word is relational. It brings a relationship, of course. But it is also shared within relationships.
as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave,
who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf
and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Note the relationship between Epaphras and the Colossians. He brings them the word of truth within the context of a relationship with them where he can also talk about their "love in the Spirit."
Having heard the word of truth we are thankful. But it isn't an inward thankfulness. It is a thankfulness that engenders trust and the proclamation of God's name.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
This word does not and cannot stop with us.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
He is sent to bring the love of God to all mankind. Let us not be afraid when he goes out to the other towns. Let us trust in God's mercy forever!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
3 September 2013 - lighten the load
3 September 2013 - lighten the load
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.
Jesus is the light that enlightens all men (cf. Joh. 1:4). He enlightens us and gives us fuel to keep our lamps burning. When Jesus the bridegroom comes let us go out to meet him with our lamps burning brightly (cf. Mat 25:1-13). He himself is our light so we are able to fearlessly shine for him.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
His light becomes our own light. How does this happen? We gaze upon him. As we do this we are transformed from one degree of glory to another (cf. 2 Cor 3:18). Hence he also calls us the light of the world now that we share in his own light (cf. Mat 5:14-16).
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
Let us gaze upon him. We don't have to fill the time with words or intentions or plans. We just need to be there with him. Faith assures us that he always responds when we do this. If we are willing to waste time with him he will capture our wills more and more even if it is imperceptible at first.
How do we gaze upon him? Most particularly in Eucharistic adoration, of course. But we also gaze upon him when we hear his word.
What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
His word contains his very presence and power. Let us not rush from one word to the next. Let us welcome each word. Let us be attentive. Let us be open to the transformation that these words can bring.
Let us trust in his promise. There are times when we won't feel him even though he is always within us transforming us. Knowing his promises encourages us at these times that he is with us and that eventually we will experience the fullness of his presence.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
Monday, September 2, 2013
2 September 2013 - definitive
2 September 2013 - definitive
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
In the passage above we hear one of the common interpretations that secular society gives to Jesus. They are impressed with a lot of what he says but still want to keep him on the natural level.
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
This is where they start having trouble with him. They like the passage he reads. But once he starts talking about fulfilling it in a definitive (and therefore supernatural) way they begin to squirm. Once they realize that is placing himself at the center of this fulfillment in an exclusive way they cannot bear it.
It is precisely because of who Jesus is that he can bring fulfillment to this passage. His life is as definitive as it is divisive. It is from it that we draw our hope. It without it that the world languishes.
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Only in the resurrection do we see the ultimate fulfillment of the words of Isaiah.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
The poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed are only truly and permanently restored at the resurrection. Let us accept Jesus on his own terms.
Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place
Even if we've grown up in his the Church, "native place", we must not thereby lessen our expectant faith. If we cannot bring ourselves to trust in the fullness of his promise he will make it present elsewhere in order to increase our longing for it.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
He wants to cleanse us all. But we can't limit our expectations to a those fitting of a mere "son of Joseph." He comes again, both today and at the end of time, with supernatural as well as natural healing and fulfillment. Let us rejoice in this and thereby place all our hope in him.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
1 September 2013 - Please Seat Yourself
1 September 2013 - Please Seat Yourself
Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,
and you will find favor with God.
We know that we are called to be humble. But how does that work, practically?
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
Jesus himself is our example in this. He comes not to be served but to serve (cf. Mat. 20:28). He washes the feet of those at table with him (cf. Joh. 13). Even though Jesus empties himself and in a sense moves away from the host (cf. Phi. 2:7) the Father is always with him. The Father vindicates his ultimate it is as if he says, "My friend, move up to a higher position."
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
What are we to make of this? Are we just strategizing so that we wind up looking good in the end? If we all vie for position we will never esteem our guests and this banquet. This is a banquet where we are known without illusion or pretense. We esteem one another at this table when we let go of those things. Only then can we truly see past ourselves to the others at this table. And when we see them, we will see what our experience mirrored in their eyes. This is the feast of the humble.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
We are again called to be like Jesus who calls all of us to the heavenly banquet even though we are unworthy. He calls us even while we are yet sinners (cf. Rom. 5:8). And there is nothing we can do to repay him. Ultimately, everything we have comes from God. When we give we do not do so own our own. Every good gift is from God and he is the one giving through us. How then should we expect repayment? Jesus is training us to love more purely. For Jesus loving us is its own reward.
God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.
In the banquet of his Church he makes a home for the poor.
No, you have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
In some sense we are all poor. We can do nothing to deserve this banquet. We cannot repay the one who gives it. All we can do is let God make our hearts like his own generous heart so that we may call everyone to join us at this feast.
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