28 February 2014 - nothing held back
We need to have perseverance and patience in the midst of trial and temptation.
The prophets are examples of this, as is Job. They hold fast to the God in whose name they speak. Job does not abandon God even when all earthly circumstance is set against him. Even in the hardships Job endures we see at work "the purpose of the Lord". We can't manage any of this on our own. Only by keeping the God's purpose in mind, by remembering the good things he has done for his people (including us) in the past, by treasuring them in our heart like Mary (cf. Luk. 2:19), can we hope to persevere. It is only by grace.
A lot of the basis for our worldview, our expectations for ourselves and others, is based on the hardness of our hearts. And it is therefore wrong or at least deprecated. A lot of people are still living without the advantage of grace. We still live from that place too from time to time. We set our expectations based on these results rather than what is truly possible. We find ourselves unable to go all in, to commit ourselves. We want to hold on to the ability to "write a bill of divorce" between ourselves and anything which ultimately seems too difficult for us.
But grace is here. It changes everything. It empowers us to persevere so that our "Yes" may be "Yes" and or "No" may be "No," that we "may not incur condemnation." We now have the power from God to be all in, to give our all, and to hold nothing back, even in spite of the circumstances. This changes every relationship, most especially marriage.
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery.”
And the change turns out to be back to God's original plan for us.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
He doesn't design us to have to hold back in fear and selfishness. When we fail, when we put ourselves first, we take consolation from the knowledge that he is "Merciful and gracious".
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
He wants to bring us from broken partiality that says to the wholeness that can bless God with our entire beings:
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
When our "Yes" means "Yes" we imitate the one who is the yes to all the promises of God (cf. 2 Cor 1:20). We are able to go all that we are because he first gives all he is for us.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
27 February 2014 - fresh principle
27 February 2014 - fresh principle
This morning we are called to be poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit means more than a platitude about being content with what we have. We may be content with what we have and still be running our own show. We may be content with what we have and still be overly stingy with it. We risk keeping something back from the total offering of self which God asks of us. We risk being like Ananias, who, sold property but "retained for himself, with his wife's knowledge, some of the purchase price" and "took the remainder, and put it at the feet of the apostles" (cf. Act. 5:1-6). This is not how we are called to use our treasure. It can be a serious problem. If we claim to belong entirely to God but are still keeping the first fruits for ourselves we are lying with our lives. Acts continues:
Why did you contrive this deed? You have lied not to human beings, but to God.”
When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last, and great fear came upon all who heard of it.
Why do we hold back? We are trying at self-preservation. But how foolish is this? Our anxiety can't add a single moment to our lives. All the riches we store up may be snatched away in a moment as with the man who fills bigger and bigger barns with his excessive harvests (cf. Luk. 12:16-21).
Be not afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.
We want to be free from this self-seeking so that we are free and able to give a cup of water to those who belong to Christ when they need it. Serving Christ in others is the true reward and lasting wealth that we need to seek.
Just as with Ananias in Acts we must be on guard against giving scandal by professing one thing and living another. When our lives give lie to our words we risk causing little ones to sin. And this scandal is no less serious than the scandal of Ananias.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
There is nothing more important than the Kingdom of God. God wants all of his "little ones" to enter the kingdom, ourselves among them. Our lives must be profoundly consistent with this priority. No matter what extraneous things we have to sacrifice, it is better to let them go and enter into life then to be thrown into Gehenna with all of our treasures.
If we are truly poor in spirit we hold nothing back from God. We give him all that we are. Then the fires of worldly temptation only do us no harm but instead bring us greater and greater sanctity. They become the "salt" that preserves us from the decay of the world. If we are "salted with fire" we do not become insipid. God calls us not only to endure trials but to emerge from them with freshness and flavor. If we do we have no cause to fear the undying worm of Gehenna. The poor in spirit and blessed indeed!
This morning we are called to be poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit means more than a platitude about being content with what we have. We may be content with what we have and still be running our own show. We may be content with what we have and still be overly stingy with it. We risk keeping something back from the total offering of self which God asks of us. We risk being like Ananias, who, sold property but "retained for himself, with his wife's knowledge, some of the purchase price" and "took the remainder, and put it at the feet of the apostles" (cf. Act. 5:1-6). This is not how we are called to use our treasure. It can be a serious problem. If we claim to belong entirely to God but are still keeping the first fruits for ourselves we are lying with our lives. Acts continues:
Why did you contrive this deed? You have lied not to human beings, but to God.”
When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last, and great fear came upon all who heard of it.
Why do we hold back? We are trying at self-preservation. But how foolish is this? Our anxiety can't add a single moment to our lives. All the riches we store up may be snatched away in a moment as with the man who fills bigger and bigger barns with his excessive harvests (cf. Luk. 12:16-21).
Be not afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.
We want to be free from this self-seeking so that we are free and able to give a cup of water to those who belong to Christ when they need it. Serving Christ in others is the true reward and lasting wealth that we need to seek.
Just as with Ananias in Acts we must be on guard against giving scandal by professing one thing and living another. When our lives give lie to our words we risk causing little ones to sin. And this scandal is no less serious than the scandal of Ananias.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
There is nothing more important than the Kingdom of God. God wants all of his "little ones" to enter the kingdom, ourselves among them. Our lives must be profoundly consistent with this priority. No matter what extraneous things we have to sacrifice, it is better to let them go and enter into life then to be thrown into Gehenna with all of our treasures.
If we are truly poor in spirit we hold nothing back from God. We give him all that we are. Then the fires of worldly temptation only do us no harm but instead bring us greater and greater sanctity. They become the "salt" that preserves us from the decay of the world. If we are "salted with fire" we do not become insipid. God calls us not only to endure trials but to emerge from them with freshness and flavor. If we do we have no cause to fear the undying worm of Gehenna. The poor in spirit and blessed indeed!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
26 February 2013 - let love be sincere
26 February 2013 - let love be sincere
How do we concretely place Jesus first in our lives? How do we ensure that our love for God is more than just thoughts we think to make ourselves feel good. We know, hopefully, that we should love God. We want to love him, at least because we know we ought to want to love him. And this is wonderful. The LORD inspires in us our desire to love him. But we tend to make feelings the measure of success in loving him. It is wonderful for the LORD to inspire feelings of devotion in our hearts. But he wants our love to be more than feelings, more than words.
He wants to genuinely come first in our hearts, before all else. He wants this to concretely affect how we make our plans. He wants us to subject all our plans and ideas to his will.
Instead you should say,
“If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.”
He reminds us that when we try to make our plans without him that we actually have "no idea what ... life will be like tomorrow" and that any plans which we make firm without God and therefore ultimately "boasting in ... arrogance."
Jesus reminds us that we should not worry so much about what we will eat and what we will wear (cf. Mat 6:25). Our lives should be about God more than food and clothing. The result of trying to run our own show is anxiety because we have no idea what life will be like tomorrow. But if we put Jesus first then we remember that our "heavenly Father knows" that we "need them all". We don't have to worry about specifics because we trust in God to provide.
It isn't that we don't make plans. We do. But we make our plans together with the LORD. We ultimately place them in his hands by saying, "If the Lord wills it". This is how we can do what Peter tells us, "Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you." We still have our desires, but we place them in God's hands.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (cf. Phi. 4:6-7).
This is why the psalmist tells us not to trust in our own wealth or to boast in the abundance of our riches. These things are secondary and they are impermanent. Ultimately we will leave them to others. We must be in the world but not of it. We must head Paul's advice. If we are using the world we should still live as "as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away" (cf. 1 Cor. 7:21).
This will mitigate the risk that we find our plans in opposition to the plans of Jesus. We won't try to stop those who are casting out demons in the name of Jesus that are genuinely doing it in his name. When we are running our own show we run the risk of doing what the disciples do. They try "to prevent him because he does not follow" them. It isn't because he doesn't follow Jesus. It isn't because he doesn't hold to the catholic unity of teaching. It is because he does not follow the disciples in what turns out to be their prideful and altogether human projects. They must lay these projects aside. As must we all. We must let Jesus be our criterion. We must put his name above all else.
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”
When we truly realize that Jesus is the name above every name (cf. Phi. 2:9) we are finally free from the fear the inevitably comes from trying to be in charge ourselves. God is much better at being God than we are.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
How do we concretely place Jesus first in our lives? How do we ensure that our love for God is more than just thoughts we think to make ourselves feel good. We know, hopefully, that we should love God. We want to love him, at least because we know we ought to want to love him. And this is wonderful. The LORD inspires in us our desire to love him. But we tend to make feelings the measure of success in loving him. It is wonderful for the LORD to inspire feelings of devotion in our hearts. But he wants our love to be more than feelings, more than words.
He wants to genuinely come first in our hearts, before all else. He wants this to concretely affect how we make our plans. He wants us to subject all our plans and ideas to his will.
Instead you should say,
“If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.”
He reminds us that when we try to make our plans without him that we actually have "no idea what ... life will be like tomorrow" and that any plans which we make firm without God and therefore ultimately "boasting in ... arrogance."
Jesus reminds us that we should not worry so much about what we will eat and what we will wear (cf. Mat 6:25). Our lives should be about God more than food and clothing. The result of trying to run our own show is anxiety because we have no idea what life will be like tomorrow. But if we put Jesus first then we remember that our "heavenly Father knows" that we "need them all". We don't have to worry about specifics because we trust in God to provide.
It isn't that we don't make plans. We do. But we make our plans together with the LORD. We ultimately place them in his hands by saying, "If the Lord wills it". This is how we can do what Peter tells us, "Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you." We still have our desires, but we place them in God's hands.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (cf. Phi. 4:6-7).
This is why the psalmist tells us not to trust in our own wealth or to boast in the abundance of our riches. These things are secondary and they are impermanent. Ultimately we will leave them to others. We must be in the world but not of it. We must head Paul's advice. If we are using the world we should still live as "as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away" (cf. 1 Cor. 7:21).
This will mitigate the risk that we find our plans in opposition to the plans of Jesus. We won't try to stop those who are casting out demons in the name of Jesus that are genuinely doing it in his name. When we are running our own show we run the risk of doing what the disciples do. They try "to prevent him because he does not follow" them. It isn't because he doesn't follow Jesus. It isn't because he doesn't hold to the catholic unity of teaching. It is because he does not follow the disciples in what turns out to be their prideful and altogether human projects. They must lay these projects aside. As must we all. We must let Jesus be our criterion. We must put his name above all else.
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”
When we truly realize that Jesus is the name above every name (cf. Phi. 2:9) we are finally free from the fear the inevitably comes from trying to be in charge ourselves. God is much better at being God than we are.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
25 February 2014 - vestigial vices
25 February 2014 - vestigial vices
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Even among the disciples we see the vestigial form of the vices that give rise to even the greatest of sins. We see the self-centered passion which gives rise even to wars.
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
We see ourselves pursuing passions at the expense of our relationship with God. We find in ourselves the adulterous hearts which cheat on God with the world. Here's the crux of the matter: we try to have it both ways. We live as though our passions, hobbies, and pursuits are our God. We dedicate ourselves to these and plan around them as though in worship. At the same time we try spend Sunday and perhaps our prayer times during the week acknowledging the true God, LORD of heaven and earth.
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Yet how do we decide how to use our time? Are these decisions really subject to God's will? He's not content to have only a part of our heart, a sharing of custody with the world. He wants all that we are. It isn't that things we pursue are necessarily wrong in themselves, though that may be. They are wrong when they steal our hearts, preventing us from finding fulfillment in God. Which is why Scripture says, "The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?"
There is only one way out of this. We need to stop trying to be first, the top priority, and the greatest, even from the point of view of our own decisions and discernment. Our passions are ultimately harmful not only for others but for ourselves. They prevent us from being truly open to the blessings which God desires to give, the only true source of happiness and joy.
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
We are called to have hearts open to relationship, open to receive even those from whom we stand to gain nothing.
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Somehow opening our hearts to the least of our brothers and sisters allows us to receive more and more of God himself. Why is this? Perhaps because, although we stand to gain so much from our relationship with God, he is trying to lead us beyond this sort of mercenary relationship. He is trying to guide us from a love which is fundamentally mired in selfishness to a love which is Christlike, strong even when there is no benefit to oneself, no reciprocity, or even no appreciation.
This, of course, is the love which Jesus shows for us on the cross. This is the love which can love even one's enemies. "God resists the proud" because he loves us too much to let us continue in our pride, separated from his love. That is why he calls us to cleanse ourselves, to purify ourselves, and to humble ourselves. We may even need "to lament, to mourn, to weep" as we separate ourselves from the things which we worship which are not God. (Lent, anyone?) He calls us to do this because he calls us to "Draw near". He promises that if we do "he will draw near" too us. It is all about relationship, affections rising from the impersonal to the personal, from things to God himself.
Rather than seeking the solace which the world promises but cannot provide let us entrust our cares to God.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Even among the disciples we see the vestigial form of the vices that give rise to even the greatest of sins. We see the self-centered passion which gives rise even to wars.
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
We see ourselves pursuing passions at the expense of our relationship with God. We find in ourselves the adulterous hearts which cheat on God with the world. Here's the crux of the matter: we try to have it both ways. We live as though our passions, hobbies, and pursuits are our God. We dedicate ourselves to these and plan around them as though in worship. At the same time we try spend Sunday and perhaps our prayer times during the week acknowledging the true God, LORD of heaven and earth.
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Yet how do we decide how to use our time? Are these decisions really subject to God's will? He's not content to have only a part of our heart, a sharing of custody with the world. He wants all that we are. It isn't that things we pursue are necessarily wrong in themselves, though that may be. They are wrong when they steal our hearts, preventing us from finding fulfillment in God. Which is why Scripture says, "The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?"
There is only one way out of this. We need to stop trying to be first, the top priority, and the greatest, even from the point of view of our own decisions and discernment. Our passions are ultimately harmful not only for others but for ourselves. They prevent us from being truly open to the blessings which God desires to give, the only true source of happiness and joy.
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
We are called to have hearts open to relationship, open to receive even those from whom we stand to gain nothing.
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Somehow opening our hearts to the least of our brothers and sisters allows us to receive more and more of God himself. Why is this? Perhaps because, although we stand to gain so much from our relationship with God, he is trying to lead us beyond this sort of mercenary relationship. He is trying to guide us from a love which is fundamentally mired in selfishness to a love which is Christlike, strong even when there is no benefit to oneself, no reciprocity, or even no appreciation.
This, of course, is the love which Jesus shows for us on the cross. This is the love which can love even one's enemies. "God resists the proud" because he loves us too much to let us continue in our pride, separated from his love. That is why he calls us to cleanse ourselves, to purify ourselves, and to humble ourselves. We may even need "to lament, to mourn, to weep" as we separate ourselves from the things which we worship which are not God. (Lent, anyone?) He calls us to do this because he calls us to "Draw near". He promises that if we do "he will draw near" too us. It is all about relationship, affections rising from the impersonal to the personal, from things to God himself.
Rather than seeking the solace which the world promises but cannot provide let us entrust our cares to God.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
Monday, February 24, 2014
24 February 2014 - contrast
24 February 2014 - contrast
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
This is worldly wisdom at work. There is "bitter jealousy and selfish ambition" causing this argument. Both the disciples that didn't go up on the mountain with Jesus and the scribes are arguing. They can't cast out the demon. Yet they both insist, most likely, that they are "wise and understanding" even so. This is the prideful wisdom that is "earthly, unspiritual, demonic." This kind of argumentative "wisdom" is powerless before the demon.
This the the scene which Jesus comes down to find. It is stark contrast to the true wisdom he imparts, wisdom which "is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity." Only this wisdom has power. The contrast with worldly wisdom could hardly be more stark when the demon comes into the presence of Jesus, the one who is true wisdom.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
In the presence of Jesus the arguments of the crowds become moot. They are set aside and forgotten. In the presence of the wisdom of Jesus there is the first glimpse of true hope. Jesus is not moved by the disorder and division of the crowds. He is not distracted by arguments. He is a fixed point of unshakable peace amidst the chaos and the noise.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
At first the faith he experiences is partial, half hope and half desperation. The longer he stays in the presence of the shepherd who is peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity the more this faith builds.
Jesus said to him,
“‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Now the peace that never wavers in the heart of Jesus himself is unleashed into the circumstances around him. Faith is the key which unlocks this flood of grace.
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Without prayer we will find ourselves powerless before the demons that surround us. In prayer we place our faith in Jesus and open ourselves to be transformed by his precepts, precepts which "give joy to the heart." This relationship with Jesus is the source of every good fruit. The peace that he gives is a fixed point in a world of storms. This is why the "fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever".
LORD, we do believe, help our unbelief. If we look dead to those around us may your hand raise us up to stand in your presence in praise you!
Let us remember the contrast between the wisdom from on high and earthly when we are trying to discern God's voice in prayer. In prayer our thoughts may arise from ourselves, but also from angels, demons, and from God himself. We learn from the seventh rule for discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola that, if we are on the path, if we "go on from good to better", then "the good Angel touches such soul sweetly, lightly and gently, like a drop of water which enters into a sponge." In other words, we perceive the good fruits of wisdom which we read about today. If evil thoughts arise we perceive them for what they are. They touch us sharply "with noise and disquiet."
It is different for "those who go on from bad to worse." Goodness can initially be unsettling to them just as it is to the demon possessed boy. But as Jesus casts the demons forth the people whom they oppressed will also experience peace in the wisdom of God.
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
This is worldly wisdom at work. There is "bitter jealousy and selfish ambition" causing this argument. Both the disciples that didn't go up on the mountain with Jesus and the scribes are arguing. They can't cast out the demon. Yet they both insist, most likely, that they are "wise and understanding" even so. This is the prideful wisdom that is "earthly, unspiritual, demonic." This kind of argumentative "wisdom" is powerless before the demon.
This the the scene which Jesus comes down to find. It is stark contrast to the true wisdom he imparts, wisdom which "is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity." Only this wisdom has power. The contrast with worldly wisdom could hardly be more stark when the demon comes into the presence of Jesus, the one who is true wisdom.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
In the presence of Jesus the arguments of the crowds become moot. They are set aside and forgotten. In the presence of the wisdom of Jesus there is the first glimpse of true hope. Jesus is not moved by the disorder and division of the crowds. He is not distracted by arguments. He is a fixed point of unshakable peace amidst the chaos and the noise.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
At first the faith he experiences is partial, half hope and half desperation. The longer he stays in the presence of the shepherd who is peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity the more this faith builds.
Jesus said to him,
“‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Now the peace that never wavers in the heart of Jesus himself is unleashed into the circumstances around him. Faith is the key which unlocks this flood of grace.
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Without prayer we will find ourselves powerless before the demons that surround us. In prayer we place our faith in Jesus and open ourselves to be transformed by his precepts, precepts which "give joy to the heart." This relationship with Jesus is the source of every good fruit. The peace that he gives is a fixed point in a world of storms. This is why the "fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever".
LORD, we do believe, help our unbelief. If we look dead to those around us may your hand raise us up to stand in your presence in praise you!
Let us remember the contrast between the wisdom from on high and earthly when we are trying to discern God's voice in prayer. In prayer our thoughts may arise from ourselves, but also from angels, demons, and from God himself. We learn from the seventh rule for discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola that, if we are on the path, if we "go on from good to better", then "the good Angel touches such soul sweetly, lightly and gently, like a drop of water which enters into a sponge." In other words, we perceive the good fruits of wisdom which we read about today. If evil thoughts arise we perceive them for what they are. They touch us sharply "with noise and disquiet."
It is different for "those who go on from bad to worse." Goodness can initially be unsettling to them just as it is to the demon possessed boy. But as Jesus casts the demons forth the people whom they oppressed will also experience peace in the wisdom of God.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
23 Februay 2014 - beyond reciprocity
23 Februay 2014 - beyond reciprocity
Today we are reminded once again that our human resources our insufficient to live our call. God tells us to be "holy, for I, the LORD, your God am holy." Lest we be confused, Jesus clarifies. It isn't just that we are too be holy because God is holy. We are supposed to strive for the same degree of holiness. We are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mat 5:48).
This means we need to get beyond reciprocity. We can't just "love" when there is something in it for us. Tax collectors love those who love them. Even pagans greet their brothers. We must imitate the love which God has for us by loving even our enemies and praying even for those who persecute us.
If we don't have enemies and we are not persecuted there are two things to consider. First, are we really living the gospel? Jesus comes to set a fire on the earth. We acknowledge that Jesus, although he comes to unite mankind, is divisive, because people can choose against the mercy and love he offers. Honestly living the gospel can make us divisive as well. It can result in us having enemies. Yet they are enemies we love, whom we pray for even if they persecute us. This is the fire which Jesus comes to set on the earth. It is a fire of love, first and foremost. Second, we must then consider those toward whom, while they are not our enemies, we feel indifferent. These are also the people who cannot reciprocate our love. The poor, the weak, and the infirm are among them. Even just those who are socially awkward, those with few friends struggling on their own are among them. Our love is called to be broad and encompassing. This is not to say that we have time to have a relationship with everyone around us that we are called to focus on everyone to the same degree. But we need to have hearts capable of this kind of love without apparent reward. We need to be like our God who proves his love for us in that while we are yet sinners Christ dies for us (cf. Rom. 5:8).
To embody this love we must be willing to embody the forgiveness which God first bestows on us. Unforgiveness is a block which prevents God's love from flowing freely into our lives and through us into the world. In unforgiveness we are the servant forgiven the large debt who refuses to forgive the one who owes him much less. Let us recognize the greatness of the gift we first receive that we may in turn offer it to others.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Those who are "wise in this age" are wise precisely in things which serve our own purposes and build our own pride. It is a wisdom that is too proud to forgive. That is why "God catches the wise in their own ruses". It is a wisdom which boasts of the things of this world, celebrities, possessions, and pride. But everything is already ours in Christ. Let us learn that true joy is found in selfless love. It is only in a true gift of self that we truly find ourselves. No more counting the cost, then. No more trying to build a house on sand. No holding back forgiveness from those who "don't deserve it." Instead let us turn to God with empty hands but full hearts and letus praise him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
Today we are reminded once again that our human resources our insufficient to live our call. God tells us to be "holy, for I, the LORD, your God am holy." Lest we be confused, Jesus clarifies. It isn't just that we are too be holy because God is holy. We are supposed to strive for the same degree of holiness. We are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mat 5:48).
This means we need to get beyond reciprocity. We can't just "love" when there is something in it for us. Tax collectors love those who love them. Even pagans greet their brothers. We must imitate the love which God has for us by loving even our enemies and praying even for those who persecute us.
If we don't have enemies and we are not persecuted there are two things to consider. First, are we really living the gospel? Jesus comes to set a fire on the earth. We acknowledge that Jesus, although he comes to unite mankind, is divisive, because people can choose against the mercy and love he offers. Honestly living the gospel can make us divisive as well. It can result in us having enemies. Yet they are enemies we love, whom we pray for even if they persecute us. This is the fire which Jesus comes to set on the earth. It is a fire of love, first and foremost. Second, we must then consider those toward whom, while they are not our enemies, we feel indifferent. These are also the people who cannot reciprocate our love. The poor, the weak, and the infirm are among them. Even just those who are socially awkward, those with few friends struggling on their own are among them. Our love is called to be broad and encompassing. This is not to say that we have time to have a relationship with everyone around us that we are called to focus on everyone to the same degree. But we need to have hearts capable of this kind of love without apparent reward. We need to be like our God who proves his love for us in that while we are yet sinners Christ dies for us (cf. Rom. 5:8).
To embody this love we must be willing to embody the forgiveness which God first bestows on us. Unforgiveness is a block which prevents God's love from flowing freely into our lives and through us into the world. In unforgiveness we are the servant forgiven the large debt who refuses to forgive the one who owes him much less. Let us recognize the greatness of the gift we first receive that we may in turn offer it to others.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Those who are "wise in this age" are wise precisely in things which serve our own purposes and build our own pride. It is a wisdom that is too proud to forgive. That is why "God catches the wise in their own ruses". It is a wisdom which boasts of the things of this world, celebrities, possessions, and pride. But everything is already ours in Christ. Let us learn that true joy is found in selfless love. It is only in a true gift of self that we truly find ourselves. No more counting the cost, then. No more trying to build a house on sand. No holding back forgiveness from those who "don't deserve it." Instead let us turn to God with empty hands but full hearts and letus praise him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
22 February 2014 - popular opinion
22 February 2014 - popular opinion
More than anything, we need to know who Jesus is. Popular opinion will yield a variety of results. We hear that Jesus is:
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so we need the Father to draw us to the Son. Whoever the Father gives to Jesus will come to him and he won't reject any of us (cf. Joh. 6:37). This is the revelation which goes beyond what our eyes can see and our ears can hear. "God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." He wants us all to come to this knowledge and be saved (cf. Tim 2:4). In fact, using our human reasoning to solve this problem may seem natural but it is looking further than we need to look. After all, the "word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart" (cf. Rom 10:8).
This word that is so close to us yet somehow still comes to us through the living voice of the Church. It isn't so much that she passes on doctrine to her children. She presents to the world the sacramental incarnation of Christ Jesus so that the world might choose to respond in faith. We understand here why many Protestants insist the the rock upon which the Church is built is Peter's confession of faith and not Peter himself. It seems that if it is Peter himself then it becomes less personal for everyone else. This is not so. It becomes more personal since someone still speaks with the same authority and anointing with which Jesus speaks. We do not usually receive direct revelation of Christianity. It comes to us through others. How blessed are we that the Good Shepherd does not abandon us but leaves Peter and his successors to feed his sheep (cf. Joh. 21:17). The reality of the chair of Peter puts us in the closest proximity to the voice of Jesus speaking that we can be so that the Father may reveal the truth of that voice to us as well.
We are well provided for in this Church. The sacraments remind us that Jesus is not more distant or impersonal in the Church. He is more present within the Eucharist than in any other place.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
We are blessed to have shepherds like Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope John Paul II who have such genuine shepherd's hearts.
Do not lord it over those assigned to you,
but be examples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd is revealed,
you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Let us rely on the shepherds that God appoints to watch us. If we do we will have nothing to fear even in the valley of death.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
More than anything, we need to know who Jesus is. Popular opinion will yield a variety of results. We hear that Jesus is:
- good man who helps others to get along
- a lower class revolutionary fighting Roman oppression
- a spiritual leader teaching one among many paths to God
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so we need the Father to draw us to the Son. Whoever the Father gives to Jesus will come to him and he won't reject any of us (cf. Joh. 6:37). This is the revelation which goes beyond what our eyes can see and our ears can hear. "God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." He wants us all to come to this knowledge and be saved (cf. Tim 2:4). In fact, using our human reasoning to solve this problem may seem natural but it is looking further than we need to look. After all, the "word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart" (cf. Rom 10:8).
This word that is so close to us yet somehow still comes to us through the living voice of the Church. It isn't so much that she passes on doctrine to her children. She presents to the world the sacramental incarnation of Christ Jesus so that the world might choose to respond in faith. We understand here why many Protestants insist the the rock upon which the Church is built is Peter's confession of faith and not Peter himself. It seems that if it is Peter himself then it becomes less personal for everyone else. This is not so. It becomes more personal since someone still speaks with the same authority and anointing with which Jesus speaks. We do not usually receive direct revelation of Christianity. It comes to us through others. How blessed are we that the Good Shepherd does not abandon us but leaves Peter and his successors to feed his sheep (cf. Joh. 21:17). The reality of the chair of Peter puts us in the closest proximity to the voice of Jesus speaking that we can be so that the Father may reveal the truth of that voice to us as well.
We are well provided for in this Church. The sacraments remind us that Jesus is not more distant or impersonal in the Church. He is more present within the Eucharist than in any other place.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
We are blessed to have shepherds like Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope John Paul II who have such genuine shepherd's hearts.
Do not lord it over those assigned to you,
but be examples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd is revealed,
you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Let us rely on the shepherds that God appoints to watch us. If we do we will have nothing to fear even in the valley of death.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
Friday, February 21, 2014
21 February 2014 - faith in, works out
21 February 2014 - faith in, works out
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
We are surrounded with too many empty words. Too many empty words fill our thoughts. Our minds are filled with the vacuous, fixated on the trivial, and ensnared by the unimportant. Even words that wish others well are not enough. Positive thoughts and good intentions that don't go any further than words are not helpful.
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
Faith is initially the accepting of God's truth. It is learning to see reality with God's eyes. But it is completed, as it was for Abraham, by works. Faith are not meant to be separated. To separate them is, in fact, demonic, because even "the demons believe that and tremble."
But if we try to respond to faith with the works of which we are capable, with the works we can do in our own strength and by our own power, we will quickly find ourselves exhausted. We will quickly fail.
Like Abraham, we are called to put God first. God wants us to be willing to sacrifice every good thing and blessing for his sake. In this we follow him who gave everything for us.
Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
In order to do this, we need the power of the Kingdom of God. We need the power that transforms fear to courage, tepidity to love, and silence to evangelism.
He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
This is why Jesus tells the apostles that, after he ascends, they are not to leave Jerusalem until they receive power from on high (cf. Luk. 24:49). This the power that sends them out with more than just words. Now they can say to the poor, "Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (cf. Act. 3:6).
Their words have power now, a power which can only come from the Holy Spirit. Now they won't speak words that say "keep warm, and eat well" but do nothing. Their words will lead to actions in themselves and even in those who here them. Their words become like God's word which does not return to him without effect (cf. Isa. 55:11).
The Holy Spirit is the only way to greatly delight in the Lord's commands. Without the Spirit they are an impossible burden. They only serve to teach us of our own weakness. But in the Holy Spirit the commands of the LORD are amazing blessings. They are light in the darkness, shining for us and for the whole world.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
We are surrounded with too many empty words. Too many empty words fill our thoughts. Our minds are filled with the vacuous, fixated on the trivial, and ensnared by the unimportant. Even words that wish others well are not enough. Positive thoughts and good intentions that don't go any further than words are not helpful.
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
Faith is initially the accepting of God's truth. It is learning to see reality with God's eyes. But it is completed, as it was for Abraham, by works. Faith are not meant to be separated. To separate them is, in fact, demonic, because even "the demons believe that and tremble."
But if we try to respond to faith with the works of which we are capable, with the works we can do in our own strength and by our own power, we will quickly find ourselves exhausted. We will quickly fail.
Like Abraham, we are called to put God first. God wants us to be willing to sacrifice every good thing and blessing for his sake. In this we follow him who gave everything for us.
Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
In order to do this, we need the power of the Kingdom of God. We need the power that transforms fear to courage, tepidity to love, and silence to evangelism.
He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
This is why Jesus tells the apostles that, after he ascends, they are not to leave Jerusalem until they receive power from on high (cf. Luk. 24:49). This the power that sends them out with more than just words. Now they can say to the poor, "Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (cf. Act. 3:6).
Their words have power now, a power which can only come from the Holy Spirit. Now they won't speak words that say "keep warm, and eat well" but do nothing. Their words will lead to actions in themselves and even in those who here them. Their words become like God's word which does not return to him without effect (cf. Isa. 55:11).
The Holy Spirit is the only way to greatly delight in the Lord's commands. Without the Spirit they are an impossible burden. They only serve to teach us of our own weakness. But in the Holy Spirit the commands of the LORD are amazing blessings. They are light in the darkness, shining for us and for the whole world.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
20 February 2014 - poor over
20 February 2014 - poor over
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
Jesus himself "though he was rich ... became poor" in order to make us rich (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9). He comes not to be served but to serve (20:28). His love reaches down from the inestimably large gulf between God and man. And he calls us to love one another as he loves us (cf. Joh. 13:34).
"The Lord hears the cry of the poor." So what business do we have making distinctions among ourselves and becoming "judges with evil designs". It isn't just the wealthy to whom we give undue priority. There are many ways in which the worldly and successful people have a certain allure. They speak to us of the promises of happiness and fulfillment in this life. Their very lives seem to say that we do not need God. Just as we try to build lives of comfort for ourselves so to do we surround ourselves with lives that help us to forget that such comfort is temporary. We look away from the weak, the infirm, the sick, the poor, the lonely, and the unloved because they remind us that we are not now in heaven. They remind us that the comforts we accumulate may be snatched from us at any moment. Often they show us the joy that can be had in God in spite of circumstances in this world. And that can challenge us.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
When Jesus tells his disciples that he must suffer Peter rebukes him. Peter succumbs to the temptation to insist on this-worldly happiness. We recognize that this is a temptation that faces even we who think ourselves devout. After all, just before he rebukes Jesus, Peter confesses that he is the Christ, a revelation from the Father in heaven. The cross is always a stumbling block. If we look at it truly, if we gaze at it from our hearts, and if we allow it to change us, we can only say with Paul, "whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss" (cf Phi. 3:). Paul can say this because he has "been crucified with Christ". He has let the vision of the cross change him from the inside out.
The cross renders all of our supposed distinctions between groups of men as insignificant. Now there "is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female" for we "are all one in Christ Jesus."
If we don't stop "thinking not as God does, but as human beings do" we will always give at least a slight unconscious preference toward those rich in the things of this passing world. We may try to say that we are only human beings and so it is only natural for us to think this way. But we are more than that. We "have the mind of Christ" (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16). God loves us even though we are poor. Let us embrace our poverty so that we can help make the whole world rich in the things of God. And let us glorify him.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
Jesus himself "though he was rich ... became poor" in order to make us rich (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9). He comes not to be served but to serve (20:28). His love reaches down from the inestimably large gulf between God and man. And he calls us to love one another as he loves us (cf. Joh. 13:34).
"The Lord hears the cry of the poor." So what business do we have making distinctions among ourselves and becoming "judges with evil designs". It isn't just the wealthy to whom we give undue priority. There are many ways in which the worldly and successful people have a certain allure. They speak to us of the promises of happiness and fulfillment in this life. Their very lives seem to say that we do not need God. Just as we try to build lives of comfort for ourselves so to do we surround ourselves with lives that help us to forget that such comfort is temporary. We look away from the weak, the infirm, the sick, the poor, the lonely, and the unloved because they remind us that we are not now in heaven. They remind us that the comforts we accumulate may be snatched from us at any moment. Often they show us the joy that can be had in God in spite of circumstances in this world. And that can challenge us.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
When Jesus tells his disciples that he must suffer Peter rebukes him. Peter succumbs to the temptation to insist on this-worldly happiness. We recognize that this is a temptation that faces even we who think ourselves devout. After all, just before he rebukes Jesus, Peter confesses that he is the Christ, a revelation from the Father in heaven. The cross is always a stumbling block. If we look at it truly, if we gaze at it from our hearts, and if we allow it to change us, we can only say with Paul, "whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss" (cf Phi. 3:). Paul can say this because he has "been crucified with Christ". He has let the vision of the cross change him from the inside out.
The cross renders all of our supposed distinctions between groups of men as insignificant. Now there "is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female" for we "are all one in Christ Jesus."
If we don't stop "thinking not as God does, but as human beings do" we will always give at least a slight unconscious preference toward those rich in the things of this passing world. We may try to say that we are only human beings and so it is only natural for us to think this way. But we are more than that. We "have the mind of Christ" (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16). God loves us even though we are poor. Let us embrace our poverty so that we can help make the whole world rich in the things of God. And let us glorify him.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
19 February 2014 - perseverance par excellence
19 February 2014 - perseverance par excellence
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
When we hear the word we begin to see. We are like the blind man that the people bring to touch Jesus. At first he cannot see clearly. He sees "people looking like trees and walking." Simply hearing the word isn't enough to understand the word. We risk deceiving our hearts with a religion that is vain. This word comes alive when we live it. This word enlightens us when act on it, not just once, but when we persevere.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.
Just as the blind man has to wait for the second touch of Jesus to begin to see things as they are so to do we need to persevere in our relationship with him. When we see him we see the "perfect law of freedom" which can be found nowhere else. Yet we do not experience the freedom all at once. We recognize that healing is a process. Wisdom is a process. It is a process that we live in relationship. And if we don't see clearly, if we have trouble remembering who we are, we need Jesus to lay his hands on our eyes a second time. He wants to restore our sight so that we can "see everything distinctly." This is a gift of the Holy Spirit: discernment.
When we say that we must act on the word to understand it we tend to think that puts the ball back in our court. We think that means that our effort takes priority. But this is not the case. The blind man shows us that the perseverance entailed in acting on the word only happens in relationship with Jesus. We can't just strain our eyes until the trees resolve into true vision. And until then we are still likely to stumble and fall. We must wait for Jesus to touch us a second time, a third time, or as many times as it takes to see clearly.
Jesus himself is the light that lets us see clearly. Only in that light can we avoid the pitfalls in our paths and keep ourselves "unstained by the world." In the light of Jesus we see his face on the faces of orphans and widows. How can we walk in justice without this light? We can't possibly understand the dignity of others without his light. He himself is the truth that we think and treasure in our hearts just as Mary does (cf. Luk 2:19). This contemplation by Mary is perseverance par excellence. It allows us to walk blamelessly, to do justice, and ultimately to live on the LORD's holy mountain.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
And if we are disturbed we must ask ourselves, are we doing these things? Without the light of Jesus, the perfect law of freedom, we will lack the discernment to know if we are our not. He is ready to heal us. He wants us to see everything distinctly. He is calling us on to his holy mountain to live with him forever.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
When we hear the word we begin to see. We are like the blind man that the people bring to touch Jesus. At first he cannot see clearly. He sees "people looking like trees and walking." Simply hearing the word isn't enough to understand the word. We risk deceiving our hearts with a religion that is vain. This word comes alive when we live it. This word enlightens us when act on it, not just once, but when we persevere.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.
Just as the blind man has to wait for the second touch of Jesus to begin to see things as they are so to do we need to persevere in our relationship with him. When we see him we see the "perfect law of freedom" which can be found nowhere else. Yet we do not experience the freedom all at once. We recognize that healing is a process. Wisdom is a process. It is a process that we live in relationship. And if we don't see clearly, if we have trouble remembering who we are, we need Jesus to lay his hands on our eyes a second time. He wants to restore our sight so that we can "see everything distinctly." This is a gift of the Holy Spirit: discernment.
When we say that we must act on the word to understand it we tend to think that puts the ball back in our court. We think that means that our effort takes priority. But this is not the case. The blind man shows us that the perseverance entailed in acting on the word only happens in relationship with Jesus. We can't just strain our eyes until the trees resolve into true vision. And until then we are still likely to stumble and fall. We must wait for Jesus to touch us a second time, a third time, or as many times as it takes to see clearly.
Jesus himself is the light that lets us see clearly. Only in that light can we avoid the pitfalls in our paths and keep ourselves "unstained by the world." In the light of Jesus we see his face on the faces of orphans and widows. How can we walk in justice without this light? We can't possibly understand the dignity of others without his light. He himself is the truth that we think and treasure in our hearts just as Mary does (cf. Luk 2:19). This contemplation by Mary is perseverance par excellence. It allows us to walk blamelessly, to do justice, and ultimately to live on the LORD's holy mountain.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
And if we are disturbed we must ask ourselves, are we doing these things? Without the light of Jesus, the perfect law of freedom, we will lack the discernment to know if we are our not. He is ready to heal us. He wants us to see everything distinctly. He is calling us on to his holy mountain to live with him forever.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
18 February 2014 - hungry for you
18 February 2014 - hungry for you
Our hearts are slow to trust God. Even though we remember when he gives us bread with the four thousand and the five thousand we still don't understand. Even though his providence is so great that there are seven and twelve baskets left over we still do not yet understand and comprehend. Our hearts are hardened. Our eyes do not see and our ears do not hear.
Our minds default to the materialism that surrounds us. Jesus talks about leaven and all we can think about is the bread we forgot this time. Jesus is trying to teach us, to draw our minds higher, but if we don't trust in his providential care we may twist his words to a meaning that addresses our immediate concern rather than his.
One situation in which we face temptation is when we are with Jesus but our bread is at home, forgotten. Yet we are called to persevere. We are tempted to the leaven of the Pharisees. We are tempted to ask for signs on our own terms, signs that fulfill our own purposes, which make Jesus sigh from the depths of his being. This leaven quickly pollutes the purpose of the true signs that Jesus gives. This leaven would make Jesus an earthly king (cf. Joh. 6:15), a bread king as Fulton Sheen calls the role in which the people would place Jesus:
No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
He is the source of our daily bread. Yet he himself points to the higher bread that comes from doing the will of him who sent him (cf. 4:34). The leaven of the Pharisees keeps our minds earthbound, too worried about taking care of ourselves to truly open ourselves to trust in God. We must persevere, holding fast to the memory of his providence, clinging tightly to our knowledge of who he truly is.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
This we must do because "when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death." This is a truth with which we are all too familiar, not just in a society which kills the unborn, but in our own individual hearts. We must persevere but we cannot do so with our own strength. Let us learn to trust in the LORD.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.
Our hearts are slow to trust God. Even though we remember when he gives us bread with the four thousand and the five thousand we still don't understand. Even though his providence is so great that there are seven and twelve baskets left over we still do not yet understand and comprehend. Our hearts are hardened. Our eyes do not see and our ears do not hear.
Our minds default to the materialism that surrounds us. Jesus talks about leaven and all we can think about is the bread we forgot this time. Jesus is trying to teach us, to draw our minds higher, but if we don't trust in his providential care we may twist his words to a meaning that addresses our immediate concern rather than his.
One situation in which we face temptation is when we are with Jesus but our bread is at home, forgotten. Yet we are called to persevere. We are tempted to the leaven of the Pharisees. We are tempted to ask for signs on our own terms, signs that fulfill our own purposes, which make Jesus sigh from the depths of his being. This leaven quickly pollutes the purpose of the true signs that Jesus gives. This leaven would make Jesus an earthly king (cf. Joh. 6:15), a bread king as Fulton Sheen calls the role in which the people would place Jesus:
The first temptation Christ had in the beginning of His public life was to become a bread King, and to win men by supplying them with food. On one occasion when they attempted to make Him King after multiplying the bread, He fled into the mountains. Rome once rang with the cry: "Bread and circuses." But the Bread that was brought at Bethlehem was an entirely different kind: "Not by bread alone does man live."The temptation of Christ in regard to his ministry is a temptation that we face in interpreting him. In order to not give in to this temptation we must do what James tells us: persevere! To persevere means that we don't allow the trials we face to change our image of God.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
He is the source of our daily bread. Yet he himself points to the higher bread that comes from doing the will of him who sent him (cf. 4:34). The leaven of the Pharisees keeps our minds earthbound, too worried about taking care of ourselves to truly open ourselves to trust in God. We must persevere, holding fast to the memory of his providence, clinging tightly to our knowledge of who he truly is.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
This we must do because "when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death." This is a truth with which we are all too familiar, not just in a society which kills the unborn, but in our own individual hearts. We must persevere but we cannot do so with our own strength. Let us learn to trust in the LORD.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.
Monday, February 17, 2014
17 February 2014 - Holy Spirit perspective
17 February 2014 - Holy Spirit perspective
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
When we encounter trials joy isn't the first thing on our minds. Trials are called trials because they are hard. They entail suffering. We prefer to avoid them when possible. After all, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful" (cf. Heb. 12:11).
But testing produces perseverance. Discipline "produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (ibid).
So James isn't calling us to show a false joy when we feel afflicted and oppressed. He is calling us to have a Holy Spirit perspective enabling us to have joy even amidst our suffering because we see the deeper purpose at work.
Suffering calls us to remember that we are not yet in heaven. This is a vital fact, but one which slips our minds if we let it. We are on pilgrimage. Yet we are all too ready to make our camp here permanent, even though here we have no lasting city (cf. Heb. 13:14). This is the trouble with riches, which "pass away "like the flower of the field."" We face the risk that we will fade away in the midst of our pursuits.
This is not yet heaven. We are often compelled to remember this by the hardships of life. But our response is not always the best. We "should ask God" for wisdom because he "gives to all generously and ungrudgingly". Rather than trying to build a house on shifting sands God wants to teach us to long for heaven. He wants us to have genuine joy at the thought that he goes to prepare a place for us. We might perform a simple test. When was the last time we smiled sincerely at the thought of heaven? Yet he is not calling us to disconnect from this world. We are still here, after all, not yet in heaven. Rather than trying to create heaven here from the bottom up we are to rely on heaven to empower and provide for our pilgrimage, just as God does for Moses and the Hebrew people in the desert. Jesus himself is the way on this pilgrimage. His resurrection is the power by which we walk.
There is a vast gulf between human ways of doing things and God's way. Sometimes God wants us to seek a sign as with Ahaz (cf. Isa. 7:11). But other times signs are unhelpful. Other times they are desired for selfish motivations. They arise from the desire to subject God to our way of doing things, our timing, and our plans. These sorts of request make Jesus sigh "from the depth of his spirit". We must be careful to always ask for wisdom, for signs, and all else with "faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways." To ask in faith means to ask according to the mind of God, with our human will excluded entirely. This is how we are not of two minds. And when we are of one body and one Spirit in Christ we know that he hears us.
Let us take dwell in the LORD's words because in them we discover his promises to us. We discover the promise he makes to his servants of the resurrected life in heaven that begins even now through the Spirit. We begin to stake our whole lives on this promise.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
When we encounter trials joy isn't the first thing on our minds. Trials are called trials because they are hard. They entail suffering. We prefer to avoid them when possible. After all, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful" (cf. Heb. 12:11).
But testing produces perseverance. Discipline "produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (ibid).
So James isn't calling us to show a false joy when we feel afflicted and oppressed. He is calling us to have a Holy Spirit perspective enabling us to have joy even amidst our suffering because we see the deeper purpose at work.
Suffering calls us to remember that we are not yet in heaven. This is a vital fact, but one which slips our minds if we let it. We are on pilgrimage. Yet we are all too ready to make our camp here permanent, even though here we have no lasting city (cf. Heb. 13:14). This is the trouble with riches, which "pass away "like the flower of the field."" We face the risk that we will fade away in the midst of our pursuits.
This is not yet heaven. We are often compelled to remember this by the hardships of life. But our response is not always the best. We "should ask God" for wisdom because he "gives to all generously and ungrudgingly". Rather than trying to build a house on shifting sands God wants to teach us to long for heaven. He wants us to have genuine joy at the thought that he goes to prepare a place for us. We might perform a simple test. When was the last time we smiled sincerely at the thought of heaven? Yet he is not calling us to disconnect from this world. We are still here, after all, not yet in heaven. Rather than trying to create heaven here from the bottom up we are to rely on heaven to empower and provide for our pilgrimage, just as God does for Moses and the Hebrew people in the desert. Jesus himself is the way on this pilgrimage. His resurrection is the power by which we walk.
There is a vast gulf between human ways of doing things and God's way. Sometimes God wants us to seek a sign as with Ahaz (cf. Isa. 7:11). But other times signs are unhelpful. Other times they are desired for selfish motivations. They arise from the desire to subject God to our way of doing things, our timing, and our plans. These sorts of request make Jesus sigh "from the depth of his spirit". We must be careful to always ask for wisdom, for signs, and all else with "faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways." To ask in faith means to ask according to the mind of God, with our human will excluded entirely. This is how we are not of two minds. And when we are of one body and one Spirit in Christ we know that he hears us.
Let us take dwell in the LORD's words because in them we discover his promises to us. We discover the promise he makes to his servants of the resurrected life in heaven that begins even now through the Spirit. We begin to stake our whole lives on this promise.
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
16 February 2014 - right "us-ness", or: being the people are called to be
16 February 2014 - right "us-ness", or: being the people are called to be
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees are doing something worse than breaking one of the least of the commandments and teaching others to do so. They must be because the level of their righteousness is insufficient for the kingdom of God and those who break one of the least commandments may still hope to find entrance into the kingdom although they will be called the least.
Yet the Pharisees and scribes are so concerned with righteousness. How can we compete with people who are basically trying to do this professionally and still failing?
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
All we need, then, is to choose the good. Surprisingly, the scribes and Pharisees must not be making this simple choice. They must instead be choosing the appearance of the good, which is something else entirely.
Neither we nor the scribes and Pharisees have the ability within ourselves produce life and goodness. But if we choose them the LORD he will bless us to bear this fruit in our lives.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
This is the righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees: to genuinely want to please God for God's sake. It isn't enough not to kill and still have a heart full of killing. It isn't enough not to commit adultery and still entertain lust in our hearts. We need the LORD to change us from within.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
Discernment will keep let his "precepts be diligently kept." This steadfastness in choosing the good from the inside out will make us firm in the ways of keeping his statues. Then we are among the blessed "who follow the law of the Lord!"
We need firmness of purpose. We need to let this purpose change us from the inside out. It's true that our inner lives and persons aren't safe from being changed when we do this. But if we really look we will realize that is for the best. We don't need to cling to these old senses of who we believe ourselves to be. Who the LORD believes us to be as a much better destiny. We can't fully grasp just how good this wisdom is yet. But we will see it.
What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
We even begin to taste it now through the Spirit in us. The Spirit gives us the same discernment by which he "scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God."
So let our "'Yes' mean 'Yes,'". Let us be people who don't need to hold anything back by using oaths that are meant to give us wiggle room. We do this not on our own power, but in him who is the yes to all of God's promises (cf. 2 Cor 1:20).
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees are doing something worse than breaking one of the least of the commandments and teaching others to do so. They must be because the level of their righteousness is insufficient for the kingdom of God and those who break one of the least commandments may still hope to find entrance into the kingdom although they will be called the least.
Yet the Pharisees and scribes are so concerned with righteousness. How can we compete with people who are basically trying to do this professionally and still failing?
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
All we need, then, is to choose the good. Surprisingly, the scribes and Pharisees must not be making this simple choice. They must instead be choosing the appearance of the good, which is something else entirely.
Neither we nor the scribes and Pharisees have the ability within ourselves produce life and goodness. But if we choose them the LORD he will bless us to bear this fruit in our lives.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
This is the righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees: to genuinely want to please God for God's sake. It isn't enough not to kill and still have a heart full of killing. It isn't enough not to commit adultery and still entertain lust in our hearts. We need the LORD to change us from within.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
Discernment will keep let his "precepts be diligently kept." This steadfastness in choosing the good from the inside out will make us firm in the ways of keeping his statues. Then we are among the blessed "who follow the law of the Lord!"
We need firmness of purpose. We need to let this purpose change us from the inside out. It's true that our inner lives and persons aren't safe from being changed when we do this. But if we really look we will realize that is for the best. We don't need to cling to these old senses of who we believe ourselves to be. Who the LORD believes us to be as a much better destiny. We can't fully grasp just how good this wisdom is yet. But we will see it.
What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
We even begin to taste it now through the Spirit in us. The Spirit gives us the same discernment by which he "scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God."
So let our "'Yes' mean 'Yes,'". Let us be people who don't need to hold anything back by using oaths that are meant to give us wiggle room. We do this not on our own power, but in him who is the yes to all of God's promises (cf. 2 Cor 1:20).
Saturday, February 15, 2014
15 February 2014 - repeat offender
15 February 2014 - repeat offender
What is it about golden calves? Why can't we seem to get away from them? We have all spent time in bondage to sin in the land of Egypt. Is our memory of who delivered us really so bad? The calf in Egypt may still call to mind unfettered license to sin. It may call to mind the orgy suggested in the wording of the text of Exodus. It certainly represents selfishness. It represents making ourselves the ones who create and choose what we worship instead of submitting ourselves to God.
We need to instill in ourselves memory of our deliverance, individually and as a people. We need to ponder God's mighty deeds in our hearts. Because the world is not done throwing calves of gold at us yet. It wants to twist our story to suggest that true freedom is found in this revelry and this license. And the world will make this terribly convenient.
The king took counsel, made two calves of gold, and said to the people: “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
They are placed at Bethel and Dan. There are temples built in the high places. We do not have to travel far for gratification of this sort. And look, we even imagine that we have increased importance in this system. We imagine wrongly that our dignity is greater when we choose stupid things simply because we are choosing.
He also built temples on the high places and made priests from among the common people who were not Levites.
This system is ready and willing to use us as cogs to enslave all who encounter it. This role is the source of our imagined dignity. But in the service of this system we become something less than fully human.
They made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
Let us remember the God who saves. Let us never forget the mighty works he does for his people, the mighty works he does in each of our lives.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
Perhaps this morning we find ourselves hungry for renewed purpose. Perhaps we long for deeper meaning. We must stay near to Jesus. His heart of moved with pity for us. He will never send us to collapse on the way.
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
Trusting in Jesus we won't succumb to the temptations of more immediate forms of fulfillment. We won't leave early to find food on our own. We won't think that we "have been going up to Jerusalem long enough." We will trust him to give us our food in due season (cf. Psa. 145:15). It is fear of this hunger which drives us to sin by insisting on more immediate forms of gratification. The antidote to fear is faith.
When we put him first "the hearts of this people will return to their master". God remembers us and favors us with such generous provisions that there will even be baskets left over.
What is it about golden calves? Why can't we seem to get away from them? We have all spent time in bondage to sin in the land of Egypt. Is our memory of who delivered us really so bad? The calf in Egypt may still call to mind unfettered license to sin. It may call to mind the orgy suggested in the wording of the text of Exodus. It certainly represents selfishness. It represents making ourselves the ones who create and choose what we worship instead of submitting ourselves to God.
We need to instill in ourselves memory of our deliverance, individually and as a people. We need to ponder God's mighty deeds in our hearts. Because the world is not done throwing calves of gold at us yet. It wants to twist our story to suggest that true freedom is found in this revelry and this license. And the world will make this terribly convenient.
The king took counsel, made two calves of gold, and said to the people: “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
They are placed at Bethel and Dan. There are temples built in the high places. We do not have to travel far for gratification of this sort. And look, we even imagine that we have increased importance in this system. We imagine wrongly that our dignity is greater when we choose stupid things simply because we are choosing.
He also built temples on the high places and made priests from among the common people who were not Levites.
This system is ready and willing to use us as cogs to enslave all who encounter it. This role is the source of our imagined dignity. But in the service of this system we become something less than fully human.
They made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
Let us remember the God who saves. Let us never forget the mighty works he does for his people, the mighty works he does in each of our lives.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
Perhaps this morning we find ourselves hungry for renewed purpose. Perhaps we long for deeper meaning. We must stay near to Jesus. His heart of moved with pity for us. He will never send us to collapse on the way.
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
Trusting in Jesus we won't succumb to the temptations of more immediate forms of fulfillment. We won't leave early to find food on our own. We won't think that we "have been going up to Jerusalem long enough." We will trust him to give us our food in due season (cf. Psa. 145:15). It is fear of this hunger which drives us to sin by insisting on more immediate forms of gratification. The antidote to fear is faith.
When we put him first "the hearts of this people will return to their master". God remembers us and favors us with such generous provisions that there will even be baskets left over.
Friday, February 14, 2014
14 February 2014 - getting an ear full
14 February 2014 - getting an ear full
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
We have the same condition. We can't hear the word of God in its full power. We hear God's words as just some among the many human words that inundate us. God's word is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword (cf. Heb 4:12). When it goes forth from the mouth of God it does not return to him void (cf. Isa. 55:11). It is a seed of our own eternal life (cf. 1 Pet 1:23), evangelism (cf. Luk. 8:4-8), and it is meant to bear fruit. All of the fruits of the Holy Spirit have their source in this word. The sound waves hit our ears. The words are interpreted by our cognition. Yet we do not have as much love, joy, and peace as we'd like. We aren't really hearing it. Hence the admonition of Jesus, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear". In some ways the scroll is still sealed to us as it is in the book of Revelation:
Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to examine it. I shed many tears because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it.
In both situations, that of the deaf man, and that of all scroll, only Jesus can unlock the words we need to hear. Only in relationship with him do they have their full effect.
One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”
Indeed what Jesus does for the deaf man he will do for us as well.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
He opens our ears, especially when the gospels are proclaimed in the mass. But we have to acquiesce to a process that is as intimate as this. We have to allow Jesus to touch us, to contact the very point of our deafness, the very point of our speech impediment. There are no illusions about our own efforts solving the problem when we make ourselves so vulnerable to Jesus. We have to trust him. We have to trust that he wants to heal us. Hearing him is a precondition of the relationship that he wants with us.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand.”
There is what we might call a side-effect to this healing. Our speech impediment is removed.
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
After this we can't shut up about what Jesus does for us. We are like Paul who says, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16).
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
Should we be surprised to learn that the reason we have difficulty speaking about Jesus is because we have difficulty hearing him? Yet he heals both simultaneously.
We must treat the word of God as it truly is and not like the word of man. If we do this we avoid the fragmentation that the thousands of different and contradictory words which the world speaks cause.
Ahijah took off his new cloak,
tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam:
“Take ten pieces for yourself;
the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
‘I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon’s grasp
and will give you ten of the tribes.
The kingdoms of our lives remain united. The Church remains united in firm purpose. And the world can hardly help but say “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
We have the same condition. We can't hear the word of God in its full power. We hear God's words as just some among the many human words that inundate us. God's word is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword (cf. Heb 4:12). When it goes forth from the mouth of God it does not return to him void (cf. Isa. 55:11). It is a seed of our own eternal life (cf. 1 Pet 1:23), evangelism (cf. Luk. 8:4-8), and it is meant to bear fruit. All of the fruits of the Holy Spirit have their source in this word. The sound waves hit our ears. The words are interpreted by our cognition. Yet we do not have as much love, joy, and peace as we'd like. We aren't really hearing it. Hence the admonition of Jesus, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear". In some ways the scroll is still sealed to us as it is in the book of Revelation:
Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to examine it. I shed many tears because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it.
In both situations, that of the deaf man, and that of all scroll, only Jesus can unlock the words we need to hear. Only in relationship with him do they have their full effect.
One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”
Indeed what Jesus does for the deaf man he will do for us as well.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
He opens our ears, especially when the gospels are proclaimed in the mass. But we have to acquiesce to a process that is as intimate as this. We have to allow Jesus to touch us, to contact the very point of our deafness, the very point of our speech impediment. There are no illusions about our own efforts solving the problem when we make ourselves so vulnerable to Jesus. We have to trust him. We have to trust that he wants to heal us. Hearing him is a precondition of the relationship that he wants with us.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand.”
There is what we might call a side-effect to this healing. Our speech impediment is removed.
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
After this we can't shut up about what Jesus does for us. We are like Paul who says, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16).
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
Should we be surprised to learn that the reason we have difficulty speaking about Jesus is because we have difficulty hearing him? Yet he heals both simultaneously.
We must treat the word of God as it truly is and not like the word of man. If we do this we avoid the fragmentation that the thousands of different and contradictory words which the world speaks cause.
Ahijah took off his new cloak,
tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam:
“Take ten pieces for yourself;
the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
‘I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon’s grasp
and will give you ten of the tribes.
The kingdoms of our lives remain united. The Church remains united in firm purpose. And the world can hardly help but say “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Thursday, February 13, 2014
13 February 2014 - one love
13 February 2014 - one love
When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,
and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,
as the heart of his father David had been.
We might be tempted to be unsympathetic. After all, polytheism isn't a living temptation for most of us (though perhaps someone overly involved in Yoga might still have to face it directly). We wonder how someone as wise as Solomon can go from following the God who blesses him so richly to serving strange gods. The passage tells us: "his wives had turned his heart". We see just how very divided he is, adoring Astarte, Milcom, Chemosh, and even Molech, Molech who receives the sacrifice of living children. He burns incense and sacrifices like this "for all his foreign wives". He has no particular interest in these gods but we can easily imagine that he gives in once to the request of one wife and then he has to do it for all of his wives in order to be 'fair.'
Solomon's heart is "not entirely with the LORD". His relationship with one wife is supposed to reflect this unity of purpose. Indeed, it is supposed to draw on this unity of purpose as its source. If the heart is not entirely with the LORD it will easily yield when pushed and pulled by the world. Polygamy is reflective is a deeper disunity within the heart. It is the extreme version of trying to give ourselves to the thousand things which are not God. And just as Solomon realizes so to do we realize that these things make claims on us which only God should make.
We need to keep the personal unity and consistency that comes from loving the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. We will thereby resist the temptation to mingle with the nations and take on the trendy sins of our times.
But they mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for them.
No matter how insistent the world is that this or that sinful behavior is a right, that it isn't fair to exclude it, we won't be fooled. We will continue to recognize the harm that such things bring and we will continue to "observe what is right" and "do always what is just."
The Syrophoenician woman emerges from the backdrop of a sinful world. Jesus insists that the blessings of his kingdom are wasted if they are separated from the unity of purpose that comes from being God's people. Dog's chase after this and that, eating what they find, but finding no more joy in a well-prepared feast than in dog food.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
The woman must hear in this the door which Jesus leaves open. He says that the children should be fed first, not that only they should be fed. In leaving a door open he allows the woman to show that, in spite of her background, she has the necessary single-heartedness to receive God's blessings. She displays this with her humble persistence.
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
She does not change the terms of the LORD's analogy. Instead she simply reaffirms that she too is hungry, that she too will benefit from this food, even if only a little, even if not the best of it. We often lack this humility, putting ourselves first and inevitably finding ourselves fragmented and divided. Fortunately, even when we mess this up the promise of God remains.
I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David
and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
He is always there to welcome us back, to heal our hearts, and to make us whole again.
When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,
and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,
as the heart of his father David had been.
We might be tempted to be unsympathetic. After all, polytheism isn't a living temptation for most of us (though perhaps someone overly involved in Yoga might still have to face it directly). We wonder how someone as wise as Solomon can go from following the God who blesses him so richly to serving strange gods. The passage tells us: "his wives had turned his heart". We see just how very divided he is, adoring Astarte, Milcom, Chemosh, and even Molech, Molech who receives the sacrifice of living children. He burns incense and sacrifices like this "for all his foreign wives". He has no particular interest in these gods but we can easily imagine that he gives in once to the request of one wife and then he has to do it for all of his wives in order to be 'fair.'
Solomon's heart is "not entirely with the LORD". His relationship with one wife is supposed to reflect this unity of purpose. Indeed, it is supposed to draw on this unity of purpose as its source. If the heart is not entirely with the LORD it will easily yield when pushed and pulled by the world. Polygamy is reflective is a deeper disunity within the heart. It is the extreme version of trying to give ourselves to the thousand things which are not God. And just as Solomon realizes so to do we realize that these things make claims on us which only God should make.
We need to keep the personal unity and consistency that comes from loving the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. We will thereby resist the temptation to mingle with the nations and take on the trendy sins of our times.
But they mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for them.
No matter how insistent the world is that this or that sinful behavior is a right, that it isn't fair to exclude it, we won't be fooled. We will continue to recognize the harm that such things bring and we will continue to "observe what is right" and "do always what is just."
The Syrophoenician woman emerges from the backdrop of a sinful world. Jesus insists that the blessings of his kingdom are wasted if they are separated from the unity of purpose that comes from being God's people. Dog's chase after this and that, eating what they find, but finding no more joy in a well-prepared feast than in dog food.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
The woman must hear in this the door which Jesus leaves open. He says that the children should be fed first, not that only they should be fed. In leaving a door open he allows the woman to show that, in spite of her background, she has the necessary single-heartedness to receive God's blessings. She displays this with her humble persistence.
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
She does not change the terms of the LORD's analogy. Instead she simply reaffirms that she too is hungry, that she too will benefit from this food, even if only a little, even if not the best of it. We often lack this humility, putting ourselves first and inevitably finding ourselves fragmented and divided. Fortunately, even when we mess this up the promise of God remains.
I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David
and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
He is always there to welcome us back, to heal our hearts, and to make us whole again.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
12 February 2014 - open source
12 February 2014 - open source
Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.
But what is it about the wisdom of Solomon which is so impressive? Somehow it draws the Queen of Sheba from praising Solomon to praising his God.
Blessed be the LORD, your God,
whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel.
In his enduring love for Israel,
the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”
There is something in the wisdom of Solomon which points back from Solomon to its source in God. Human wisdom is always partial, in specific knowledge domains, creating subject matter experts. It is because his wisdom is from God that "there remained nothing hidden from him that he could not explain to her." It is because his blessings flow from God that his palace, his foot, his ministers, and all of the details the queen of Sheba sees cause her to be "breathless." More than the material prosperity or intellectual knowledge she sees an underlying order in the way these things are used that points to the LORD. She sees Solomon's stewardship of the gifts he has been given.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
If we use the blessings we have been given well, if we use them to build the kingdom, if we commit them to the LORD we will be able to live our call to be the light of the world. People around us will see this light shining and, like the Queen of Sheba, they will be moved to bless the God we follow.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
It isn't prosperity itself that defiles us. It isn't the food at our table which makes us unclean. Even an elaborate banquet, with well dressed waiters, and with carefully seated ministers might be called for rather than being excessive.
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
So we must be diligent about what we allow to come from within, from our hearts. We should heed the proverb, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (cf. Pro. 4:23). Solomon must be doing this, at least thus far, as we can see from the results. Is there a hint in the passage as to his secret? The first thing the Queen of Sheba notices is Solomon's wisdom. What is the last thing she notices before ultimately being left breathless? She notices "the burnt offerings he offered in the temple of the LORD". The priorities of Solomon's heart are evident in his actions. In burnt offerings he recognizes that all that he has ultimately belongs to the LORD. These are no mere rituals for him. They are so essential as to impress the visiting Queen. She sees in them a glimpse of the source of all that impresses her about this kingdom.
Yet try as we might we cannot bring forth this level of goodness from our hearts. The more we try the more frustrated we get, seeing the evil thoughts that we can't keep inside. The point of Jesus is that we need to face up to this. We need to accept that external solutions can't fix us and external factors aren't bringing us down. It is our own hearts that are insufficient. This is why Jesus tells us that living water (the springs of life mentioned above) flow from the heart of he who believes (cf. Joh 7:38), he who trusts in Jesus. When we realize this we are able to turn to God and to rely on him just as Solomon does.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.
But what is it about the wisdom of Solomon which is so impressive? Somehow it draws the Queen of Sheba from praising Solomon to praising his God.
Blessed be the LORD, your God,
whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel.
In his enduring love for Israel,
the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”
There is something in the wisdom of Solomon which points back from Solomon to its source in God. Human wisdom is always partial, in specific knowledge domains, creating subject matter experts. It is because his wisdom is from God that "there remained nothing hidden from him that he could not explain to her." It is because his blessings flow from God that his palace, his foot, his ministers, and all of the details the queen of Sheba sees cause her to be "breathless." More than the material prosperity or intellectual knowledge she sees an underlying order in the way these things are used that points to the LORD. She sees Solomon's stewardship of the gifts he has been given.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
If we use the blessings we have been given well, if we use them to build the kingdom, if we commit them to the LORD we will be able to live our call to be the light of the world. People around us will see this light shining and, like the Queen of Sheba, they will be moved to bless the God we follow.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
It isn't prosperity itself that defiles us. It isn't the food at our table which makes us unclean. Even an elaborate banquet, with well dressed waiters, and with carefully seated ministers might be called for rather than being excessive.
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
So we must be diligent about what we allow to come from within, from our hearts. We should heed the proverb, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (cf. Pro. 4:23). Solomon must be doing this, at least thus far, as we can see from the results. Is there a hint in the passage as to his secret? The first thing the Queen of Sheba notices is Solomon's wisdom. What is the last thing she notices before ultimately being left breathless? She notices "the burnt offerings he offered in the temple of the LORD". The priorities of Solomon's heart are evident in his actions. In burnt offerings he recognizes that all that he has ultimately belongs to the LORD. These are no mere rituals for him. They are so essential as to impress the visiting Queen. She sees in them a glimpse of the source of all that impresses her about this kingdom.
Yet try as we might we cannot bring forth this level of goodness from our hearts. The more we try the more frustrated we get, seeing the evil thoughts that we can't keep inside. The point of Jesus is that we need to face up to this. We need to accept that external solutions can't fix us and external factors aren't bringing us down. It is our own hearts that are insufficient. This is why Jesus tells us that living water (the springs of life mentioned above) flow from the heart of he who believes (cf. Joh 7:38), he who trusts in Jesus. When we realize this we are able to turn to God and to rely on him just as Solomon does.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
11 February 2014 - border disputes
11 February 2014 - border disputes
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
Solomon knows that if the heavens can't contain God than the temple which he built certainly can't. Until Jesus the answer to the question is no. God does not dwell on earth. He is infinite and cannot be contained in created things. Yet the temple is a place where people can uniquely experience God's presence. And this experience of his presence is far better than anything that can be found anywhere else in the whole world.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth
We ask again, "Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?" The answer is now an unqualified, 'yes.' If the temple, a mere shadow of his presence, was so great we can only begin to imagine the glory of his presence with us. His glory is indeed so great as to blind us. It can be a little bit like staring into the sun. We are reminded of a quote from CS Lewis:
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
Sometimes his presence is so bright that we can't see him and we begin to question and doubt. The Eucharist sits before us so plainly, we almost can't help but begin to take it for granted and underestimate its glory. Yet if we are attentive we will recognize the light that it casts into our lives and hearts. We see that our lives are vastly different after he enters into us than they are before, even day to day.
The New Jerusalem has no temple because the temple points to Jesus. Like the law, it is only a prelude of the good things to come (cf. Heb 10:1). We read that the earthly temple in which the people worship is "a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary" (cf. Heb. 8:5). Jesus himself is the full realization of the idea of sanctuary, the place where God's presence can be most perfectly found.
Yet it cannot stop here. It cannot be that God is merely among us. He cannot be something external, merely impacting us on the surface. If this is all he is to us we will hear him say the words he speaks to the Pharisees.
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
He wants to be within us. This is the whole point of his coming. He loves us and wants to be fully engaged in relationship with us. And so we cannot just look at him. Gazing upon him in worship is meant to lead to the communion we have in receiving him more and more into our hearts (and indeed, into our mouths and bodies).
Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord
in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
As we invite the LORD to dwell in us the words which the psalmist speaks we speak with even greater sincerity and devotion:
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
So we must let go of the "traditions" with which the world tries to keep Jesus at arm's length. We must instead hold fast to the traditions from God which point us toward his heart (cf. 2 Thes. 2:15). The traditions from God remind us of the full glory that is within the Church. The light of faith is the seed (cf. Mat. 13:31-32) which enables us to find our place within, where even "the sparrow finds a home".
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
Solomon knows that if the heavens can't contain God than the temple which he built certainly can't. Until Jesus the answer to the question is no. God does not dwell on earth. He is infinite and cannot be contained in created things. Yet the temple is a place where people can uniquely experience God's presence. And this experience of his presence is far better than anything that can be found anywhere else in the whole world.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth
We ask again, "Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?" The answer is now an unqualified, 'yes.' If the temple, a mere shadow of his presence, was so great we can only begin to imagine the glory of his presence with us. His glory is indeed so great as to blind us. It can be a little bit like staring into the sun. We are reminded of a quote from CS Lewis:
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
Sometimes his presence is so bright that we can't see him and we begin to question and doubt. The Eucharist sits before us so plainly, we almost can't help but begin to take it for granted and underestimate its glory. Yet if we are attentive we will recognize the light that it casts into our lives and hearts. We see that our lives are vastly different after he enters into us than they are before, even day to day.
The New Jerusalem has no temple because the temple points to Jesus. Like the law, it is only a prelude of the good things to come (cf. Heb 10:1). We read that the earthly temple in which the people worship is "a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary" (cf. Heb. 8:5). Jesus himself is the full realization of the idea of sanctuary, the place where God's presence can be most perfectly found.
Yet it cannot stop here. It cannot be that God is merely among us. He cannot be something external, merely impacting us on the surface. If this is all he is to us we will hear him say the words he speaks to the Pharisees.
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
He wants to be within us. This is the whole point of his coming. He loves us and wants to be fully engaged in relationship with us. And so we cannot just look at him. Gazing upon him in worship is meant to lead to the communion we have in receiving him more and more into our hearts (and indeed, into our mouths and bodies).
Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord
in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
As we invite the LORD to dwell in us the words which the psalmist speaks we speak with even greater sincerity and devotion:
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
So we must let go of the "traditions" with which the world tries to keep Jesus at arm's length. We must instead hold fast to the traditions from God which point us toward his heart (cf. 2 Thes. 2:15). The traditions from God remind us of the full glory that is within the Church. The light of faith is the seed (cf. Mat. 13:31-32) which enables us to find our place within, where even "the sparrow finds a home".
Monday, February 10, 2014
10 February 2014 - story ark
10 February 2014 - story ark
Let us enter into his dwelling,
let us worship at his footstool.
Do we recognize his presence when we're near to him? In the ark there were "the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb". The tablets within the ark contain the very words of God written by his own hand. When Moses receives these tablets his face is lit up so brightly that the people of Israel can't look at him. But Jesus himself is the Word made Flesh who makes his dwelling among us. The shekinah glory of the Father shines to fill the Holy of Holies, and yet how much more does he shine over Jesus Christ. We see hints of this at his baptism and transfiguration. Jesus is where God makes his dwelling among us (cf. Rev. 21:3). The Church in which he dwells is the New Jerusalem, come down from heaven. Yet unlike the Jerusalem of Solomon in today's first reading the New Jerusalem has no temple building because "its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb."
In the Old Testament the law is written on stone tablets. This is the focal point of the presence of God. In the New Testament the Word of the Father, the Word which contains the glorious words of those tablets, takes on flesh. And yet he does not stop there. He is not content to remain external to us. Now the law is written "not on tablets of stone but on the tablets that are hearts of flesh" (cf. 2 Cor 3:3).
Because he desires to come so close to us we say with the psalmist:
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your majesty.
He wants this resting place to be in our hearts. This is the sabbath rest symbolized from the dawn of creation, the rest Moses never entered in the promised land, the rest toward which we all journey as pilgrims of faith.
Let us be like the crowds of the time of Jesus who "immediately recognized him." He longs to dwell in us. We shouldn't hesitate to reach out to him in faith with all of our needs and with the needs of our families and friends.
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
Imagine the disruption the to daily buying and selling that this must cause. But Jesus does not hesitate to unleash his healing power even in the marketplaces. He is, after all, the new temple. He sanctifies any situation in which he finds himself. He cleanses the sick rather than being made unclean by them. And as he dwells in our hearts he does this through us as well.
We have heard time and again the modes of presence of the LORD within his Church. He is present in the Scriptures, present in the gathered community, and present in the poor and needy. He is present in all the Sacraments, for it is he who acts in them. He is the most present in the Eucharist where find encounter him bodily and not just in the Spirit. Yet in all of these he only offers an invitation. He stands at the door and knocks. It is to us to open it to him. Let us open our hearts wide to Christ.
I have truly built you a princely house,
a dwelling where you may abide forever.”
When he dwells in us we shall be "clothed with justice" and "shout merrily for joy."
Let us enter into his dwelling,
let us worship at his footstool.
Do we recognize his presence when we're near to him? In the ark there were "the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb". The tablets within the ark contain the very words of God written by his own hand. When Moses receives these tablets his face is lit up so brightly that the people of Israel can't look at him. But Jesus himself is the Word made Flesh who makes his dwelling among us. The shekinah glory of the Father shines to fill the Holy of Holies, and yet how much more does he shine over Jesus Christ. We see hints of this at his baptism and transfiguration. Jesus is where God makes his dwelling among us (cf. Rev. 21:3). The Church in which he dwells is the New Jerusalem, come down from heaven. Yet unlike the Jerusalem of Solomon in today's first reading the New Jerusalem has no temple building because "its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb."
In the Old Testament the law is written on stone tablets. This is the focal point of the presence of God. In the New Testament the Word of the Father, the Word which contains the glorious words of those tablets, takes on flesh. And yet he does not stop there. He is not content to remain external to us. Now the law is written "not on tablets of stone but on the tablets that are hearts of flesh" (cf. 2 Cor 3:3).
Because he desires to come so close to us we say with the psalmist:
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your majesty.
He wants this resting place to be in our hearts. This is the sabbath rest symbolized from the dawn of creation, the rest Moses never entered in the promised land, the rest toward which we all journey as pilgrims of faith.
Let us be like the crowds of the time of Jesus who "immediately recognized him." He longs to dwell in us. We shouldn't hesitate to reach out to him in faith with all of our needs and with the needs of our families and friends.
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
Imagine the disruption the to daily buying and selling that this must cause. But Jesus does not hesitate to unleash his healing power even in the marketplaces. He is, after all, the new temple. He sanctifies any situation in which he finds himself. He cleanses the sick rather than being made unclean by them. And as he dwells in our hearts he does this through us as well.
We have heard time and again the modes of presence of the LORD within his Church. He is present in the Scriptures, present in the gathered community, and present in the poor and needy. He is present in all the Sacraments, for it is he who acts in them. He is the most present in the Eucharist where find encounter him bodily and not just in the Spirit. Yet in all of these he only offers an invitation. He stands at the door and knocks. It is to us to open it to him. Let us open our hearts wide to Christ.
I have truly built you a princely house,
a dwelling where you may abide forever.”
When he dwells in us we shall be "clothed with justice" and "shout merrily for joy."
Sunday, February 9, 2014
9 February 2014 - a passing thing, this shadow
9 February 2014 - a passing thing, this shadow
You are the light of the world.
We are the light of the world, not a light. If we are covered with bushel baskets the world will be in darkness. OK, the world is in some reasonable darkness now. Look up. Do we see the open skies of God's world? Or are we closed in, trapped in fear, hiding in these bushel basket lives?
How do we get from here to the lamp stands? How will we find the courage to be so elevated that we can give light to the entire house. How will we transition from being an armored bunker to being a city on a hill?
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
If we remember that Jesus is the source of our light we won't be afraid to let him shine forth through us. Our own abilities and reputations are no longer central. It is about him and what he can do. We are the light of the world because he is the light (cf. Joh. 8:12) in us. We must walk in his light or we will walk in darkness. If we try to shine in this darkness on our own we will be no better than the blind guides Jesus describes (cf. Mat 23:24).
The first reading is specific about how to let our light shine.
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
When we show God's love to those around us we become the light we are meant to be.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
After all, God clothes us in the white robes of baptism, feeds us with the Eucharist, and shelters us within the home of his Church. He doesn't turn his back on us, but offers the sacrament of Reconciliation to all who ask. His heart for us enables us to have a heart for others.
So, in his light, using the love he shows in the sacraments, let's sweep away the darkness of the old order in our hearts: "oppression, false accusation and malicious speech" because only the "just man is a light in darkness". And it is better to live in the light than to live in darkness. Darkness always means fear. It is uncertainty. We are lost and at risk in the darkness. But to be in the light is to live in freedom and free from fear.
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
We can't manufacture this light. That is the hard part. We must constantly turn to God and seek it from him. There are no programs, systems, or methods for this. It only happens in the context or relationship. We can't put it in a manual and tell people how to do it. Even the sacraments are not magic. They require the right disposition. Grace is received according to the mode of the receiver, as theologians tell us. What we can do, in the absence of systems, is point to the one who is the source of it all, to rely on him. And ultimately, that is enough.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of Spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.
You are the light of the world.
We are the light of the world, not a light. If we are covered with bushel baskets the world will be in darkness. OK, the world is in some reasonable darkness now. Look up. Do we see the open skies of God's world? Or are we closed in, trapped in fear, hiding in these bushel basket lives?
How do we get from here to the lamp stands? How will we find the courage to be so elevated that we can give light to the entire house. How will we transition from being an armored bunker to being a city on a hill?
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
If we remember that Jesus is the source of our light we won't be afraid to let him shine forth through us. Our own abilities and reputations are no longer central. It is about him and what he can do. We are the light of the world because he is the light (cf. Joh. 8:12) in us. We must walk in his light or we will walk in darkness. If we try to shine in this darkness on our own we will be no better than the blind guides Jesus describes (cf. Mat 23:24).
The first reading is specific about how to let our light shine.
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
When we show God's love to those around us we become the light we are meant to be.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
After all, God clothes us in the white robes of baptism, feeds us with the Eucharist, and shelters us within the home of his Church. He doesn't turn his back on us, but offers the sacrament of Reconciliation to all who ask. His heart for us enables us to have a heart for others.
So, in his light, using the love he shows in the sacraments, let's sweep away the darkness of the old order in our hearts: "oppression, false accusation and malicious speech" because only the "just man is a light in darkness". And it is better to live in the light than to live in darkness. Darkness always means fear. It is uncertainty. We are lost and at risk in the darkness. But to be in the light is to live in freedom and free from fear.
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
We can't manufacture this light. That is the hard part. We must constantly turn to God and seek it from him. There are no programs, systems, or methods for this. It only happens in the context or relationship. We can't put it in a manual and tell people how to do it. Even the sacraments are not magic. They require the right disposition. Grace is received according to the mode of the receiver, as theologians tell us. What we can do, in the absence of systems, is point to the one who is the source of it all, to rely on him. And ultimately, that is enough.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of Spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
8 February 2014 - may i take your disorder
8 February 2014 - may i take your disorder
God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”
God says this to Solomon but he says it to all of us as well. He says, "whatever you ask in my name, I will do" (cf. Joh. 14:13). Yet our freedom is supposed to be occasion to respond in love. He honors requests made in his name. In other words, we "receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him" (cf. 1 Joh 3:22). When we choose to engage our freedom in the loving service of God and neighbor the way we desire to use that freedom changes.
When we don't commit our freedom to loving service we hear the LORD tell us to ask him for something and we are quick to respond: 'Long life, riches, and the life of my enemies, and hurry up about it.' Really? Yep. Long life? Think of how many different forms this takes. Praying for long life means to pray for all the things that would make such a life worth living, all the blessings and consolations that entails. Praying for riches means to pray for stability and against all of the uncertainties of life. Praying for the death of our enemies really means to be free from the fear of all the things in the world that might cause us grief. None of these prayers are bad prayers. They are just not the best prayer and therefore they are not the right prayer to pray first. Priority is everything. We must respond to God's invitation like Solomon. We must seek first the kingdom.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
Solomon knows enough to know that he doesn't know enough. His prayer is first to rely on the LORD for the wisdom he needs. In love he surrenders even his right to understand on his own.
I give you a heart so wise and understanding
And when we seek first the kingdom he will add the rest unto us as well.
In addition, I give you what you have not asked for,
such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like.”
What Solomon is fundamentally asking is, "Lord, teach me your statutes." He seeks the LORD with all his heart so that he might not stray from his commands. He treasures the promise of the LORD to answer his prayers and to guide him in his ways. We should realize that asking for wisdom, as Solomon does, and asking to know the statutes of the LORD are not opposed. They are synonymous. For this reason the psalmist shows the same priorities as Solomon when he says that he rejoices in the way of God's decrees "as much as in all riches."
When we don't seek the kingdom first we have no ultimate direction. We act without reference to anything larger than the passing moment. We build on sand. But Jesus sees us and is moved with pity. He loves us and wants to teach us the one thing which is really necessary (cf. Luk 10:42). He is the Good Shepherd, never content to watch us stray.
When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
And once we are learning from him and building his kingdom let us learn from the Apostles who remember to give thanks for what Jesus is doing through them. They ponder these things in their hearts to build themselves up in trust and against future dryness and arridity.
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
Hopefully our hearts are moved with pity for the lost sheep of the world as well. May Jesus use us to reach them and to teach them many things. They might not be complicated points of theology. But they may include what simple and unselfish love looks like. And if we are at times thwarted by the needs of others let us also, when we can, heed the invitation of Jesus:
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
He calls all who labor to this rest in his presence. This, after all, is the goal which unifies all other desires and purposes of life.
God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”
God says this to Solomon but he says it to all of us as well. He says, "whatever you ask in my name, I will do" (cf. Joh. 14:13). Yet our freedom is supposed to be occasion to respond in love. He honors requests made in his name. In other words, we "receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him" (cf. 1 Joh 3:22). When we choose to engage our freedom in the loving service of God and neighbor the way we desire to use that freedom changes.
When we don't commit our freedom to loving service we hear the LORD tell us to ask him for something and we are quick to respond: 'Long life, riches, and the life of my enemies, and hurry up about it.' Really? Yep. Long life? Think of how many different forms this takes. Praying for long life means to pray for all the things that would make such a life worth living, all the blessings and consolations that entails. Praying for riches means to pray for stability and against all of the uncertainties of life. Praying for the death of our enemies really means to be free from the fear of all the things in the world that might cause us grief. None of these prayers are bad prayers. They are just not the best prayer and therefore they are not the right prayer to pray first. Priority is everything. We must respond to God's invitation like Solomon. We must seek first the kingdom.
I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
Solomon knows enough to know that he doesn't know enough. His prayer is first to rely on the LORD for the wisdom he needs. In love he surrenders even his right to understand on his own.
I give you a heart so wise and understanding
And when we seek first the kingdom he will add the rest unto us as well.
In addition, I give you what you have not asked for,
such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like.”
What Solomon is fundamentally asking is, "Lord, teach me your statutes." He seeks the LORD with all his heart so that he might not stray from his commands. He treasures the promise of the LORD to answer his prayers and to guide him in his ways. We should realize that asking for wisdom, as Solomon does, and asking to know the statutes of the LORD are not opposed. They are synonymous. For this reason the psalmist shows the same priorities as Solomon when he says that he rejoices in the way of God's decrees "as much as in all riches."
When we don't seek the kingdom first we have no ultimate direction. We act without reference to anything larger than the passing moment. We build on sand. But Jesus sees us and is moved with pity. He loves us and wants to teach us the one thing which is really necessary (cf. Luk 10:42). He is the Good Shepherd, never content to watch us stray.
When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
And once we are learning from him and building his kingdom let us learn from the Apostles who remember to give thanks for what Jesus is doing through them. They ponder these things in their hearts to build themselves up in trust and against future dryness and arridity.
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
Hopefully our hearts are moved with pity for the lost sheep of the world as well. May Jesus use us to reach them and to teach them many things. They might not be complicated points of theology. But they may include what simple and unselfish love looks like. And if we are at times thwarted by the needs of others let us also, when we can, heed the invitation of Jesus:
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
He calls all who labor to this rest in his presence. This, after all, is the goal which unifies all other desires and purposes of life.
Friday, February 7, 2014
7 February 2013 - monolith
7 February 2013 - monolith
Today we see a contrast between two kings, David, a man after the LORD's own heart, and Herod.
David's life and reign are successful because he trusts in God.
Since he called upon the Most High God,
who gave strength to his right arm
To defeat the skilled warrior
and raise up the might of his people,
Herod, on the other hand, relies on himself. He is therefore susceptible to all sorts of external influences. From this perspective he encounters John and "was very much perplexed yet he liked to listen to him." Yet this desire is just one in a person with no unifying principle. This is why he makes a promise he will quickly regret:
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
His enjoyment of this entertainment shouldn't sway him this much. John's words could be foundational for him and offer him the path to repentance. But he allows them to be just a few among the many words he hears. He doesn't allow them to have power. His desires run in many directions, subjecting him not just to his own whims but to those of others as well.
I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
Look what happens. He is subject to his own bad promises. He can't help but care how he looks in the eyes of others.
David, while he has his faults, still finds his strength in the LORD. The LORD is central to him. He is the principle by which the rest of life is organized, even the seasons of the year.
With his every deed he offered thanks
to God Most High, in words of praise.
With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung
He set singers before the altar and by their voices
he made sweet melodies,
He added beauty to the feasts
and solemnized the seasons of each year
So that when the Holy Name was praised,
before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
And when he fails to thus organize his life God is the source of repentance and renewed unity.
The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
This is one thing that it means to have the LORD as our "Rock".
The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock!
He is solid, a unity, not subject to the dissipation of meaningless desires. He is our alternative to the spending our inheritence on dissipation as does the prodigal son. God is the only source of life. The world has nothing to offer.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
Today we see a contrast between two kings, David, a man after the LORD's own heart, and Herod.
David's life and reign are successful because he trusts in God.
Since he called upon the Most High God,
who gave strength to his right arm
To defeat the skilled warrior
and raise up the might of his people,
Herod, on the other hand, relies on himself. He is therefore susceptible to all sorts of external influences. From this perspective he encounters John and "was very much perplexed yet he liked to listen to him." Yet this desire is just one in a person with no unifying principle. This is why he makes a promise he will quickly regret:
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
His enjoyment of this entertainment shouldn't sway him this much. John's words could be foundational for him and offer him the path to repentance. But he allows them to be just a few among the many words he hears. He doesn't allow them to have power. His desires run in many directions, subjecting him not just to his own whims but to those of others as well.
I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
Look what happens. He is subject to his own bad promises. He can't help but care how he looks in the eyes of others.
David, while he has his faults, still finds his strength in the LORD. The LORD is central to him. He is the principle by which the rest of life is organized, even the seasons of the year.
With his every deed he offered thanks
to God Most High, in words of praise.
With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung
He set singers before the altar and by their voices
he made sweet melodies,
He added beauty to the feasts
and solemnized the seasons of each year
So that when the Holy Name was praised,
before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
And when he fails to thus organize his life God is the source of repentance and renewed unity.
The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
This is one thing that it means to have the LORD as our "Rock".
The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock!
He is solid, a unity, not subject to the dissipation of meaningless desires. He is our alternative to the spending our inheritence on dissipation as does the prodigal son. God is the only source of life. The world has nothing to offer.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
6 February 2014 - throne off the mission
6 February 2014 - throne off the mission
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
The LORD is the King of kings. Yet he allows others to participate in the authority of his kingdom.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
Solomon shares in the blessings and authority of the Old Testament kingdom. The Twelve show us what it is like to share in the authority of the Kingdom of Jesus.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
The Son of Man brings a "new teaching, with authority" (cf. Mar 1:27). He has the authority to tell the paralytic to "Get up, take your mat and go home." He even has authority to forgive sins (cf. Mat. 9:6). His commission to us stems from this authority. He says "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (cf. Mat. 28:18) before sending us out on mission. He starts with these words because we too share in his authority. We too share in the authority which even the wind and the waves obey (cf. Mat 8:27). We even share in the authority of Jesus to lay his own life down freely for others (cf. Joh. 10:18) and in turn to receive it again.
This seems over the top. It doesn't match our experience. When we look beyond our learned contentedness we see only our impotence and inadequacy before the task of building the kingdom. Our learned contentedness is false contentedness and because of it the Church languishes in our day. But haven't we set our expectations low because we have been let down in the past. What else can we do?
We need to "shake the dust" from all of our disappointments. We need to learn that it is all about God and not our efforts. That is why we don't need our own resources, food, sack, or money bags. We need to learn to be like King David who is able to see beyond his own reign to the prosperity of his kingdom. He knows that the kingdom isn't about him. The kingdom is about God's promise and his love for his people:
“I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
‘If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.’”
So, then, are the disappointments of our past really because we are too focused on ourselves and building our own thrones? Yes. That is not to say that miracles always happen. But the absence of miracles is only a disappointment to us when we are expecting them contrary to God's plan. If we trust in him we are open to miracles. We expect to see his power at work. We are indefatigable even in the absence of miracles because we trust in God's plan. We never cease to hope. When we place our hope wrongly we shake the dust off and keep moving. He tells us, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Even in the presence of miracles our priorities are laser-focused. They never shift from the kingdom to our own thrones. We seek first the kingdom, and the rest is added on.
“In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
The LORD is the King of kings. Yet he allows others to participate in the authority of his kingdom.
Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established.
Solomon shares in the blessings and authority of the Old Testament kingdom. The Twelve show us what it is like to share in the authority of the Kingdom of Jesus.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
The Son of Man brings a "new teaching, with authority" (cf. Mar 1:27). He has the authority to tell the paralytic to "Get up, take your mat and go home." He even has authority to forgive sins (cf. Mat. 9:6). His commission to us stems from this authority. He says "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (cf. Mat. 28:18) before sending us out on mission. He starts with these words because we too share in his authority. We too share in the authority which even the wind and the waves obey (cf. Mat 8:27). We even share in the authority of Jesus to lay his own life down freely for others (cf. Joh. 10:18) and in turn to receive it again.
This seems over the top. It doesn't match our experience. When we look beyond our learned contentedness we see only our impotence and inadequacy before the task of building the kingdom. Our learned contentedness is false contentedness and because of it the Church languishes in our day. But haven't we set our expectations low because we have been let down in the past. What else can we do?
We need to "shake the dust" from all of our disappointments. We need to learn that it is all about God and not our efforts. That is why we don't need our own resources, food, sack, or money bags. We need to learn to be like King David who is able to see beyond his own reign to the prosperity of his kingdom. He knows that the kingdom isn't about him. The kingdom is about God's promise and his love for his people:
“I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
‘If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.’”
So, then, are the disappointments of our past really because we are too focused on ourselves and building our own thrones? Yes. That is not to say that miracles always happen. But the absence of miracles is only a disappointment to us when we are expecting them contrary to God's plan. If we trust in him we are open to miracles. We expect to see his power at work. We are indefatigable even in the absence of miracles because we trust in God's plan. We never cease to hope. When we place our hope wrongly we shake the dust off and keep moving. He tells us, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Even in the presence of miracles our priorities are laser-focused. They never shift from the kingdom to our own thrones. We seek first the kingdom, and the rest is added on.
“In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
5 February 2014 - not inconsequential
5 February 2014 - not inconsequential
David disobeys the LORD by counting the number of people fit for military service. But David is quick to regret this. He wastes no time in repenting.
“I have sinned grievously in what I have done.
But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant,
for I have been very foolish.”
He knows that the man is blessed "whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered." He wants to be one "to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile." This is why he is quick to say, "I confess my faults to the LORD".
Yet he must still deal with consequences of his sin. He is able to place this in the hands of the LORD. He trusts in God's mercy even when facing this punishment.
David answered Gad: “I am in very serious difficulty.
Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful;
but let me not fall by the hand of man.”
David's heart won't let him run away from these consequences. Even in their midst he doesn't cease to trust. But he can't bear to see the consequences of his own sin affecting others.
When David saw the angel who was striking the people,
he said to the LORD: “It is I who have sinned;
it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Yet this is the nature of sin. It is not a private affair even when it seems like it is. Even something like counting the men suitable for the army has much more far reaching consequences than David can guess. Seventy-thousand people die. When we sin, we may be causing others to die spiritual due to the scandal of our behavior.
And before Jesus steps unto the scene this is the end of the story. And Jesus, while he brings forgiveness, does not immediately eliminate all consequences of sin. But even in the midst of such consequences our union with him sets us free from fear. It makes us ultimately untouchable. Our deepest identity is grounded in the resurrected life of Jesus. No temporal sufferings can cut off that life. As long as we say, "I confess my faults to the LORD" the words of the psalmist will be true of us:
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
The world is used to things working in a certain way. It tries to categorize Jesus according to this old paradigm. It's lie says that he is powerless, a carpenter, a regular person with a mother and relatives. And if we buy in to this lie we limit the freedom of Jesus to work.
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
Faith recognizes in Jesus the one who has the wisdom from on high, who can work mighty deeds. It honors Jesus and trusts in his power. By accepting the testimony of Jesus about who he is we thereby invite him to unleash the full power of the Son of God in our world. America and Europe have become a "native place" of Jesus where everyone thinks they know who Jesus is. But of course they often have no idea what he says about himself and what his Church says about him. Let us follow the footsteps of Pope Francis and shake things up.
Jesus is the only one who can break the cycle of sin that we see even in great hearts like those of David. He is the only one that can free us from the slavery to fear at the consequences sin inflicts on the world.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
David disobeys the LORD by counting the number of people fit for military service. But David is quick to regret this. He wastes no time in repenting.
“I have sinned grievously in what I have done.
But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant,
for I have been very foolish.”
He knows that the man is blessed "whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered." He wants to be one "to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile." This is why he is quick to say, "I confess my faults to the LORD".
Yet he must still deal with consequences of his sin. He is able to place this in the hands of the LORD. He trusts in God's mercy even when facing this punishment.
David answered Gad: “I am in very serious difficulty.
Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful;
but let me not fall by the hand of man.”
David's heart won't let him run away from these consequences. Even in their midst he doesn't cease to trust. But he can't bear to see the consequences of his own sin affecting others.
When David saw the angel who was striking the people,
he said to the LORD: “It is I who have sinned;
it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Yet this is the nature of sin. It is not a private affair even when it seems like it is. Even something like counting the men suitable for the army has much more far reaching consequences than David can guess. Seventy-thousand people die. When we sin, we may be causing others to die spiritual due to the scandal of our behavior.
And before Jesus steps unto the scene this is the end of the story. And Jesus, while he brings forgiveness, does not immediately eliminate all consequences of sin. But even in the midst of such consequences our union with him sets us free from fear. It makes us ultimately untouchable. Our deepest identity is grounded in the resurrected life of Jesus. No temporal sufferings can cut off that life. As long as we say, "I confess my faults to the LORD" the words of the psalmist will be true of us:
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
The world is used to things working in a certain way. It tries to categorize Jesus according to this old paradigm. It's lie says that he is powerless, a carpenter, a regular person with a mother and relatives. And if we buy in to this lie we limit the freedom of Jesus to work.
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
Faith recognizes in Jesus the one who has the wisdom from on high, who can work mighty deeds. It honors Jesus and trusts in his power. By accepting the testimony of Jesus about who he is we thereby invite him to unleash the full power of the Son of God in our world. America and Europe have become a "native place" of Jesus where everyone thinks they know who Jesus is. But of course they often have no idea what he says about himself and what his Church says about him. Let us follow the footsteps of Pope Francis and shake things up.
Jesus is the only one who can break the cycle of sin that we see even in great hearts like those of David. He is the only one that can free us from the slavery to fear at the consequences sin inflicts on the world.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
4 February 2014 - family reunion
4 February 2014 - family reunion
What could be more painful than the loss of a child? David's son Absalom is killed. It is due entirely to his own sinful rebellion but the hurt is not thereby lessened.
He said as he wept,
“My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!
If only I had died instead of you,
Absalom, my son, my son!”
Yet this is the story not just of Absalom but also of all of humanity. We rebel against the King of kings and LORD of lords collectively and in our own hearts. Because of this, sin death enter the world. We opt out of God's protection and his just rule. Because of this, there are no fathers and sons who will not one day be separated in death.
Jesus comes to show us that, in spite of all this suffering, God is "good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call". David's son "hung between heaven and earth" from a tree as the due punishment for his own rebellion. Jesus chooses to hang on the tree of the cross as the punishment due to all of humanity for our rebellion. He lays it down of his own accord for our sake (cf. Joh. 10:18). Absalom does deserve death but does not, indeed cannot, accept it freely. Only Jesus, free from all sin, has the obedience necessary to fully accept the cross. He brings in his humanity all of our sin, including the sin of Absalom, to the cross. Normally this death would destroy the sinner. Sin has no claim on Jesus. In Jesus the death of the righteous one destroys the power of sin.
Because Jesus does this, death is no longer the end. All the deceased of the ages are "not dead but asleep." And the world tends to ridicule this idea. But on the last day he will say to us, "arise" and all of the graves of the earth will be opened. The little girl is renewed to life only to experience death again, eventually. Lazarus too experiences a temporary resurrection, as do "many of God's people" that rise from their graves when Jesus dies (cf. Mat. 27:51). But when we hear the Jesus speak the word of command, when we hear the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God (cf. 1 Thes 4:16) on the last day we will rise to meet our eternal destiny. "Thus we shall always be with the Lord" (cf. 1 Thes 4:17). After all unlike the aforementioned resurrections, which are but preludes and foreshadowing, we feed on "the bread that came down from heaven" and "whoever eats this bread will live forever"
Jesus has profound compassion when he sees parents parted from their children. "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living" (cf. Wis 1:13). Perhaps in his final moments Absalom's heart is penitent. If so, on the last day Jesus will even be able to say to David, "The child is not dead but asleep." He pays the cost that we cannot because he loves us too much to let death have the last word. Wouldn't the worlds of our modern TV shows be quite different if this reality was understood?
We need to trust in the healing power of Jesus as does the hemorrhaging woman. We need to reach out to him confident that healing flows from his presence. We do this by giving him priority of attention, of mind, and of action. We do this with prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments. Choosing to pray even amidst business and crowds is one example of reaching out beyond ourselves to the healing power of Jesus.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
We touch Jesus more intimately than the woman does here. Even Simeon's great privilege is only to hold the baby Jesus. We receive all that he is into ourselves. Let our trust in his healing power fill our minds and hearts when we do so.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
What could be more painful than the loss of a child? David's son Absalom is killed. It is due entirely to his own sinful rebellion but the hurt is not thereby lessened.
He said as he wept,
“My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!
If only I had died instead of you,
Absalom, my son, my son!”
Yet this is the story not just of Absalom but also of all of humanity. We rebel against the King of kings and LORD of lords collectively and in our own hearts. Because of this, sin death enter the world. We opt out of God's protection and his just rule. Because of this, there are no fathers and sons who will not one day be separated in death.
Jesus comes to show us that, in spite of all this suffering, God is "good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call". David's son "hung between heaven and earth" from a tree as the due punishment for his own rebellion. Jesus chooses to hang on the tree of the cross as the punishment due to all of humanity for our rebellion. He lays it down of his own accord for our sake (cf. Joh. 10:18). Absalom does deserve death but does not, indeed cannot, accept it freely. Only Jesus, free from all sin, has the obedience necessary to fully accept the cross. He brings in his humanity all of our sin, including the sin of Absalom, to the cross. Normally this death would destroy the sinner. Sin has no claim on Jesus. In Jesus the death of the righteous one destroys the power of sin.
Because Jesus does this, death is no longer the end. All the deceased of the ages are "not dead but asleep." And the world tends to ridicule this idea. But on the last day he will say to us, "arise" and all of the graves of the earth will be opened. The little girl is renewed to life only to experience death again, eventually. Lazarus too experiences a temporary resurrection, as do "many of God's people" that rise from their graves when Jesus dies (cf. Mat. 27:51). But when we hear the Jesus speak the word of command, when we hear the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God (cf. 1 Thes 4:16) on the last day we will rise to meet our eternal destiny. "Thus we shall always be with the Lord" (cf. 1 Thes 4:17). After all unlike the aforementioned resurrections, which are but preludes and foreshadowing, we feed on "the bread that came down from heaven" and "whoever eats this bread will live forever"
Jesus has profound compassion when he sees parents parted from their children. "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living" (cf. Wis 1:13). Perhaps in his final moments Absalom's heart is penitent. If so, on the last day Jesus will even be able to say to David, "The child is not dead but asleep." He pays the cost that we cannot because he loves us too much to let death have the last word. Wouldn't the worlds of our modern TV shows be quite different if this reality was understood?
We need to trust in the healing power of Jesus as does the hemorrhaging woman. We need to reach out to him confident that healing flows from his presence. We do this by giving him priority of attention, of mind, and of action. We do this with prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments. Choosing to pray even amidst business and crowds is one example of reaching out beyond ourselves to the healing power of Jesus.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
We touch Jesus more intimately than the woman does here. Even Simeon's great privilege is only to hold the baby Jesus. We receive all that he is into ourselves. Let our trust in his healing power fill our minds and hearts when we do so.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Monday, February 3, 2014
3 February 2014 - joy to balance our affliction
3 February 2014 - joy to balance our affliction
David is dealing with a very difficult situation this morning. His son Absalom is in open rebellion against him. He is trying to take the kingdom of Israel by force. Even David's very life is not safe from his own rebellious son. He says:
“Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom.
David shows us something of what it means to have a contrite heart. He doesn't assert that he deserves better than this. He refuses to take matters into his own hands. He does not surrender his life to his enemy. He knows that he can cling to God's covenant promise. He knows that this affair with Absalom isn't how things are going to end. But he doesn't try to resolve it on his own. He won't even shut the mouth of Shinmei as he curses him. He waits for the LORD. His heart accepts suffering which the LORD permits. But he holds on to the hope that this will all give way to blessings.
Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.
Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction
and make it up to me with benefits
for the curses he is uttering this day.”
The situation is certainly stacked against him.
O LORD, how many are my adversaries!
Many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”
But he does not believe those who tell him there is no hope. He clings to hope even as he waits on the LORD amidst his own pain and suffering. This is the lesson David teaches us today. God has been faithful to David before and he will be again.
When I lie down in sleep,
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
I fear not the myriads of people
arrayed against me on every side.
When we are afflicted we need to ensure that we are not like the man with the unclean spirit. We throw aside the shackles and chains meant for our safety. We run ahead of the LORD's plan to heal us. We display remarkable strength. No one can subdue us. But we end up bruising ourselves with stones and constantly crying out. This kind of strength won't help us to reach freedom. We must trust in Jesus. Before him the demons of our affliction shrink back. The demons we our powerless to confront fall prostrate before Jesus.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
They cannot help but obey him. God is the one who is strong enough to defend David. David knows that God is his strength.
But you, O LORD, are my shield;
my glory, you lift up my head!
When I call out to the LORD,
he answers me from his holy mountain.
We must abandon our efforts to engineer our own deliverance. We too must learn to trust in Jesus to deliver us. Once he does we must not try to hold on to this particular experience. In this sense we must let him continue on his way.
As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
And as he goes we must proclaim his salvation to all who will listen.
But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,
“Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”
David is dealing with a very difficult situation this morning. His son Absalom is in open rebellion against him. He is trying to take the kingdom of Israel by force. Even David's very life is not safe from his own rebellious son. He says:
“Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom.
David shows us something of what it means to have a contrite heart. He doesn't assert that he deserves better than this. He refuses to take matters into his own hands. He does not surrender his life to his enemy. He knows that he can cling to God's covenant promise. He knows that this affair with Absalom isn't how things are going to end. But he doesn't try to resolve it on his own. He won't even shut the mouth of Shinmei as he curses him. He waits for the LORD. His heart accepts suffering which the LORD permits. But he holds on to the hope that this will all give way to blessings.
Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.
Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction
and make it up to me with benefits
for the curses he is uttering this day.”
The situation is certainly stacked against him.
O LORD, how many are my adversaries!
Many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”
But he does not believe those who tell him there is no hope. He clings to hope even as he waits on the LORD amidst his own pain and suffering. This is the lesson David teaches us today. God has been faithful to David before and he will be again.
When I lie down in sleep,
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
I fear not the myriads of people
arrayed against me on every side.
When we are afflicted we need to ensure that we are not like the man with the unclean spirit. We throw aside the shackles and chains meant for our safety. We run ahead of the LORD's plan to heal us. We display remarkable strength. No one can subdue us. But we end up bruising ourselves with stones and constantly crying out. This kind of strength won't help us to reach freedom. We must trust in Jesus. Before him the demons of our affliction shrink back. The demons we our powerless to confront fall prostrate before Jesus.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
They cannot help but obey him. God is the one who is strong enough to defend David. David knows that God is his strength.
But you, O LORD, are my shield;
my glory, you lift up my head!
When I call out to the LORD,
he answers me from his holy mountain.
We must abandon our efforts to engineer our own deliverance. We too must learn to trust in Jesus to deliver us. Once he does we must not try to hold on to this particular experience. In this sense we must let him continue on his way.
As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
And as he goes we must proclaim his salvation to all who will listen.
But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,
“Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)