31 March 2014 - unlimited faith
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
It doesn't seem like the official is particularly interested in signs and wonders for their own sake. Yet Jesus lays the accusation, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."
The official is desperate. He hears that Jesus has some power to help him and he believes it enough to ask, and then to ask again when his first request isn't enough.
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
We can see his faith and his doubt intermixed. He believes that Jesus has power. But he does not yet know that he is the Son of God. He is in a rush to get Jesus physically to his son before the constraints of the situation make it too late. Yet if he really understood who Jesus is, if I really believed in him, he would realize that, as God, it he can heal anyone from anywhere at any time. He can wake children from death as easily as their parents wake them from sleep.
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
The official comes to understand a little bit more deeply the truth of who Jesus is. Jesus does not begrudge him the explanation. He does not begrudge him the sign that he needs. And the belief that comes from it doesn't stop at the official but fills his family as well.
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Jesus isn't just someone who can patch things up if he gets there in time. He is the one who is "about to create new heavens and a new earth" so completely that the "things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness".
The official had to realize that Jesus isn't a stopgap solution to temporal problems. He is the one who makes all things new. Signs and wonders in themselves aren't necessarily enough to lead to this faith because they can, in theory, just patch up temporal problems.
Jesus is doing a greater thing than we can ask or imagine. He is ultimately not treating symptoms but the cause: sin and death. He is doing something so significant that when it is done "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away" (cf. Rev 21:4).
This is how he wants us to understand who he is. He isn't a button that we press to release painkiller when we hurt. He is the one who "will wipe every tear from their eyes" forever.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
30 March 2014 - rejoice in the light
30 March 2014 - rejoice in the light
“Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
It is hard to admit when we are wrong. Jesus is the light of the world but to one degree or another we all "were once darkness". Praise him that we are now "light in the Lord." Yet Paul still has to exhort us, "Live as children of the light". The works of darkness still tempt us all in one way or another. We have to make a conscious choice to avoid them. We are often tempted to accept society's darkened worldview in small ways. A darkened worldview takes the light of focus off of our sinfulness so that we don't have to confront it. But this is a temporary solution. Let us reject it.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Jesus himself is the only solution. He is the only source of light. He tells us, "Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going" (cf. Joh. 12:35). Without him we stumble in darkness. The very wisest are blind guides apart from him, no more able to lead us to our destiny than anyone else.
John cites what may be a baptismal hymn. Baptism is the sacrament of enlightenment wherein our eyes are first opened.
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
He is reminding us to walk in the power of our baptism. At our baptism we are made a new creation. Just as the blind man is made new with clay from the earth mixing with the annointing of the Holy Spirit symbolized by Christ's saliva so too are we made new. His point is not that we have been baptized and are therefore free to do things on our own apart from Jesus. His point is we must live the gift we have been given. We read again, "Live as children of light".
We are to be near to him like sheep stay near to their shepherd. When we do he gives us repose and refreshes us. When we do the dark valley of death cannot frighten us. The banquet of the Eucharist is ever before our eyes because communion with him is our greatest good.
Just as he anoints David for the kingdom...
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
...so to does he anoint us:
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
He raises us from the darkened world to a dignity which is purely a gift from him.
“And you have made them a Kingdom, Priests and Kings to our God, and they shall reign over The Earth" (cf. Rev. 5:10).
What does it mean for us to reign over the Earth? It is not some abusive tyrannical power as the world often understands power. It is the power to spread the light of Jesus to the world that remains in darkness. It is the power to rejoice even when the world insists that we ought to mourn!
“Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
It is hard to admit when we are wrong. Jesus is the light of the world but to one degree or another we all "were once darkness". Praise him that we are now "light in the Lord." Yet Paul still has to exhort us, "Live as children of the light". The works of darkness still tempt us all in one way or another. We have to make a conscious choice to avoid them. We are often tempted to accept society's darkened worldview in small ways. A darkened worldview takes the light of focus off of our sinfulness so that we don't have to confront it. But this is a temporary solution. Let us reject it.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Jesus himself is the only solution. He is the only source of light. He tells us, "Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going" (cf. Joh. 12:35). Without him we stumble in darkness. The very wisest are blind guides apart from him, no more able to lead us to our destiny than anyone else.
John cites what may be a baptismal hymn. Baptism is the sacrament of enlightenment wherein our eyes are first opened.
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
He is reminding us to walk in the power of our baptism. At our baptism we are made a new creation. Just as the blind man is made new with clay from the earth mixing with the annointing of the Holy Spirit symbolized by Christ's saliva so too are we made new. His point is not that we have been baptized and are therefore free to do things on our own apart from Jesus. His point is we must live the gift we have been given. We read again, "Live as children of light".
We are to be near to him like sheep stay near to their shepherd. When we do he gives us repose and refreshes us. When we do the dark valley of death cannot frighten us. The banquet of the Eucharist is ever before our eyes because communion with him is our greatest good.
Just as he anoints David for the kingdom...
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
...so to does he anoint us:
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
He raises us from the darkened world to a dignity which is purely a gift from him.
“And you have made them a Kingdom, Priests and Kings to our God, and they shall reign over The Earth" (cf. Rev. 5:10).
What does it mean for us to reign over the Earth? It is not some abusive tyrannical power as the world often understands power. It is the power to spread the light of Jesus to the world that remains in darkness. It is the power to rejoice even when the world insists that we ought to mourn!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
29 March 2014 - judge not
29 March 2014 - judge not
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
How can we choose to do good without this sort of implicit judgment on those on who do not? We know that people should not be "greedy, dishonest, adulterous" yet in not doing these things, how do we avoid what the situation that James warns us about where he asks, "have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs" (cf. Jam. 2:4).
It all stems from our motivation. Righteous deeds can mask a prideful heart. Jesus warns, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean" (cf. Mat. 23:27).
The Pharisees are doing something which could be good when they fast twice a week and pay a tithe on their whole income. But for the Pharisees, all of this supposed righteousness is done to be seen. It is done so that they may be recognized, acknowledged, and appreciated. They are looking to earn the love and admiration of their fellows by what they do. If it were possible to become righteous on the basis of their own ability they would have a reason to boast. There would be some skill that they had that others didn't allowing them to excel. But the very point of the law is selfless love. Beginning with a motivation like this one cannot arrive there. On one's own strength one cannot arrive at all. As Paul tells us, "what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded" (cf. Rom. 3:27). In another place he reminds us that "this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast" (cf. Eph 2:9)
The tax collector may, perhaps, be guilty various sins. But he isn't concerned about how it looks before others. He is only concerned about what it looks like before God.
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
The beauty of making this our sole concern is the certainty we can have that, when we turn to him sincerely, he heals us, heals us by the very power of his resurrection from the dead.
“Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
The goal isn't something lame and transitory like appearing good before others. It is relationship with the God who made all things. There can be nothing better.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”
Let us appear before him with hearts that desire to be made whole, contrite hearts. The LORD delights to heal us.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
When we are healed the LORD delights to use us to share his mercy with others. None of us have to earn love by beating ourselves up. It is mercy, rather, which the LORD desires for everyone.
It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
How can we choose to do good without this sort of implicit judgment on those on who do not? We know that people should not be "greedy, dishonest, adulterous" yet in not doing these things, how do we avoid what the situation that James warns us about where he asks, "have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs" (cf. Jam. 2:4).
It all stems from our motivation. Righteous deeds can mask a prideful heart. Jesus warns, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean" (cf. Mat. 23:27).
The Pharisees are doing something which could be good when they fast twice a week and pay a tithe on their whole income. But for the Pharisees, all of this supposed righteousness is done to be seen. It is done so that they may be recognized, acknowledged, and appreciated. They are looking to earn the love and admiration of their fellows by what they do. If it were possible to become righteous on the basis of their own ability they would have a reason to boast. There would be some skill that they had that others didn't allowing them to excel. But the very point of the law is selfless love. Beginning with a motivation like this one cannot arrive there. On one's own strength one cannot arrive at all. As Paul tells us, "what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded" (cf. Rom. 3:27). In another place he reminds us that "this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast" (cf. Eph 2:9)
The tax collector may, perhaps, be guilty various sins. But he isn't concerned about how it looks before others. He is only concerned about what it looks like before God.
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
The beauty of making this our sole concern is the certainty we can have that, when we turn to him sincerely, he heals us, heals us by the very power of his resurrection from the dead.
“Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
The goal isn't something lame and transitory like appearing good before others. It is relationship with the God who made all things. There can be nothing better.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”
Let us appear before him with hearts that desire to be made whole, contrite hearts. The LORD delights to heal us.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
When we are healed the LORD delights to use us to share his mercy with others. None of us have to earn love by beating ourselves up. It is mercy, rather, which the LORD desires for everyone.
It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Friday, March 28, 2014
28 March 2014 - can you handle the truth?
28 March 2014 - can you handle the truth
Have you ever been afraid to be right about something? The scribe asks Jesus which commandment is the most important. The commandments, we know, are principles for wise living that allow us to walk in the freedom which God intends for us. Jesus tells the scribe:
The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
And the scribe, apparently, knows this. He says:
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
But look, isn't it as though they were all hoping to hear something new, something novel, something different? Isn't it as though they are hoping to hear something esoteric and abstract that does not make any real demands on their lives? Why does this response of Jesus intimidate them so much when it is something they all ought to know.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
They are not far from it but they aren't quite there yet. No wonder we find ourselves living in time Paul describes "when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths" (cf. 2 Tim. 4).
This is why we need to hear God remind us, “This is the way; walk in it" (cf. Isa. 30:21). Don't look for something new. It isn't about finding some new technique, system, or idea. It isn't ultimately something that complicated.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
It is good that it is simple. All of the other places we try to put our hope never end up satisfying us anyway.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
The LORD pleads, "If only my people would hear me, and Israel would walk in my ways", and promises such amazing things to those who obey him.
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
How freely indeed does he love us. How could we imagine the "best of wheat" with which he feeds us without seeing for ourselves as he gives us his very flesh and blood. His Holy Spirit fills us like "honey from the rock" if we just repent of the idols we seek instead of or along with him and put our hope in him alone.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!
Have you ever been afraid to be right about something? The scribe asks Jesus which commandment is the most important. The commandments, we know, are principles for wise living that allow us to walk in the freedom which God intends for us. Jesus tells the scribe:
The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
And the scribe, apparently, knows this. He says:
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
But look, isn't it as though they were all hoping to hear something new, something novel, something different? Isn't it as though they are hoping to hear something esoteric and abstract that does not make any real demands on their lives? Why does this response of Jesus intimidate them so much when it is something they all ought to know.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
They are not far from it but they aren't quite there yet. No wonder we find ourselves living in time Paul describes "when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths" (cf. 2 Tim. 4).
This is why we need to hear God remind us, “This is the way; walk in it" (cf. Isa. 30:21). Don't look for something new. It isn't about finding some new technique, system, or idea. It isn't ultimately something that complicated.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
It is good that it is simple. All of the other places we try to put our hope never end up satisfying us anyway.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
The LORD pleads, "If only my people would hear me, and Israel would walk in my ways", and promises such amazing things to those who obey him.
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
How freely indeed does he love us. How could we imagine the "best of wheat" with which he feeds us without seeing for ourselves as he gives us his very flesh and blood. His Holy Spirit fills us like "honey from the rock" if we just repent of the idols we seek instead of or along with him and put our hope in him alone.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!
Thursday, March 27, 2014
27 March 2014 - the Rock and a hard place
27 March 2014 - the Rock and a hard place
God doesn't ask all that much of us on a basic level. He says, "Listen to my voice". Yet we refuse to listen.
But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
So we are called to be on our guard. When he speaks to us there is a real danger that we will harden our hearts. We have to be wary of this possibility so that we don't succumb to it. We can't simply assume that because God speaks we will accept. Mary does this, but most do not. If we hear his voice today we have to make an act of acceptance with our will, empowered by faith, or our hearts will harden.
What is it in us that can see God at work casting out demons and yet say, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons”? How is it that we hear the mute speak on yet somehow, in prideful self-interest, in defensiveness, we refuse to acknowledge the finger of God at work. We refuse to see the presence of the Holy Spirit working in power.
Do we? Sometimes we see his works and rejoice in them. But are we at other times guilty of witnessing him working but not acknowledging it? What Jesus is doing, casting out demons, is also done by our "own people". So maybe the problem is when we can't take any pride in the results. Maybe when there is clearly nothing to connect us to results we don't rejoice as much as when we play a role. And maybe it isn't just that we rejoice to be used by God. Maybe our pride is trying to keep us in the center. And this is the way to understand what Jesus tells us about who is with him and who is against him.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
To the degree that we insist on our own recognition, our own fame, and our own pride we are working against Jesus and against the kingdom. He calls us to realize this. He wants us to drive out demons (cf. Mar. 16:17) but to do so for the sake of his name rather than our own.
The need to feel be appreciated for what we do is so fundamental to us. But we are called to move beyond that. We need to derive our worth from who we are as God's children. Only then will his voice not threaten us. Only then will our hearts remain soft when he speaks. We will be, not employees, but sheep.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
He never gives up on speaking to us. Even if we miss him once he will keep trying. He will keep trying even if we seem like a lost cause.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
He reveals the hardness of our hearts not to condemn us but so that we might listen and be changed. He is stronger than the enemy who holds us captive. He has the power to take away the "armor" on which the enemy relies, the hardness of our hearts. He distributes the spoils, the fruits of the Holy Spirit in and through us.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
Yes LORD! Break the armor of the enemy that keeps you from touching us in the depths of our spirits!
God doesn't ask all that much of us on a basic level. He says, "Listen to my voice". Yet we refuse to listen.
But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
So we are called to be on our guard. When he speaks to us there is a real danger that we will harden our hearts. We have to be wary of this possibility so that we don't succumb to it. We can't simply assume that because God speaks we will accept. Mary does this, but most do not. If we hear his voice today we have to make an act of acceptance with our will, empowered by faith, or our hearts will harden.
What is it in us that can see God at work casting out demons and yet say, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons”? How is it that we hear the mute speak on yet somehow, in prideful self-interest, in defensiveness, we refuse to acknowledge the finger of God at work. We refuse to see the presence of the Holy Spirit working in power.
Do we? Sometimes we see his works and rejoice in them. But are we at other times guilty of witnessing him working but not acknowledging it? What Jesus is doing, casting out demons, is also done by our "own people". So maybe the problem is when we can't take any pride in the results. Maybe when there is clearly nothing to connect us to results we don't rejoice as much as when we play a role. And maybe it isn't just that we rejoice to be used by God. Maybe our pride is trying to keep us in the center. And this is the way to understand what Jesus tells us about who is with him and who is against him.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
To the degree that we insist on our own recognition, our own fame, and our own pride we are working against Jesus and against the kingdom. He calls us to realize this. He wants us to drive out demons (cf. Mar. 16:17) but to do so for the sake of his name rather than our own.
The need to feel be appreciated for what we do is so fundamental to us. But we are called to move beyond that. We need to derive our worth from who we are as God's children. Only then will his voice not threaten us. Only then will our hearts remain soft when he speaks. We will be, not employees, but sheep.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
He never gives up on speaking to us. Even if we miss him once he will keep trying. He will keep trying even if we seem like a lost cause.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
He reveals the hardness of our hearts not to condemn us but so that we might listen and be changed. He is stronger than the enemy who holds us captive. He has the power to take away the "armor" on which the enemy relies, the hardness of our hearts. He distributes the spoils, the fruits of the Holy Spirit in and through us.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
Yes LORD! Break the armor of the enemy that keeps you from touching us in the depths of our spirits!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
26 March 2014 - the law of freedom
26 March 2014 - the law of freedom
The world tries to tell us that the law is burdensome. It insists that it is restrictive, limiting, and opposed to freedom. But nothing could be further from the truth. The law is the central pillar that supports our freedom. Listen to Chesterton:
For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
The world suggests that God is holding back. It suggests his commandments aren't a necessary part of fulfillment. It suggests that they are arbitrarily imposed simply so that we might be subjugated. It suggests that we could be "like God" without them (cf. Gen. 3:5). But the commandments are not arbitrary. They simply describe the truth of what freedom looks like. The world tries to spin it because the commandments allow us to conquer the world. The world feels its hold on us slipping. It pulls on us using our fallen nature, the base animal parts of us subject to the material laws of a fallen universe. The law gives us freedom from this power of the world and the world fights to hold on.
In fact, the results of the observing the law are so impressive that the presence of God is revealed in our midst.
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
This wisdom which God gives us is directed to our freedom. No matter what the world says, this is what everyone wants. This law is good and desirable. We need to let the light of God's law shine. We should not be afraid to reveal it as a secret of our happiness. When people see us thriving in hard times and ask why we can tell them it is because God gives us the wisdom we need to do it in his law.
So it is no wonder that Jesus does not come to abolish the law and the prophets. They are designed to allow us to enter the promised land and take possession of it. They are ordered to making us fit for the Kingdom of heaven. They are designed to bless us, both now and into eternity. Jesus does not just come to uphold the law which points the way to the promised land but does not have the power to take us there. He comes to fulfill it. He comes to fulfill the law because he comes to fulfill us with his very self, united to him, his Father, and his Spirit for all eternity.
The world tries to tell us that the law is burdensome. It insists that it is restrictive, limiting, and opposed to freedom. But nothing could be further from the truth. The law is the central pillar that supports our freedom. Listen to Chesterton:
The truth is that the curtnessScripture insists that the law is not burdensome:
of the Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and
narrowness of a religion but of its liberality and humanity.
It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things
permitted precisely because most things are permitted and only
a few things are forbidden.
For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
The world suggests that God is holding back. It suggests his commandments aren't a necessary part of fulfillment. It suggests that they are arbitrarily imposed simply so that we might be subjugated. It suggests that we could be "like God" without them (cf. Gen. 3:5). But the commandments are not arbitrary. They simply describe the truth of what freedom looks like. The world tries to spin it because the commandments allow us to conquer the world. The world feels its hold on us slipping. It pulls on us using our fallen nature, the base animal parts of us subject to the material laws of a fallen universe. The law gives us freedom from this power of the world and the world fights to hold on.
In fact, the results of the observing the law are so impressive that the presence of God is revealed in our midst.
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
This wisdom which God gives us is directed to our freedom. No matter what the world says, this is what everyone wants. This law is good and desirable. We need to let the light of God's law shine. We should not be afraid to reveal it as a secret of our happiness. When people see us thriving in hard times and ask why we can tell them it is because God gives us the wisdom we need to do it in his law.
So it is no wonder that Jesus does not come to abolish the law and the prophets. They are designed to allow us to enter the promised land and take possession of it. They are ordered to making us fit for the Kingdom of heaven. They are designed to bless us, both now and into eternity. Jesus does not just come to uphold the law which points the way to the promised land but does not have the power to take us there. He comes to fulfill it. He comes to fulfill the law because he comes to fulfill us with his very self, united to him, his Father, and his Spirit for all eternity.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
25 March 2014 - handmade handmaid
25 March 2014 - handmade handmaid
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
All of our redemption is contained in this response. Once this choice is made, once this consent is given, once God's will is here embraced there is nothing which can stop it. Mary makes the choice to put all of her trust in God. She holds nothing back from this trust. She entirely surrenders to assess this thing with her own understanding. There is no cost-benefit analysis. There is only perfect surrender.
God insists on this free response. He desires to be born in time to a family. For this to happen the Holy Spirit must come upon a mother and the power of the Most High must overshadow her. But the Holy Spirit will not force himself on her. He is a perfect gentleman.
How does he ever find someone who can embrace this plan for humanity? We see in Ahaz that to embrace this plan is not easy. Even told to ask for a sign, something which seems to be to his benefit, Ahaz is unable to cooperate.
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
The LORD says that he will take things into his own hands to give the sign that we need.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”
And yet, while the LORD himself does it, it is also done by Mary's free consent. How does this work? A careful reading reveals that even before Mary's "fiat" the angel can say "The Lord is with you." Mary is already full of grace. She is already connected with God in a way that enables her to make the choice which no one else can make to fully embrace God's will. She is truly given "ears open to obedience." Because she can say this Jesus can say "a body you prepared for me". Perhaps that is why there verse is changed when it is quoted. Mary's obedience is opens the door to the redemption which only the obedience of Jesus can bring about, obedience from which Mary's own "fiat" draws its power.
Mary is empowered to say, "Here I am Lord; I come to do your will" even before Jesus says it. But it is only united to Jesus who embraces his Father's will all the way to the cross that Mary can say it. Her standing at the foot of the cross united to Jesus is already mysteriously contained in her fiat.
But we're more like Ahaz. We feel like we have been told that "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" so many times that we can't possibly "Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God" even when he tells us to do so. Mary, on the other hand, takes the risk of obedience. But we're been burned by our own failures before. We're afraid to step out in faith. What can we learn this morning?
We must learn that the initiative ultimately lies with God. He is not only the one who tells us to ask for a sign, he himself is willing to bring it about. He is not only the one who tells us to be perfect as he is perfect. He is also the one who prepares our bodies and who gives us ears open to obedience. Through the life and death of Jesus we are filled with the same grace of obedience which Mary displays perfectly. The Lord is with Mary because he desires to be Emmanuel. He desires to be, not just God with her, but God with us, with all of us.
And so let us respond with joy as she does. Just as she proclaims the greatness of the LORD and rejoices in the God who saves so should we.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
All of our redemption is contained in this response. Once this choice is made, once this consent is given, once God's will is here embraced there is nothing which can stop it. Mary makes the choice to put all of her trust in God. She holds nothing back from this trust. She entirely surrenders to assess this thing with her own understanding. There is no cost-benefit analysis. There is only perfect surrender.
God insists on this free response. He desires to be born in time to a family. For this to happen the Holy Spirit must come upon a mother and the power of the Most High must overshadow her. But the Holy Spirit will not force himself on her. He is a perfect gentleman.
How does he ever find someone who can embrace this plan for humanity? We see in Ahaz that to embrace this plan is not easy. Even told to ask for a sign, something which seems to be to his benefit, Ahaz is unable to cooperate.
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
The LORD says that he will take things into his own hands to give the sign that we need.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”
And yet, while the LORD himself does it, it is also done by Mary's free consent. How does this work? A careful reading reveals that even before Mary's "fiat" the angel can say "The Lord is with you." Mary is already full of grace. She is already connected with God in a way that enables her to make the choice which no one else can make to fully embrace God's will. She is truly given "ears open to obedience." Because she can say this Jesus can say "a body you prepared for me". Perhaps that is why there verse is changed when it is quoted. Mary's obedience is opens the door to the redemption which only the obedience of Jesus can bring about, obedience from which Mary's own "fiat" draws its power.
Mary is empowered to say, "Here I am Lord; I come to do your will" even before Jesus says it. But it is only united to Jesus who embraces his Father's will all the way to the cross that Mary can say it. Her standing at the foot of the cross united to Jesus is already mysteriously contained in her fiat.
But we're more like Ahaz. We feel like we have been told that "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" so many times that we can't possibly "Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God" even when he tells us to do so. Mary, on the other hand, takes the risk of obedience. But we're been burned by our own failures before. We're afraid to step out in faith. What can we learn this morning?
We must learn that the initiative ultimately lies with God. He is not only the one who tells us to ask for a sign, he himself is willing to bring it about. He is not only the one who tells us to be perfect as he is perfect. He is also the one who prepares our bodies and who gives us ears open to obedience. Through the life and death of Jesus we are filled with the same grace of obedience which Mary displays perfectly. The Lord is with Mary because he desires to be Emmanuel. He desires to be, not just God with her, but God with us, with all of us.
And so let us respond with joy as she does. Just as she proclaims the greatness of the LORD and rejoices in the God who saves so should we.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
Monday, March 24, 2014
24 March 2014 - a simple remedy
24 March 2014 - a simple remedy
Today we are called to have a simple and trusting faith.
The first example of this faith is the "little girl" taken captive from Israel and made a servant of the wife of Naaman. These sound like very difficult life circumstances which would challenge anyone's faith. But not her. Taken from her land, made a servant, she still has a simple yet deep trust in God.
“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”
she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Amusingly, her simple trust causes all types of problems for those whose faith is less strong.
“Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
Naaman himself shows us the wrong way and eventually the right way to receive healing from the LORD. First the wrong way:
Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
He shows up with the full power of his own strength on display. It is as if he says that he deserves healing. Or in other words, it is almost as if he says that healing is something he can take by force. 'Look at all these areas of life that are under my control,' we imagine he says. 'I'll just add this final one to the list.'
But healing cannot come to a heart like this.
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”
With this, he turned about in anger and left.
He must humble himself. He must take the simple action of washing himself in this foreign river. He has pride in the place from which he comes but he must lay this down. All that he counted as gain he must regard as loss to receive healing (cf. Phi. 3:8).
He does eventually humble himself. The simple faith of the servant girl paves the way for this mighty commander to enter into a simple faith himself. The healing which is unleashed, wherein "flesh became again like the flesh of a little child," is secondary to something that happens deeper within him.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.”
This simplicity is a guard against pride. If we are simple we do not begrudge the prodigal son's welcome home party. The people in the synagogue at Nazareth are also looking for something out of the ordinary, something which is not simple. Simplicity guards against insistence on novelty and extravagance. Without it Jesus cannot be accepted in Nazareth. Our lack of simplicity masks our pride. It is really just a different way of saying that we deserve God's favors. Like the elder brother, we are already working in the vineyard. Where is our party? Like those people in the synagogue at Nazareth, we won't look to the salvation offered to us, preferring something flashier and more exotic. It is the same with Naaman at first. Washing is too simple and the Jordan river too dirty.
But the faith of the simple servant girl can overcome all of these blocks and unleash God's grace in us. It can bring us to a trust in God that thirsts for him alone. And when we thirst for the living God he satisfies us more than we can even imagine.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
Today we are called to have a simple and trusting faith.
The first example of this faith is the "little girl" taken captive from Israel and made a servant of the wife of Naaman. These sound like very difficult life circumstances which would challenge anyone's faith. But not her. Taken from her land, made a servant, she still has a simple yet deep trust in God.
“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”
she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Amusingly, her simple trust causes all types of problems for those whose faith is less strong.
“Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
Naaman himself shows us the wrong way and eventually the right way to receive healing from the LORD. First the wrong way:
Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
He shows up with the full power of his own strength on display. It is as if he says that he deserves healing. Or in other words, it is almost as if he says that healing is something he can take by force. 'Look at all these areas of life that are under my control,' we imagine he says. 'I'll just add this final one to the list.'
But healing cannot come to a heart like this.
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”
With this, he turned about in anger and left.
He must humble himself. He must take the simple action of washing himself in this foreign river. He has pride in the place from which he comes but he must lay this down. All that he counted as gain he must regard as loss to receive healing (cf. Phi. 3:8).
He does eventually humble himself. The simple faith of the servant girl paves the way for this mighty commander to enter into a simple faith himself. The healing which is unleashed, wherein "flesh became again like the flesh of a little child," is secondary to something that happens deeper within him.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.”
This simplicity is a guard against pride. If we are simple we do not begrudge the prodigal son's welcome home party. The people in the synagogue at Nazareth are also looking for something out of the ordinary, something which is not simple. Simplicity guards against insistence on novelty and extravagance. Without it Jesus cannot be accepted in Nazareth. Our lack of simplicity masks our pride. It is really just a different way of saying that we deserve God's favors. Like the elder brother, we are already working in the vineyard. Where is our party? Like those people in the synagogue at Nazareth, we won't look to the salvation offered to us, preferring something flashier and more exotic. It is the same with Naaman at first. Washing is too simple and the Jordan river too dirty.
But the faith of the simple servant girl can overcome all of these blocks and unleash God's grace in us. It can bring us to a trust in God that thirsts for him alone. And when we thirst for the living God he satisfies us more than we can even imagine.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
23 March 2014 - in the desert, not deserted
23 March 2014 - in the desert, not deserted
The LORD brings us out of Egypt and into the desert. Here we have to depend completely on him. In Egypt we are surrounded by the power of sin to temporarily satisfy us. That is why he calls us out. As he calls us on this pilgrimage we must respond with trust.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
The temptation is to doubt that he will provide for us. We are so used to hording the treasures of the world that his provisions seem insufficient. It seems like they will run out and be exhausted. And yet this world is the promise that never satisfies, no matter how much we get. What God gives us sometimes seems quantitatively less than what we get from the world. Can it truly satisfy?
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Even food and drink, necessities in this life, merely point to deeper fulfillment which we are meant to have in God. The Israelities all drink from the same spiritual rock that accompanies them, and the rock is Christ (cf 1 Cor. 10:4). Yet they must be weary to not harden there hearts. They still face the temptation to seek the partial fulfillment they are used to rather than the gift which God intends them to have.
Yet Christ is the rock struck to pour out the Holy Spirit on us all. He is the water that can satisfy, first in this life, but also in eternity. Christ tells us to ask for this water. We must not harden our hearts. This is the only hope which does not disappoint. His Holy Spirit is the living water "poured out" that doesn't just quench our thirst but reveals "the love of God" to us in the depths of our hearts.
As we come to know this love and this peace we come to trust him more. We are more able to be satiated by that food which "is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work." Firstly, our thirst for God's love is quenched. In response we begin to obey him and experience the food which "is to do the will of the one who sent" us.
We must be like the other Samaritans. It isn't enough to believe because someone else has a testimony, even a great testimony like that of the woman at the well. We ought to hear Jesus speak to us and not harden our hearts but to believe as well.
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
Our hope in him does not disappoint. Even though we are spending time in the desert let us worship this God who guides us so tenderly. Filled with the love of God in our hearts we are set free to worship him in Spirit and truth.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
The LORD brings us out of Egypt and into the desert. Here we have to depend completely on him. In Egypt we are surrounded by the power of sin to temporarily satisfy us. That is why he calls us out. As he calls us on this pilgrimage we must respond with trust.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
The temptation is to doubt that he will provide for us. We are so used to hording the treasures of the world that his provisions seem insufficient. It seems like they will run out and be exhausted. And yet this world is the promise that never satisfies, no matter how much we get. What God gives us sometimes seems quantitatively less than what we get from the world. Can it truly satisfy?
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Even food and drink, necessities in this life, merely point to deeper fulfillment which we are meant to have in God. The Israelities all drink from the same spiritual rock that accompanies them, and the rock is Christ (cf 1 Cor. 10:4). Yet they must be weary to not harden there hearts. They still face the temptation to seek the partial fulfillment they are used to rather than the gift which God intends them to have.
Yet Christ is the rock struck to pour out the Holy Spirit on us all. He is the water that can satisfy, first in this life, but also in eternity. Christ tells us to ask for this water. We must not harden our hearts. This is the only hope which does not disappoint. His Holy Spirit is the living water "poured out" that doesn't just quench our thirst but reveals "the love of God" to us in the depths of our hearts.
As we come to know this love and this peace we come to trust him more. We are more able to be satiated by that food which "is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work." Firstly, our thirst for God's love is quenched. In response we begin to obey him and experience the food which "is to do the will of the one who sent" us.
We must be like the other Samaritans. It isn't enough to believe because someone else has a testimony, even a great testimony like that of the woman at the well. We ought to hear Jesus speak to us and not harden our hearts but to believe as well.
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
Our hope in him does not disappoint. Even though we are spending time in the desert let us worship this God who guides us so tenderly. Filled with the love of God in our hearts we are set free to worship him in Spirit and truth.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
22 March 2014 - coming home
22 March 2014 - coming home
God is so full of mercy.
We ask him for our inheritance apart from him. We ask to be so separated from him that we implicitly wish him to be dead. The first step of our separation seems somewhat innocuous to us at times. We take what seems to be ours and move to "a distant country". Over time we end up squandering our inheritance on things that can't satisfy until everything is freely spent. This stage might not seem overtly sinful. It might just be us trying to be good on our own strength without God. But when our own strength fails we may find ourselves desperate for satisfaction, searching even among the swine, longing to eat the pods they eat. And even then, no one will give us the fulfillment we seek. But as we exhaust ourselves in our need we discover the true abundance of our Father's house, abundance from which we all turn in bigger and smaller ways.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
It is no wonder he leaves in the first place, as he doesn't seem know his father that well. He prepares a speech in the hopes that he "does not persist in anger forever". "I shall say to him," he thinks, and prepares a good act of contrition.
But this is a father who doesn't just forgive but who "delights rather in clemency". It isn't "according to our sins" that he deals with us, or "according to our crimes." He is concerned, not with the formalities of justice, but rather that his son who was dead has come to life again. Before the son can try to take things onto his own shoulders and set them right with his own effort his father comes out to meet him.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son still tries to make his speech but quickly realizes that his sins are as far away as the distant country he leaves behind.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
He isn't just welcomed into his father's house as a servant, like he plans. He thinks, before coming, to say that he is no longer worthy to be called his father's son. But it isn't about worth. How could a child ever be worthy to be a child. And why ought they? It is true that to live in the house of our Father comes with a certain code of conduct, a standard of living to which we should adhere, but we do not thereby buy our place in the household. Let us be like children, children to whom the kingdom belongs.
The older son begrudges the younger his welcome. The older son secretly believes that he is earning his place by working in the vineyards. He imagines that his Father is holding back blessings he deserves and giving them instead to the younger son who does not earn them. Do we imagine that we are earning our place in the Church with our righteous deeds? If so, we risk jealousy when the LORD celebrates the finding of one lost sheep more than the ninety-nine that do not stray. But when we see that our place in the household is just as unmerited as that lost sheep we no longer feel any implicit judgment on our works of righteousness, our kingdom fruits. We are free to enter the party as well.
God is so full of mercy.
We ask him for our inheritance apart from him. We ask to be so separated from him that we implicitly wish him to be dead. The first step of our separation seems somewhat innocuous to us at times. We take what seems to be ours and move to "a distant country". Over time we end up squandering our inheritance on things that can't satisfy until everything is freely spent. This stage might not seem overtly sinful. It might just be us trying to be good on our own strength without God. But when our own strength fails we may find ourselves desperate for satisfaction, searching even among the swine, longing to eat the pods they eat. And even then, no one will give us the fulfillment we seek. But as we exhaust ourselves in our need we discover the true abundance of our Father's house, abundance from which we all turn in bigger and smaller ways.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
It is no wonder he leaves in the first place, as he doesn't seem know his father that well. He prepares a speech in the hopes that he "does not persist in anger forever". "I shall say to him," he thinks, and prepares a good act of contrition.
But this is a father who doesn't just forgive but who "delights rather in clemency". It isn't "according to our sins" that he deals with us, or "according to our crimes." He is concerned, not with the formalities of justice, but rather that his son who was dead has come to life again. Before the son can try to take things onto his own shoulders and set them right with his own effort his father comes out to meet him.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son still tries to make his speech but quickly realizes that his sins are as far away as the distant country he leaves behind.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
He isn't just welcomed into his father's house as a servant, like he plans. He thinks, before coming, to say that he is no longer worthy to be called his father's son. But it isn't about worth. How could a child ever be worthy to be a child. And why ought they? It is true that to live in the house of our Father comes with a certain code of conduct, a standard of living to which we should adhere, but we do not thereby buy our place in the household. Let us be like children, children to whom the kingdom belongs.
The older son begrudges the younger his welcome. The older son secretly believes that he is earning his place by working in the vineyards. He imagines that his Father is holding back blessings he deserves and giving them instead to the younger son who does not earn them. Do we imagine that we are earning our place in the Church with our righteous deeds? If so, we risk jealousy when the LORD celebrates the finding of one lost sheep more than the ninety-nine that do not stray. But when we see that our place in the household is just as unmerited as that lost sheep we no longer feel any implicit judgment on our works of righteousness, our kingdom fruits. We are free to enter the party as well.
Friday, March 21, 2014
21 March 2014 - fruit that lasts
21 March 2014 - fruit that lasts
Today we are admonished to be sure that we are producing the fruit of the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
It isn't enough to have a great vineyard, well defended from the world by a hedge and tower, and to then keep the produce to oneself. God is not pleased with the situation since the vineyard ultimately belongs to him along with all of its produce. God sends servants to us, opportunities to open up and share the fruits which are in any case his. But we are happy in our sheltered world. We are afraid to reach out and to share.
We want the fruit of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (cf. Gal 5:22), but we are content to see others without them. This is a problem. A servant comes to us requesting the fruit of joy and we fear that we won't have enough to share our joy with him. A servant comes needing gentleness and while we insist on gentleness for ourselves we excuse ourselves as being too tired to make the effort for his sake. And so it goes.
But we are warned by Jesus himself that the Father "cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit". We are warned that the vineyard will be taken away from us if we try to horde the fruit for ourselves. We must say with Paul, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (cf 1 Cor. 9:16). We might say that it is our obligation to preach it. These fruits of the Spirit are not our own by any natural effort of merit. They are a gift which must be shared, as others deserve them no less than ourselves. But we ought to say that preaching it is a privilege. We are allowed to share the very love of God with those around us.
The Spirit is powerful enough to ensure that we bear fruit in due season as yesterday's psalm told us. Even the circumstances of Joseph, hard though they are, can't stop him from bearing the fruit which God intends to give to the world through him. No matter how empty and dry the cistern that held him, no matter for how much he was sold, no matter with how many fetters the Ishmaelites bind him, none of this stops the LORD from raising him up to fulfill his plan:
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
We do indeed see what come of the dreams of "that master dreamer". We learn from him that our true dreams must be in God. Then we won't be afraid to share the fruit he gives us.
He sets Joseph as a cornerstone in Egypt, even though he is first rejected. When our dreams are in God he will be able to use us as stones to build, no matter what the builders around us think about it. And when our dreams our in him we run no risk of being like the tenants of the vineyard, killing even the son when he comes asking for produce. Remembering the marvels the Lord has done for us we will trust him. He will guide us beyond our selfishness, our need to always protect ourselves, to be comfortable and secure. He will guide us in spite of the hardship of difficult circumstances.
For though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit appears on the vine,
Though the yield of the olive fails
and the terraces produce no nourishment,
Though the flocks disappear from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD
and exult in my saving God (cf. Hab. 3:17-18)
Even when there seems to be a famine we rejoice in the LORD knowing that what he does with Joseph during that famine he can do with us by the power of his Holy Spirit.
Today we are admonished to be sure that we are producing the fruit of the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
It isn't enough to have a great vineyard, well defended from the world by a hedge and tower, and to then keep the produce to oneself. God is not pleased with the situation since the vineyard ultimately belongs to him along with all of its produce. God sends servants to us, opportunities to open up and share the fruits which are in any case his. But we are happy in our sheltered world. We are afraid to reach out and to share.
We want the fruit of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (cf. Gal 5:22), but we are content to see others without them. This is a problem. A servant comes to us requesting the fruit of joy and we fear that we won't have enough to share our joy with him. A servant comes needing gentleness and while we insist on gentleness for ourselves we excuse ourselves as being too tired to make the effort for his sake. And so it goes.
But we are warned by Jesus himself that the Father "cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit". We are warned that the vineyard will be taken away from us if we try to horde the fruit for ourselves. We must say with Paul, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (cf 1 Cor. 9:16). We might say that it is our obligation to preach it. These fruits of the Spirit are not our own by any natural effort of merit. They are a gift which must be shared, as others deserve them no less than ourselves. But we ought to say that preaching it is a privilege. We are allowed to share the very love of God with those around us.
The Spirit is powerful enough to ensure that we bear fruit in due season as yesterday's psalm told us. Even the circumstances of Joseph, hard though they are, can't stop him from bearing the fruit which God intends to give to the world through him. No matter how empty and dry the cistern that held him, no matter for how much he was sold, no matter with how many fetters the Ishmaelites bind him, none of this stops the LORD from raising him up to fulfill his plan:
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
We do indeed see what come of the dreams of "that master dreamer". We learn from him that our true dreams must be in God. Then we won't be afraid to share the fruit he gives us.
He sets Joseph as a cornerstone in Egypt, even though he is first rejected. When our dreams are in God he will be able to use us as stones to build, no matter what the builders around us think about it. And when our dreams our in him we run no risk of being like the tenants of the vineyard, killing even the son when he comes asking for produce. Remembering the marvels the Lord has done for us we will trust him. He will guide us beyond our selfishness, our need to always protect ourselves, to be comfortable and secure. He will guide us in spite of the hardship of difficult circumstances.
For though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit appears on the vine,
Though the yield of the olive fails
and the terraces produce no nourishment,
Though the flocks disappear from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD
and exult in my saving God (cf. Hab. 3:17-18)
Even when there seems to be a famine we rejoice in the LORD knowing that what he does with Joseph during that famine he can do with us by the power of his Holy Spirit.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
20 March 2014 - at our door
20 March 2014 - at our door
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
The rich man is today's Gospel reading is such a man. Dressing in fine clothes, and eating sumptuous food, he is rich in the things of this world. He has the strength to provide this sort of thing for himself. He has success on a human level. But he is blind to that which is truly important. He can't see the need of the beggar outside his own door. In turning away from the beggar his heart turns away from the LORD who loves the beggar.
But the trouble with this sort of strength and success is that it is "like the chaff which the wind drives away." This is the eventuality of which the psalm warns, "the way of the wicked [which] vanishes."
The solution is to hope in the LORD, to delight in his law, and to meditate on it day and night. On the one hand we may still endure harsh circumstances here and now. But on another deeper level we are "like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade." We are like a "tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in years of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit." We look at the beggar, hungry and covered with sores, and we often can't recognize his blessedness. We often judge him by the same standard the world uses.
Yet the source of living water that nourishes him endures a deeper change of season than material fortunes. It survives even after his death. Indeed, the truth of it is only then fully revealed. The rich man and the poor can both see the truth of it once they die. The rich man sees that the beggar has access to the living water while he is "suffering torment in these flames." The emptiness of worldly success is revealed in stark contrast to the blessedness of those who hope in the LORD.
Perhaps we're worried about self-deception. We probably should be. The world, the flesh, and the devil promise compelling rewards. How do we avoid hearing "you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented"? The threat is real:
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
There is only one answer. Self-deception will remain an issue if we are relying on ourselves to discern these things.
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.
The LORD wants to bless us. A very small amount, a finger dipped in his living water can make a huge difference and effect a huge transformation. He wants to send his angels to carry us to the bosom of Abraham. Let us follow his law and meditate on it day and night to ensure that our strength is in him, in the living water that will never dry up.
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
The rich man is today's Gospel reading is such a man. Dressing in fine clothes, and eating sumptuous food, he is rich in the things of this world. He has the strength to provide this sort of thing for himself. He has success on a human level. But he is blind to that which is truly important. He can't see the need of the beggar outside his own door. In turning away from the beggar his heart turns away from the LORD who loves the beggar.
But the trouble with this sort of strength and success is that it is "like the chaff which the wind drives away." This is the eventuality of which the psalm warns, "the way of the wicked [which] vanishes."
The solution is to hope in the LORD, to delight in his law, and to meditate on it day and night. On the one hand we may still endure harsh circumstances here and now. But on another deeper level we are "like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade." We are like a "tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in years of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit." We look at the beggar, hungry and covered with sores, and we often can't recognize his blessedness. We often judge him by the same standard the world uses.
Yet the source of living water that nourishes him endures a deeper change of season than material fortunes. It survives even after his death. Indeed, the truth of it is only then fully revealed. The rich man and the poor can both see the truth of it once they die. The rich man sees that the beggar has access to the living water while he is "suffering torment in these flames." The emptiness of worldly success is revealed in stark contrast to the blessedness of those who hope in the LORD.
Perhaps we're worried about self-deception. We probably should be. The world, the flesh, and the devil promise compelling rewards. How do we avoid hearing "you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented"? The threat is real:
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
There is only one answer. Self-deception will remain an issue if we are relying on ourselves to discern these things.
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.
The LORD wants to bless us. A very small amount, a finger dipped in his living water can make a huge difference and effect a huge transformation. He wants to send his angels to carry us to the bosom of Abraham. Let us follow his law and meditate on it day and night to ensure that our strength is in him, in the living water that will never dry up.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
19 March 2014 - not an average joe
19 March 2014 - not an average joe
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
We have been waiting for this. We've been waiting for a ruler on whom we can rely. All of the great kings have sinned to a degree sufficient to undermine their throne, their rule, and the society which that throne protects. But we are promised a throne that stands firm, not compromised by the sinful failures of mankind. This can only be possible because of the relationship of this king to the LORD.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
After all, that which is born of flesh is flesh, that of Spirit is Spirit (cf. Joh. 3:6). The tragic flaw of mankind is passed from one generation to the next. Nothing good dwells in our flesh (cf. Rom. 7:18), or at least, nothing good enough to dig ourselves out of the hole in which we are trapped. The flesh does not avail, but, and this is important, the Spirit gives life.
It is because the Spirit intervenes in our history that sin can finally be destroyed. It is by the Spirit that a throne which stands firm can be sustained against the powers of darkness. It is because the Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadows her that this child, this holy child, this child destined to rule over the house of Jacob forever, this child whose kingdom will know no end, this savior can be born.
Having said all of this about the necessity of the heavenly origin of Jesus we might be tempted to dismiss Joseph as a irrelevant figure, one on the scene only because of chance. But this could not be further from the case. He is chosen to be an example of righteousness and faith. When Mary is found with child he assumes the natural thing and plans to respond in a natural but merciful way. But when God reveals to him what is really happening he puts his faith in God's revelation instead of his own understanding. He embraces God's plan in a profound way, not just acknowledging it, but bringing it fully into his life and the embrace of his fatherly care.
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
Joseph displays the "righteousness that comes from faith" par excellence. No doubt this faith is why he is considered a "righteous man" from his introduction. And the promise of God, the promise of a throne that will not fail, "depends on faith". It depends on the faith of Mary, to be sure, expressed in her fiat. But it depends also on Joseph's own acceptance, his own fiat as it were.
More so than Abraham, Joseph's faith makes him "the father of many nations". His faith makes him fit to be the surrogate father of Jesus, the proximate representation to God the Son of his heavenly Father. This is true because faith is a channel through which grace can flow unimpeded by the selfishness and sin which have caused all past thrones to fail.
Realizing the greatness of the honor accorded to Joseph we should both imitate his faith and seek his guidance and aid. We want this society in which we live to be based upon the unfailing throne of Jesus Christ. We need the faith of Joseph to build this throne free from the impurities of selfishness that mark all merely human efforts. We need to embrace God's plan with the same devotion and care Joseph shows to Mary and Jesus. His plan and promise for us is beyond anything we can ask.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
We have been waiting for this. We've been waiting for a ruler on whom we can rely. All of the great kings have sinned to a degree sufficient to undermine their throne, their rule, and the society which that throne protects. But we are promised a throne that stands firm, not compromised by the sinful failures of mankind. This can only be possible because of the relationship of this king to the LORD.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
After all, that which is born of flesh is flesh, that of Spirit is Spirit (cf. Joh. 3:6). The tragic flaw of mankind is passed from one generation to the next. Nothing good dwells in our flesh (cf. Rom. 7:18), or at least, nothing good enough to dig ourselves out of the hole in which we are trapped. The flesh does not avail, but, and this is important, the Spirit gives life.
It is because the Spirit intervenes in our history that sin can finally be destroyed. It is by the Spirit that a throne which stands firm can be sustained against the powers of darkness. It is because the Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadows her that this child, this holy child, this child destined to rule over the house of Jacob forever, this child whose kingdom will know no end, this savior can be born.
Having said all of this about the necessity of the heavenly origin of Jesus we might be tempted to dismiss Joseph as a irrelevant figure, one on the scene only because of chance. But this could not be further from the case. He is chosen to be an example of righteousness and faith. When Mary is found with child he assumes the natural thing and plans to respond in a natural but merciful way. But when God reveals to him what is really happening he puts his faith in God's revelation instead of his own understanding. He embraces God's plan in a profound way, not just acknowledging it, but bringing it fully into his life and the embrace of his fatherly care.
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
Joseph displays the "righteousness that comes from faith" par excellence. No doubt this faith is why he is considered a "righteous man" from his introduction. And the promise of God, the promise of a throne that will not fail, "depends on faith". It depends on the faith of Mary, to be sure, expressed in her fiat. But it depends also on Joseph's own acceptance, his own fiat as it were.
More so than Abraham, Joseph's faith makes him "the father of many nations". His faith makes him fit to be the surrogate father of Jesus, the proximate representation to God the Son of his heavenly Father. This is true because faith is a channel through which grace can flow unimpeded by the selfishness and sin which have caused all past thrones to fail.
Realizing the greatness of the honor accorded to Joseph we should both imitate his faith and seek his guidance and aid. We want this society in which we live to be based upon the unfailing throne of Jesus Christ. We need the faith of Joseph to build this throne free from the impurities of selfishness that mark all merely human efforts. We need to embrace God's plan with the same devotion and care Joseph shows to Mary and Jesus. His plan and promise for us is beyond anything we can ask.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness,
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
18 March 2014 - not just us, justice
18 March 2014 - not just us, justice
God wants to show us his saving power. He tells us that we will experience it if we are upright, if we go the right way. But he is not like the scribes and Pharisees. "They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders but they will not lift a finger to move them."
God does correct our sins "by drawing them up before your eyes." But he himself helps us to carry all of these burdens. After all, the law came through Moses but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ (cf. Joh. 1:17). And how does this grace manifest itself in our lives? Jesus tells us, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Peter tells us, "Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you" (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7). Paul tells us, "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God" (cf. Phi. 4:6).
The Pharisees and the scribes only proclaim the law to make themselves seem higher and more impressive than those around them. The reason the law exists, the reason God teaches it to us, is so that we can be lifted up to him. It teaches us to humble ourselves that we may be exulted together in God's presence.
What the LORD teaches us isn't mainly about titles, Rabbi, father, or Master. It isn't mainly about appearances, about phylacteries and tassels. It isn't about places of honor. These are the main goals of the scribes and Pharisees, and when they do other good works they do them to justify these vanities.
What the LORD teaches us is about love, love for neighbor, and love for him. It's about care for the widow and the orphan. It's about "praise as a sacrifice". Ultimately, it is not about just us but rather justice, giving our neighbor and our God their due.
This teaching of the LORD isn't revealed that he or others may gloat over us in superiority. What he teaches is the only source of blessedness. His law teaches humility but leads inexorably to exultation.
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
God wants to show us his saving power. He tells us that we will experience it if we are upright, if we go the right way. But he is not like the scribes and Pharisees. "They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders but they will not lift a finger to move them."
God does correct our sins "by drawing them up before your eyes." But he himself helps us to carry all of these burdens. After all, the law came through Moses but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ (cf. Joh. 1:17). And how does this grace manifest itself in our lives? Jesus tells us, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Peter tells us, "Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you" (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7). Paul tells us, "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God" (cf. Phi. 4:6).
The Pharisees and the scribes only proclaim the law to make themselves seem higher and more impressive than those around them. The reason the law exists, the reason God teaches it to us, is so that we can be lifted up to him. It teaches us to humble ourselves that we may be exulted together in God's presence.
What the LORD teaches us isn't mainly about titles, Rabbi, father, or Master. It isn't mainly about appearances, about phylacteries and tassels. It isn't about places of honor. These are the main goals of the scribes and Pharisees, and when they do other good works they do them to justify these vanities.
What the LORD teaches us is about love, love for neighbor, and love for him. It's about care for the widow and the orphan. It's about "praise as a sacrifice". Ultimately, it is not about just us but rather justice, giving our neighbor and our God their due.
This teaching of the LORD isn't revealed that he or others may gloat over us in superiority. What he teaches is the only source of blessedness. His law teaches humility but leads inexorably to exultation.
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
Monday, March 17, 2014
17 March 2014 - real forgiveness makes a difference
17 March 2014 - real forgiveness makes a difference
In Old Testament the LORD commands us to "be holy, because I am holy" (cf. Lev. 20:26). Jesus does not disagree, but he shifts the focus when he tells us, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." The emphasis moves from a walled off, guarded, segregated, and set apart holiness which was appropriate to that era for God's people, to become mercy that reaches out, the builds bridges, and that connects people at a personal level. This gives us context for the next things Jesus says.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Jesus is unwilling to let sin be a roadblock in our relationships. In the Old Testament the holiness of Israel is so important that they can't risk forgiveness, they can't forgo judgement for mercy, and they have no choice but to condemn their enemies. If they get too close to the sinful peoples who surround them they will be contaminated.
But we live in the era of grace. We follow Jesus who is not contaminated by the sin and sickness that surround him. He is not afraid to reach out and touch those who are thus afflicted in order to transform and heal them. We are called to follow, confident nothing which "enters one from outside can defile that person" (cf. Mar. 7:15). If God prioritizes his holiness above his grace we can not be saved. He is utterly set apart and, as we read, light has no fellowship with darkness (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14). And we can do nothing on our own to draw near to him. But while we are yet sinners Christ dies for us (cf. Rom 5:8). His mercy compels him to draw near to us. It calls him down from heaven into our broken world to save us. And we are called to follow in his footsteps.
This tells us that forgiving, not judging, and not condemning are not abstractions. The litmus test for whether we have forgiven has nothing to do with feelings. The test is to whether or not renewed relationship is now possible. Clearly the other party can prevent this, but if we have forgiven them then there should be no obstacle to relationship on our side.
We are quick to reserve the right to judge actions, not people. And this is just. We need to discern actions in order to live in accord with God's law. But when we judge the actions of others it is not a pretense to put a barrier between us and them. There may be actions in which others engage that are dangerous if we are exposed. They may be occasions of temptation for us. And it is fine to avoid these. We must be wary because it is easy to make the subtle shift from this sort of judgment to a prideful one. We must not hold aloof from relationships because of some sense that we are too good to be close to sin. As Christians there are certain expectations on how we act and who we must be. We may have a certain image in our heads of who we should be as "good Christians." May we not let this image keep us from our sisters and brothers in need.
Let us experience the full healing of the LORD for our failures. When we experience the forgiveness of our Holy God are we empowered to share it with others.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
We're not really succeeding at this. Relationships in the Church do not yet exist at the level of kingdom relationships. They are still afflicted by the death-bound world in which they exist. We fear to venture the greatness to which we are called, seeing everything around us winding down and wearing out. We need God's help and we need it desperately. Fortunately, he delights to give it.
Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
In Old Testament the LORD commands us to "be holy, because I am holy" (cf. Lev. 20:26). Jesus does not disagree, but he shifts the focus when he tells us, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." The emphasis moves from a walled off, guarded, segregated, and set apart holiness which was appropriate to that era for God's people, to become mercy that reaches out, the builds bridges, and that connects people at a personal level. This gives us context for the next things Jesus says.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Jesus is unwilling to let sin be a roadblock in our relationships. In the Old Testament the holiness of Israel is so important that they can't risk forgiveness, they can't forgo judgement for mercy, and they have no choice but to condemn their enemies. If they get too close to the sinful peoples who surround them they will be contaminated.
But we live in the era of grace. We follow Jesus who is not contaminated by the sin and sickness that surround him. He is not afraid to reach out and touch those who are thus afflicted in order to transform and heal them. We are called to follow, confident nothing which "enters one from outside can defile that person" (cf. Mar. 7:15). If God prioritizes his holiness above his grace we can not be saved. He is utterly set apart and, as we read, light has no fellowship with darkness (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14). And we can do nothing on our own to draw near to him. But while we are yet sinners Christ dies for us (cf. Rom 5:8). His mercy compels him to draw near to us. It calls him down from heaven into our broken world to save us. And we are called to follow in his footsteps.
This tells us that forgiving, not judging, and not condemning are not abstractions. The litmus test for whether we have forgiven has nothing to do with feelings. The test is to whether or not renewed relationship is now possible. Clearly the other party can prevent this, but if we have forgiven them then there should be no obstacle to relationship on our side.
We are quick to reserve the right to judge actions, not people. And this is just. We need to discern actions in order to live in accord with God's law. But when we judge the actions of others it is not a pretense to put a barrier between us and them. There may be actions in which others engage that are dangerous if we are exposed. They may be occasions of temptation for us. And it is fine to avoid these. We must be wary because it is easy to make the subtle shift from this sort of judgment to a prideful one. We must not hold aloof from relationships because of some sense that we are too good to be close to sin. As Christians there are certain expectations on how we act and who we must be. We may have a certain image in our heads of who we should be as "good Christians." May we not let this image keep us from our sisters and brothers in need.
Let us experience the full healing of the LORD for our failures. When we experience the forgiveness of our Holy God are we empowered to share it with others.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
We're not really succeeding at this. Relationships in the Church do not yet exist at the level of kingdom relationships. They are still afflicted by the death-bound world in which they exist. We fear to venture the greatness to which we are called, seeing everything around us winding down and wearing out. We need God's help and we need it desperately. Fortunately, he delights to give it.
Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
16 March 2014 - living memory
16 March 2014 - living memory
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
We are ready to hear this but we often forget the second half. We are too ready to roll up our sleeves and endure. We are too ready to grit our teeth and suffer in a purely natural way. We want to bear our share of hardship for the gospel like we would bear any other chore with which we are tasked. But the Scriptures continue:
with the strength that comes from God.
And reading this we can breath easy and be at peace. We don't have to match our weakness against the hardship of the gospel. We don't have to match it with our fading and vacuous strength. We are called to embrace it with God's strength and not our own.
Jesus calls Peter, James, and John to endure much hardship for the gospel. They are the ones he calls to keep watch with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. They see him at his weakest. They see him sweating blood, arrested, tortured, and killed. This sort of thing cannot be endured with human strength. But Jesus knows his plans for them and provides them strength in advance by revealing to them more of just who he is.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
Remembering him like this and remembering the voice of the Father say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" is a source of strength when they are called to follow Jesus on the way to the cross.
We know that Peter lets his human weakness prevail. But Peter has this treasured vision in his heart. Even when he fails and denies Jesus he cannot give up completely. He remembers that Jesus discusses this very moment with Moses and Elijah. This "hardship" is not unforeseen. It is somehow a part of the plan. Realizing this, Peter is unable to believe that the cross can be the end of this one whom he sees shining so gloriously. His hope in Jesus is stronger than his disappointment in himself at his own denial.
God is calling us as he does Abram, "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk". He is calling us to leave our comfort zones for the sake of the kingdom. In a sense he calls Abram to bear his share of the hardships for the gospel. Abram too must do this with the strength which comes from God. He must cling to God's promise:
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
He must cling to it even when all earthly circumstances suggest that it cannot be. He must cling to it when he thinks himself too old for children. He must trust even when the very promise fulfilled, Isaac, is demanded of him by the LORD. His trust transcends this apparent contradiction to the hope of the resurrection. He "reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death" (cf. Heb. 11:19).
Peter, James, and John are called to remember the word of the Father about Jesus even when all seems lost. We realize that this trust, this faith, this ability to hold on to what God reveals, this ability to bear hardship for his sake is a supernatural gift. But it is not rare or elusive. He delights to pour it out. We must simply follow the example of Mary our mother who treasures God's revelation to her in her heart. The enemy wants to snatch all such memories from us. If we follow Mary he will not be able to do so.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
We are ready to hear this but we often forget the second half. We are too ready to roll up our sleeves and endure. We are too ready to grit our teeth and suffer in a purely natural way. We want to bear our share of hardship for the gospel like we would bear any other chore with which we are tasked. But the Scriptures continue:
with the strength that comes from God.
And reading this we can breath easy and be at peace. We don't have to match our weakness against the hardship of the gospel. We don't have to match it with our fading and vacuous strength. We are called to embrace it with God's strength and not our own.
Jesus calls Peter, James, and John to endure much hardship for the gospel. They are the ones he calls to keep watch with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. They see him at his weakest. They see him sweating blood, arrested, tortured, and killed. This sort of thing cannot be endured with human strength. But Jesus knows his plans for them and provides them strength in advance by revealing to them more of just who he is.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
Remembering him like this and remembering the voice of the Father say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" is a source of strength when they are called to follow Jesus on the way to the cross.
We know that Peter lets his human weakness prevail. But Peter has this treasured vision in his heart. Even when he fails and denies Jesus he cannot give up completely. He remembers that Jesus discusses this very moment with Moses and Elijah. This "hardship" is not unforeseen. It is somehow a part of the plan. Realizing this, Peter is unable to believe that the cross can be the end of this one whom he sees shining so gloriously. His hope in Jesus is stronger than his disappointment in himself at his own denial.
God is calling us as he does Abram, "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk". He is calling us to leave our comfort zones for the sake of the kingdom. In a sense he calls Abram to bear his share of the hardships for the gospel. Abram too must do this with the strength which comes from God. He must cling to God's promise:
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
He must cling to it even when all earthly circumstances suggest that it cannot be. He must cling to it when he thinks himself too old for children. He must trust even when the very promise fulfilled, Isaac, is demanded of him by the LORD. His trust transcends this apparent contradiction to the hope of the resurrection. He "reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death" (cf. Heb. 11:19).
Peter, James, and John are called to remember the word of the Father about Jesus even when all seems lost. We realize that this trust, this faith, this ability to hold on to what God reveals, this ability to bear hardship for his sake is a supernatural gift. But it is not rare or elusive. He delights to pour it out. We must simply follow the example of Mary our mother who treasures God's revelation to her in her heart. The enemy wants to snatch all such memories from us. If we follow Mary he will not be able to do so.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
15 March 2015 - letter go
15 March 2015 - letter go
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Following the law of the Lord promises much greater benefits than any other law can promise. Other laws can promise, perhaps, that if people follow them then society will be well ordered and at peace. It is entirely possible, likely, and in fact what we see in real life that such societies are still afflicted with depression, with emptiness, with hopelessness and a lack of meaning.
The laws of the state tell us how to be civil. But they can tell us nothing about why we ought to be. The goal remains elusive. Yet God seldom mentions his law without mentioning its goal.
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
He is not making us a people of isolated, miserable, law-abiding citizens. He is making us his people. He is making us a people filled with the true happiness, the blessedness, which only he can give. This is what raises us "high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made".
Jesus tells us that he wants us to be children our heavenly Father. And of course no civil law would dare call us to the standard of our Father's kingdom. But civil law can only command people to that of which they are capable. God can command us to "be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" and at the same time make it possible. This is true because although "with man this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (cf. Mat. 19:26).
He empowers us to love our enemies. This is paradoxical. It is seemingly impossible by definition. Without the example of the Father who "makes his sun rise on the bad and the good", without the example of Jesus who reconciled us to God "while we were enemies" (cf. Rom. 5:10), we would not only believe this to be impossible but scarcely understand what is meant by it.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
His law is infinitely personal. Seeking it must be seeking him. Observing "his statutes, commandments and decrees" must mean "to hearken to his voice." Abstract rules have no power to save. The letter of the law kills (cf. 2 Cor. 3:6). Yet Jesus does not come to abolish the law (cf. Mat. 5:17). He comes to bring us the power of the Holy Spirit which, through the law, gives us life and blessedness.
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Following the law of the Lord promises much greater benefits than any other law can promise. Other laws can promise, perhaps, that if people follow them then society will be well ordered and at peace. It is entirely possible, likely, and in fact what we see in real life that such societies are still afflicted with depression, with emptiness, with hopelessness and a lack of meaning.
The laws of the state tell us how to be civil. But they can tell us nothing about why we ought to be. The goal remains elusive. Yet God seldom mentions his law without mentioning its goal.
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
He is not making us a people of isolated, miserable, law-abiding citizens. He is making us his people. He is making us a people filled with the true happiness, the blessedness, which only he can give. This is what raises us "high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made".
Jesus tells us that he wants us to be children our heavenly Father. And of course no civil law would dare call us to the standard of our Father's kingdom. But civil law can only command people to that of which they are capable. God can command us to "be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" and at the same time make it possible. This is true because although "with man this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (cf. Mat. 19:26).
He empowers us to love our enemies. This is paradoxical. It is seemingly impossible by definition. Without the example of the Father who "makes his sun rise on the bad and the good", without the example of Jesus who reconciled us to God "while we were enemies" (cf. Rom. 5:10), we would not only believe this to be impossible but scarcely understand what is meant by it.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
His law is infinitely personal. Seeking it must be seeking him. Observing "his statutes, commandments and decrees" must mean "to hearken to his voice." Abstract rules have no power to save. The letter of the law kills (cf. 2 Cor. 3:6). Yet Jesus does not come to abolish the law (cf. Mat. 5:17). He comes to bring us the power of the Holy Spirit which, through the law, gives us life and blessedness.
Friday, March 14, 2014
14 March 2014 - forgiven and changed
14 March 2014 - forgiven and changed
The LORD tells us that he doesn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked (cf Eze. 18:23). We force his hand with the "abominable things that the wicked man does". God doesn't delight in it, but the wicked are choosing death, freely choosing it, by their very wickedness. It "is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die."
He really doesn't want to condemn us. He sends Jesus into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him (cf. Joh. 3:16). Again and again he puts off the punishment which our actions deserve, indeed beg of him. And we simply become complacent. We think that things must be fine as they are now, "not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance" (cf. Rom 2:4).
His way is so much more than fair. He doesn't want to condemn us. And every hardship along the way is actually a discipline designed to lead us back to him. "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives" (cf. Heb. 12:6).
He is indeed calling us to a high standard of behavior, a supernatural standard.
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
We can't just express this standard of righteousness in externals. If we even harbor unrighteous anger at our brothers we may be "liable to judgment", let alone when we speak harshly to them. We have to be changed from within so that we aren't just civil toward our brothers. We must be genuinely on good terms with them. We must not have anything between each other when we approach the altar. Such grudges belie our supposed Christian life.
This standard of behavior seems hard. Indeed, it is humanly impossible. But Jesus has a reason for calling us to it, and it is not because he is unfair. He doesn't want us to "be thrown into prison" and "not be released until you have paid the last penny."
As we've said before, what Jesus commands he also empowers. We must come before the LORD to experience true forgiveness. This is not forgiveness which simply looks away from a problem which continues to exist. This is forgiveness which erases the problem, the brokenness in our hearts.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
For this reason we must trust in him. The standard to which we are called is too high for us on our own. But he is the shepherd who delights to find the lost sheep, the woman who delights to find the lost coin, and the father who delights to welcome back his estranged son.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
The LORD tells us that he doesn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked (cf Eze. 18:23). We force his hand with the "abominable things that the wicked man does". God doesn't delight in it, but the wicked are choosing death, freely choosing it, by their very wickedness. It "is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die."
He really doesn't want to condemn us. He sends Jesus into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him (cf. Joh. 3:16). Again and again he puts off the punishment which our actions deserve, indeed beg of him. And we simply become complacent. We think that things must be fine as they are now, "not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance" (cf. Rom 2:4).
His way is so much more than fair. He doesn't want to condemn us. And every hardship along the way is actually a discipline designed to lead us back to him. "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives" (cf. Heb. 12:6).
He is indeed calling us to a high standard of behavior, a supernatural standard.
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
We can't just express this standard of righteousness in externals. If we even harbor unrighteous anger at our brothers we may be "liable to judgment", let alone when we speak harshly to them. We have to be changed from within so that we aren't just civil toward our brothers. We must be genuinely on good terms with them. We must not have anything between each other when we approach the altar. Such grudges belie our supposed Christian life.
This standard of behavior seems hard. Indeed, it is humanly impossible. But Jesus has a reason for calling us to it, and it is not because he is unfair. He doesn't want us to "be thrown into prison" and "not be released until you have paid the last penny."
As we've said before, what Jesus commands he also empowers. We must come before the LORD to experience true forgiveness. This is not forgiveness which simply looks away from a problem which continues to exist. This is forgiveness which erases the problem, the brokenness in our hearts.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
For this reason we must trust in him. The standard to which we are called is too high for us on our own. But he is the shepherd who delights to find the lost sheep, the woman who delights to find the lost coin, and the father who delights to welcome back his estranged son.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
13 March 2014 - book smarts
13 March 2014 - book smarts
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
When Queen Esther encounters the ultimate trial of her life she is not completely overwhelmed. She knows that there is someone to whom she can turn. Her expectations do not come from the earthly kingdom in which she lives. Her expectations are based on the books of her forefathers.
This is essential because she is faced with the most dire of circumstances. She is "seized with mortal anguish". She is taking her life in her hand. She knows that she is alone with no one to help her. No one but the LORD, that is. She is afraid, but has "recourse to the LORD." Her fear is checked by her knowledge of who God is and what he does. The Scriptures are the source of her fortitude in the face of fear.
She believes that the LORD is a God who delivers his people, who intervenes in history, who actually cares genuinely about them.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
If Queen Esther knows that God always frees those who are pleasing to him how much more ought we to know it. She knows about Abraham, Moses, and David. But she has no idea of the ultimate deliverance God offers his people. This is the salvation God reveals in Jesus Christ and it is something which we all too often take for granted. If we did not take it for granted we would be far more able than Queen Esther to face down any fear with the knowledge that our God is with us, that he loves us, and that he works all things together for the good of those who love him (cf. Rom. 8:28).
So let our expectations come from God's word, not from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let them be based on the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Let us say that "we have to come to know and to believe the love that God has for us" (cf 1 Joh. 4:16), the love that he displays par excellence on the cross. Then we will be free to ask, to seek, and to knock fearlessly. We will know that he does not begrudge us his love. He is a Father who does everything he possibly can for our sakes.
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
Let us look to the cross. We, more than Queen Esther, more than any Old Testament hero will know and believe that our God is a God who saves.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
When Queen Esther encounters the ultimate trial of her life she is not completely overwhelmed. She knows that there is someone to whom she can turn. Her expectations do not come from the earthly kingdom in which she lives. Her expectations are based on the books of her forefathers.
This is essential because she is faced with the most dire of circumstances. She is "seized with mortal anguish". She is taking her life in her hand. She knows that she is alone with no one to help her. No one but the LORD, that is. She is afraid, but has "recourse to the LORD." Her fear is checked by her knowledge of who God is and what he does. The Scriptures are the source of her fortitude in the face of fear.
She believes that the LORD is a God who delivers his people, who intervenes in history, who actually cares genuinely about them.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
If Queen Esther knows that God always frees those who are pleasing to him how much more ought we to know it. She knows about Abraham, Moses, and David. But she has no idea of the ultimate deliverance God offers his people. This is the salvation God reveals in Jesus Christ and it is something which we all too often take for granted. If we did not take it for granted we would be far more able than Queen Esther to face down any fear with the knowledge that our God is with us, that he loves us, and that he works all things together for the good of those who love him (cf. Rom. 8:28).
So let our expectations come from God's word, not from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let them be based on the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Let us say that "we have to come to know and to believe the love that God has for us" (cf 1 Joh. 4:16), the love that he displays par excellence on the cross. Then we will be free to ask, to seek, and to knock fearlessly. We will know that he does not begrudge us his love. He is a Father who does everything he possibly can for our sakes.
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
Let us look to the cross. We, more than Queen Esther, more than any Old Testament hero will know and believe that our God is a God who saves.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
12 March 2014 - ready, set, go
12 March 2014 - ready, set, go
Are we putting off the holiness to which we know we are called? We may say that since we are enduring so much right now, struggling so much, that we may be excused from conversion, repentance, and growing closer to God. Are we waiting for some sort of sign to show us that the time is now?
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
If we are waiting thusly, it is likely that we will keep waiting. Nothing will match our criteria. We will never be quite ready to take the next step. But Paul reminds us, "Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation" (cf. 2 Cor. 6:2).
We have trouble realizing this. Now doesn't seem like a good time at all. It seems too busy. We don't feel strong enough or prepared enough. What is it that unlocks the present moment and reveals it as the opportunity it is?
It is something after the pattern of Jonah and Solomon. Both of these men presented, not signs, but the wisdom of God. But even more than the preaching of Jonah, even more than Solomon, Jesus himself is "something greater", the wisdom of God incarnate. Jesus unlocks this very moment and reveals that it exists only because of the love which God has for us. "For in him we live and move and have our being" (cf Act. 17:28). He sustains us and "all things by his powerful word" (cf. Col. 1:17). When we make the connection between our origin in the loving heart of God and this present moment where, in his love, he holds us in being, nothing is impossible for us. Nothing is impossible because we trust completely in the one for whom all things are possible.
It isn't about attempting great feats of heroism, necessarily. It isn't firstly about anything that we do. Instead it is about a disposition of heart that we have in response to this wisdom which Jesus embodies.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Trusting in his love we won't feel the need to prove ourselves with elaborate works on the one hand. On the other, we won't fear to attempt the things which God does ask of us because we trust in his providential care.
There is something greater than Solomon here. It isn't just there. He is here. In this moment he is with us. In this moment he invites and empowers us to respond to him in love. It isn't about doing great things. That is our pride talking. It is about, as Mother Teresa reminds us, doing "small things with great love." The Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux is the way of those who realize that they have each moment only because God loves them as a child. It is their response of childlike faith.
This realization empowers true repentance and profound change such as our best efforts cannot achieve.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
It is the foundation of a blessed society, forgiven by God, which does not perish in "his blazing wrath". Even this wrath is only meant to turn us back toward the God who loves us. He has no other motive in all he does.
Are we putting off the holiness to which we know we are called? We may say that since we are enduring so much right now, struggling so much, that we may be excused from conversion, repentance, and growing closer to God. Are we waiting for some sort of sign to show us that the time is now?
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
If we are waiting thusly, it is likely that we will keep waiting. Nothing will match our criteria. We will never be quite ready to take the next step. But Paul reminds us, "Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation" (cf. 2 Cor. 6:2).
We have trouble realizing this. Now doesn't seem like a good time at all. It seems too busy. We don't feel strong enough or prepared enough. What is it that unlocks the present moment and reveals it as the opportunity it is?
It is something after the pattern of Jonah and Solomon. Both of these men presented, not signs, but the wisdom of God. But even more than the preaching of Jonah, even more than Solomon, Jesus himself is "something greater", the wisdom of God incarnate. Jesus unlocks this very moment and reveals that it exists only because of the love which God has for us. "For in him we live and move and have our being" (cf Act. 17:28). He sustains us and "all things by his powerful word" (cf. Col. 1:17). When we make the connection between our origin in the loving heart of God and this present moment where, in his love, he holds us in being, nothing is impossible for us. Nothing is impossible because we trust completely in the one for whom all things are possible.
It isn't about attempting great feats of heroism, necessarily. It isn't firstly about anything that we do. Instead it is about a disposition of heart that we have in response to this wisdom which Jesus embodies.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Trusting in his love we won't feel the need to prove ourselves with elaborate works on the one hand. On the other, we won't fear to attempt the things which God does ask of us because we trust in his providential care.
There is something greater than Solomon here. It isn't just there. He is here. In this moment he is with us. In this moment he invites and empowers us to respond to him in love. It isn't about doing great things. That is our pride talking. It is about, as Mother Teresa reminds us, doing "small things with great love." The Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux is the way of those who realize that they have each moment only because God loves them as a child. It is their response of childlike faith.
This realization empowers true repentance and profound change such as our best efforts cannot achieve.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
It is the foundation of a blessed society, forgiven by God, which does not perish in "his blazing wrath". Even this wrath is only meant to turn us back toward the God who loves us. He has no other motive in all he does.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
11 March 2014 - bread of angels
11 March 2014 - bread of angels
Jesus tells us that his bread is to do the will of he who sent him (cf. Joh. 4:34).
We ask God, "Give us this day our daily bread." We know that on our own we only do his will partially, haphazardly, incompletely, and, really, only when it serves us. And this way of acting leaves us hungry for a life of greater integrity. We know too that God wants to feed us. He wants to make the earth "fertile and fruitful", and to give "seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats".
Jesus speaks to the Father in us, "Give us this day our daily bread." He teaches us to desire the "bread of angels" (cf. Psa. 78:25) which only he can supply. He teaches us that he, not the manna in the wilderness, is the true bread of angels, come down from heaven. He teaches us to ask for this bread because only this bread empowers us to do the will of God. When we receive this bread we understand more fully what it means to say that our bread is to do the will of our heavenly Father. Jesus teaches us to pray for this bread and then reveals that he himself is the answer to our prayer.
When Jesus says, "Give us this day our daily bread" he acknowledges that all that he has is from his Father in heaven. By offering himself as the bread of life he offers all that he is back to the Father. Jesus teaches us to depend on the Father in the same way. He teaches us to receive our life from him. "Give us this day our daily bread." And when we receive life from him by his word it shall not return to him void. We imagine this to be an external promise. But even our hearts won't render it void. We will be taken up in the great self-offering of Jesus. The walls of our individuality and selfishness begin to fall like the walls of Jericho.
We should have great confidence in the Father. He "knows what you need before you ask him." This should help us to become simple before him and to let go of our pretenses. We aren't trying to impress him with elaborate prayers. We aren't trying to think of something clever or new to say. But if we are truly simple we will also be truly sincere, depending on him for our deepest needs. We pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" and trust that this is part of his will for us, the will we ask to be done on earth. All that the entire human race needs, all that we might ever desire, is contained in that phrase, "Thy will be done." This is the secret Mary knows when she says, "Be it done unto me according to thy word" (cf. Luk. 1:38). When we trust him enough to pray this from our hearts God breaks the bonds of unforgiveness which ensnare us and he sustains us in the face of temptation and evil.
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.
Jesus tells us that his bread is to do the will of he who sent him (cf. Joh. 4:34).
We ask God, "Give us this day our daily bread." We know that on our own we only do his will partially, haphazardly, incompletely, and, really, only when it serves us. And this way of acting leaves us hungry for a life of greater integrity. We know too that God wants to feed us. He wants to make the earth "fertile and fruitful", and to give "seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats".
Jesus speaks to the Father in us, "Give us this day our daily bread." He teaches us to desire the "bread of angels" (cf. Psa. 78:25) which only he can supply. He teaches us that he, not the manna in the wilderness, is the true bread of angels, come down from heaven. He teaches us to ask for this bread because only this bread empowers us to do the will of God. When we receive this bread we understand more fully what it means to say that our bread is to do the will of our heavenly Father. Jesus teaches us to pray for this bread and then reveals that he himself is the answer to our prayer.
When Jesus says, "Give us this day our daily bread" he acknowledges that all that he has is from his Father in heaven. By offering himself as the bread of life he offers all that he is back to the Father. Jesus teaches us to depend on the Father in the same way. He teaches us to receive our life from him. "Give us this day our daily bread." And when we receive life from him by his word it shall not return to him void. We imagine this to be an external promise. But even our hearts won't render it void. We will be taken up in the great self-offering of Jesus. The walls of our individuality and selfishness begin to fall like the walls of Jericho.
We should have great confidence in the Father. He "knows what you need before you ask him." This should help us to become simple before him and to let go of our pretenses. We aren't trying to impress him with elaborate prayers. We aren't trying to think of something clever or new to say. But if we are truly simple we will also be truly sincere, depending on him for our deepest needs. We pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" and trust that this is part of his will for us, the will we ask to be done on earth. All that the entire human race needs, all that we might ever desire, is contained in that phrase, "Thy will be done." This is the secret Mary knows when she says, "Be it done unto me according to thy word" (cf. Luk. 1:38). When we trust him enough to pray this from our hearts God breaks the bonds of unforgiveness which ensnare us and he sustains us in the face of temptation and evil.
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.
Monday, March 10, 2014
10 March 2014 - set apart, together
10 March 2014 - set apart, together
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
Holiness is necessary. It isn't an optional extra, because "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (cf. Heb. 12:14). To be holy is to be uncontaminated by darkness. It is to be light, for "what fellowship has light with darkness" (cf. 2 Cor 6:14)? What fellowship can it have? In the presence of light darkness is transformed.
Holiness is being set apart, unstained by the world (cf. Jam 1:27). But the thing about the holiness of God is that it doesn't keep him away from us. He enters into relationship with us even though he is completely other from us. Even though we are admixture of light and darkness he still draws near with his light to transform our darkness. He is not stained by our sinfulness. Instead he enables us to be transformed (this is why Jesus is able to dine with sinners, to touch lepers, and to raise the dead).
We are called to be holy, not just because he his holy, but as he is holy, to the very degree. We are called to be perfect as he is perfect (cf. Mat. 5:48). And, praise God, what he commands he also empowers.
He has prepared a kingdom for us "from the foundation of the world." But to inherit it, to see God, we must be made holy. We must be transformed to love as he loves. We must have compassion for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. And when there is darkness that resists this love we need the light from our heavenly Father to change us from within.
His words are true. They are not meant to be burdensome. Indeed they are "perfect, refreshing the soul." Do they refresh us? They are Spirit and life. This means that when we don't live them we have less life. His command "is clear, enlightening the eye" so that we have the holiness necessary to see him face to face in glory. Before his command enlightens our eye to see him face to face it first enlightens us (casting out our inner darkness) to see him in the poor and needy.
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Do we see him in these faces? Do we see him in the Eucharist? His command enlightens our eyes. His presence casts out our darkness. He moves our hearts to awe in his presence and teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
It is all contained in one statement: "I am the LORD." All else follows as corollaries. Let us be still and hear him speak this word to us.
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
Holiness is necessary. It isn't an optional extra, because "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (cf. Heb. 12:14). To be holy is to be uncontaminated by darkness. It is to be light, for "what fellowship has light with darkness" (cf. 2 Cor 6:14)? What fellowship can it have? In the presence of light darkness is transformed.
Holiness is being set apart, unstained by the world (cf. Jam 1:27). But the thing about the holiness of God is that it doesn't keep him away from us. He enters into relationship with us even though he is completely other from us. Even though we are admixture of light and darkness he still draws near with his light to transform our darkness. He is not stained by our sinfulness. Instead he enables us to be transformed (this is why Jesus is able to dine with sinners, to touch lepers, and to raise the dead).
We are called to be holy, not just because he his holy, but as he is holy, to the very degree. We are called to be perfect as he is perfect (cf. Mat. 5:48). And, praise God, what he commands he also empowers.
He has prepared a kingdom for us "from the foundation of the world." But to inherit it, to see God, we must be made holy. We must be transformed to love as he loves. We must have compassion for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. And when there is darkness that resists this love we need the light from our heavenly Father to change us from within.
His words are true. They are not meant to be burdensome. Indeed they are "perfect, refreshing the soul." Do they refresh us? They are Spirit and life. This means that when we don't live them we have less life. His command "is clear, enlightening the eye" so that we have the holiness necessary to see him face to face in glory. Before his command enlightens our eye to see him face to face it first enlightens us (casting out our inner darkness) to see him in the poor and needy.
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Do we see him in these faces? Do we see him in the Eucharist? His command enlightens our eyes. His presence casts out our darkness. He moves our hearts to awe in his presence and teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
It is all contained in one statement: "I am the LORD." All else follows as corollaries. Let us be still and hear him speak this word to us.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
9 March 2014 - trust exercised
9 March 2014 - trust exercised
The serpent tempts Adam and Eve with the fruit of a tree. It isn't as though they are hungry. There is a garden full of fruit trees from which they may eat.
Jesus, at the end of forty days of fasting, is hungry. Yet he does not command stones to become loves of bread.
Adam and Eve ignore God's word. They accept Satan's alternative interpretation of the situation instead. "You certainly will not die!" As CCC 397 tells us:
Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of.
Jesus clings to trust in his Father no matter what. He doesn't let Satan reinterpret his time in the desert. Satan would tell him that it is a time of deprivation, a time of suffering, a hard time because his Father doesn't really love him enough to make it easy. And he should therefore insist on that love by force. Jesus will have none of it:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Jesus knows who his Father is. He knows that he is trustworthy. He knows that even if his will is hard, even if it means the cross, it is ultimately for the best. He will accept no shortcuts. He won't act recklessly to force his Father's hand.
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
He is the LORD of all but he won't allow himself to be revealed as king except in the way his Father intends.
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
The temptation Jesus faces is this: There is an easier way. There must be if your Father loves you. But the trust of Jesus in his heavenly Father is unshakable. Whereas Adam and Eve buy the lie that there is something being held back from them Jesus knows better even though he must endure much greater trials.
Through Adam and Eve "death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned". Their lack of trust has hurt us all. We all have a tendency to mistrust God. We know on one level that God wants what is best for us. We know that he works all things together for the good of those who love him and who are called according to his purpose (cf. Rom 8:28). But we so often fail to live from this conviction. We instead let the urgency of the immediate drive us to sin. Only mercy can set us free. We have inherited this heart from Adam and Eve. Only God can make it new.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
And he does want to make our hearts new. He does want to pour out his Spirit upon us. Since our problem is always trusting in ourselves more than God he makes trust the door by which we come to him. But human efforts are not enough. We believe in Jesus. We believe in Jesus, by his power. In the power of Jesus, we believe. In the face of whatever circumstances, whatever lies of the enemy, by the power of Jesus we believe. His victory over temptation in the desert is our hope of victory.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
He longs to restore to the whole world the joy of our salvation which he intends for us from the beginning. He longs to hear our sincere praises. He himself empowers us to open our lips.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The serpent tempts Adam and Eve with the fruit of a tree. It isn't as though they are hungry. There is a garden full of fruit trees from which they may eat.
Jesus, at the end of forty days of fasting, is hungry. Yet he does not command stones to become loves of bread.
Adam and Eve ignore God's word. They accept Satan's alternative interpretation of the situation instead. "You certainly will not die!" As CCC 397 tells us:
Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of.
Jesus clings to trust in his Father no matter what. He doesn't let Satan reinterpret his time in the desert. Satan would tell him that it is a time of deprivation, a time of suffering, a hard time because his Father doesn't really love him enough to make it easy. And he should therefore insist on that love by force. Jesus will have none of it:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Jesus knows who his Father is. He knows that he is trustworthy. He knows that even if his will is hard, even if it means the cross, it is ultimately for the best. He will accept no shortcuts. He won't act recklessly to force his Father's hand.
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
He is the LORD of all but he won't allow himself to be revealed as king except in the way his Father intends.
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
The temptation Jesus faces is this: There is an easier way. There must be if your Father loves you. But the trust of Jesus in his heavenly Father is unshakable. Whereas Adam and Eve buy the lie that there is something being held back from them Jesus knows better even though he must endure much greater trials.
Through Adam and Eve "death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned". Their lack of trust has hurt us all. We all have a tendency to mistrust God. We know on one level that God wants what is best for us. We know that he works all things together for the good of those who love him and who are called according to his purpose (cf. Rom 8:28). But we so often fail to live from this conviction. We instead let the urgency of the immediate drive us to sin. Only mercy can set us free. We have inherited this heart from Adam and Eve. Only God can make it new.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
And he does want to make our hearts new. He does want to pour out his Spirit upon us. Since our problem is always trusting in ourselves more than God he makes trust the door by which we come to him. But human efforts are not enough. We believe in Jesus. We believe in Jesus, by his power. In the power of Jesus, we believe. In the face of whatever circumstances, whatever lies of the enemy, by the power of Jesus we believe. His victory over temptation in the desert is our hope of victory.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
He longs to restore to the whole world the joy of our salvation which he intends for us from the beginning. He longs to hear our sincere praises. He himself empowers us to open our lips.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
8 March 2014 - sick of myself
8 March 2014 - sick of myself
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
We are all sick and in need of Jesus. There are only the sick who know we are sick and the sick who try convince ourselves that we are healthy. We are sinners. Even those of us who hear his call to "Follow me", even those of us who leave all we have to follow him are still the sick in need of the Divine Physician. This attitude warns against a false sense of self-sufficiency wherein we try to earn our own salvation.
But at the same time it isn't meant to drive us toward an introspection that ends in self-pity. It is supposed to open us to dependence on Jesus. We must say with Therese, "How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy." See? The point is not to say, "Woe is me. I am so bad. I am so worthless." These are lies from the enemies. We are precious in God's eyes. The Father loves us so much that he sends his only Son to die for us (cf. Joh. 3:16) while we are still sinners, still his enemies (cf. Rom. 5:8). We are not unhappy accidents of which the LORD is trying to make the best he can. He says to us, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (cf. Jer. 1:5).
So then, let us hear him challenge us to greater heights of holiness. We can hear this challenge now without fear or self-doubt.
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
We know that we do not perfectly embody this ideal already. But we don't despair. Instead we take this as an occasion to turn to Jesus and trust in him more than ever.
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
It is about learning to put the LORD before our "own pursuits" espeically on his "holy day ... the sabbath". But the beauty of it, is that when we fail we do not hear condemnation. We just hear the invitation repeated and intensified: “Follow me.”
We want to "delight in the LORD and ... ride on the heights of the earth". We want him to nourish us "with the heritage of Jacob", especially the Eucharist. And since we have no health on our own apart from him, nothing good within us apart from him (cf. Rom. 7:18) we cry out in dependence:
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
We are all sick and in need of Jesus. There are only the sick who know we are sick and the sick who try convince ourselves that we are healthy. We are sinners. Even those of us who hear his call to "Follow me", even those of us who leave all we have to follow him are still the sick in need of the Divine Physician. This attitude warns against a false sense of self-sufficiency wherein we try to earn our own salvation.
But at the same time it isn't meant to drive us toward an introspection that ends in self-pity. It is supposed to open us to dependence on Jesus. We must say with Therese, "How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy." See? The point is not to say, "Woe is me. I am so bad. I am so worthless." These are lies from the enemies. We are precious in God's eyes. The Father loves us so much that he sends his only Son to die for us (cf. Joh. 3:16) while we are still sinners, still his enemies (cf. Rom. 5:8). We are not unhappy accidents of which the LORD is trying to make the best he can. He says to us, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (cf. Jer. 1:5).
So then, let us hear him challenge us to greater heights of holiness. We can hear this challenge now without fear or self-doubt.
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
We know that we do not perfectly embody this ideal already. But we don't despair. Instead we take this as an occasion to turn to Jesus and trust in him more than ever.
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined homesteads.”
It is about learning to put the LORD before our "own pursuits" espeically on his "holy day ... the sabbath". But the beauty of it, is that when we fail we do not hear condemnation. We just hear the invitation repeated and intensified: “Follow me.”
We want to "delight in the LORD and ... ride on the heights of the earth". We want him to nourish us "with the heritage of Jacob", especially the Eucharist. And since we have no health on our own apart from him, nothing good within us apart from him (cf. Rom. 7:18) we cry out in dependence:
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Friday, March 7, 2014
7 March 2014 - avail-able
7 March 2014 - avail-able
We cannot fast when the bridegroom is here with us. His presence fills us with such overwhelming
joy that the mourning which fasting entails is impossible for us. And when he ascends into heaven he promises to be with us always, even unto the end of the age (cf. Mat. 28:20). Is fasting, perhaps, a mistake, then? No, because in spite of this promise Jesus also tells us, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”"
How can Jesus be with us always and yet taken from us? It isn't that his presence is unavailable to us. We can always find him in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, and in the faces of the poor and suffering. Yet we do not always find him there. He is available to us but we do not avail ourselves of this gift. And when he is absent our hearts should mourn. We must allow ourselves to truly feel this absence for what it is.
Fasting, therefore, isn't something we struggle through primarily as a discipline for ourselves. If we approach it this way it will end in "quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw." It only serves to make ourselves and those around us miserable. It isn't an external practice which we can add over the top of a day filled with our own pursuits. It is a posture of heart, not mainly of body.
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
Yet it isn't mere introspection. It isn't trying to work up feelings within. It isn't getting locked inside of ourselves. It is the mournful knowledge that we way are far from God and the desperate desire to be close to him.
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
When we do what we can for the least of these we are doing it for Jesus. We are drawing near to him who has become far from us. Fasting is turning aside from material things, yes, but it is only valuable if it is also a turn toward God himself.
What happens when we have a "heart contrite and humbled"? He will not spurn us! He will have mercy on us when we call out to him. When the desire for his presence fills us he will not tarry, but will come at once to meet us.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Let us again hear him say, "Here I am!" Let his glory surround us!
We cannot fast when the bridegroom is here with us. His presence fills us with such overwhelming
joy that the mourning which fasting entails is impossible for us. And when he ascends into heaven he promises to be with us always, even unto the end of the age (cf. Mat. 28:20). Is fasting, perhaps, a mistake, then? No, because in spite of this promise Jesus also tells us, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”"
How can Jesus be with us always and yet taken from us? It isn't that his presence is unavailable to us. We can always find him in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, and in the faces of the poor and suffering. Yet we do not always find him there. He is available to us but we do not avail ourselves of this gift. And when he is absent our hearts should mourn. We must allow ourselves to truly feel this absence for what it is.
Fasting, therefore, isn't something we struggle through primarily as a discipline for ourselves. If we approach it this way it will end in "quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw." It only serves to make ourselves and those around us miserable. It isn't an external practice which we can add over the top of a day filled with our own pursuits. It is a posture of heart, not mainly of body.
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
Yet it isn't mere introspection. It isn't trying to work up feelings within. It isn't getting locked inside of ourselves. It is the mournful knowledge that we way are far from God and the desperate desire to be close to him.
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
When we do what we can for the least of these we are doing it for Jesus. We are drawing near to him who has become far from us. Fasting is turning aside from material things, yes, but it is only valuable if it is also a turn toward God himself.
What happens when we have a "heart contrite and humbled"? He will not spurn us! He will have mercy on us when we call out to him. When the desire for his presence fills us he will not tarry, but will come at once to meet us.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Let us again hear him say, "Here I am!" Let his glory surround us!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
6 March 2014 - life, but not as we know it
6 March 2014 - life, but not as we know it
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
It sounds simple enough. Choose life. But our minds are darkened and death often looks like life to us and life like death. Choosing life, we read, means to live "by loving the LORD, your God heading his voice and holding fast to him." Good so far? What about when the very voice we are to heed says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
This is true life. But life sounds a lot like death to the worldly part of our minds. Jesus tells us that "whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." We are reminded of Bonhoeffer's saying that, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
But wait! Aren't we being offered life this morning? Doesn't he want us to choose life? The fact of the matter, which we must accept today, is that we don't really know what true life means.
Jesus reveals what true life means but only to those who have faith. The faithful look around themselves and see apparent life. They look to Jesus on the cross and see apparent death. But they are not fooled because they make Jesus, not themselves, the arbiter of just what life and death means for them. To do this, they love Jesus, heed his voice, and hold fast to him.
The faithful take Jesus' word that there is more to life than what they have and what they see. When they do this they find that this Jesus to whom they cling is himself the "way, the truth, and the life" (cf. Joh 14:6). He himself is "the resurrection and the life." He tells us that he comes that we may have life abundantly (cf. Joh. 10:10) but we only know this life when we cling to him in the face of apparent death. Then we come to know that he is raised, as he predicts, "on the third day". We come to "know him and the power of his resurrection", but only after we cling to him so much that we share in "his sufferings by being conformed to his death" (cf. Phi. 3:10).
This is why we must meditate on the law of the lord day and night. If we do not we "are like the chaff which the wind drives away." The way of the wicked promises life but it ultimately vanishes without the LORD to watch over it. After all, in this world of entropy, change, collapse, and dissipation, what stability have we accept God? What hope of permanence? What source of life can we have apart from him? But with him we truly do find life, life in abundance.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
It sounds simple enough. Choose life. But our minds are darkened and death often looks like life to us and life like death. Choosing life, we read, means to live "by loving the LORD, your God heading his voice and holding fast to him." Good so far? What about when the very voice we are to heed says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
This is true life. But life sounds a lot like death to the worldly part of our minds. Jesus tells us that "whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." We are reminded of Bonhoeffer's saying that, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
But wait! Aren't we being offered life this morning? Doesn't he want us to choose life? The fact of the matter, which we must accept today, is that we don't really know what true life means.
Jesus reveals what true life means but only to those who have faith. The faithful look around themselves and see apparent life. They look to Jesus on the cross and see apparent death. But they are not fooled because they make Jesus, not themselves, the arbiter of just what life and death means for them. To do this, they love Jesus, heed his voice, and hold fast to him.
The faithful take Jesus' word that there is more to life than what they have and what they see. When they do this they find that this Jesus to whom they cling is himself the "way, the truth, and the life" (cf. Joh 14:6). He himself is "the resurrection and the life." He tells us that he comes that we may have life abundantly (cf. Joh. 10:10) but we only know this life when we cling to him in the face of apparent death. Then we come to know that he is raised, as he predicts, "on the third day". We come to "know him and the power of his resurrection", but only after we cling to him so much that we share in "his sufferings by being conformed to his death" (cf. Phi. 3:10).
This is why we must meditate on the law of the lord day and night. If we do not we "are like the chaff which the wind drives away." The way of the wicked promises life but it ultimately vanishes without the LORD to watch over it. After all, in this world of entropy, change, collapse, and dissipation, what stability have we accept God? What hope of permanence? What source of life can we have apart from him? But with him we truly do find life, life in abundance.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
5 March 2014 - good posture
5 March 2014 - good posture
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
The point of Lent is freedom. It doesn't seem that way at first. We go forth into the desert. Here we don't have as many options. We feel limited. We don't feel free. Yet we know that "Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom" (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17). Even in the desert if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit we experience true freedom. Apparent external limitations mean less and less as are changed within. We become able to return to the LORD with our whole hearts. To be free in this way is true freedom. The options which externalities provide are superfluous. They feel like freedom but can in fact ensnare us.
Jesus deserves all that we are. He is "gracious and merciful", "slow to anger, rich and kindness, and relenting in punishment." When we fast, we recognize that our true bread is to do the will of our heavenly Father. We recognize the ever greater goodness of our God over all of the things, even the good things of this world.
Lent is not like an exercise program. It is not exercises we do in order to make ourselves grow. Lent is a posture. Lent is a time to "Rend your hearts, not your garments". Yet rending garments is easier. It is external, something we can do with our hearts still set in their same old ways. Rending our hearts acknowledges our complete dependence on God. It acknowledges that we fail on our own and that we keep failing without his help.
Because Lent is a posture before God we must be on guard against seeking anything from our fasting, prayer, and alms-giving that is selfish. We must "not blow a trumpet before" us, we must not "pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see" us, and when we fast we must "not look gloomy like the hypocrites" so that we can win sympathy for ourselves. In all of this we are not opening ourselves to dependence on God but instead using God to build ourselves up in ways that are at best natural and insufficient and at worst sinful pride.
Our Father sees in secret and longs to repay even the slightest steps we take toward him. He sees us acknowledge our dependence on him and cannot stay away.
Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.
That is why we should not hesitate. We should spring forward toward him with all that we are. We don't need to wait for some future time when the graces we need are finally available. If we were waiting on a circumstance that might be so. But we want God and for that the time is always now.
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
The posture of Lent is essential to have in our lives if we are to not "receive the grace of God in vain." It prevents us from turning aside. It keeps our spiritual practices from masking selfish intentions. It shows us the way to rely on God alone. And we learn that when we rely on him alone he is always more than enough. Let him teach us to praise him even in the desert!
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
The point of Lent is freedom. It doesn't seem that way at first. We go forth into the desert. Here we don't have as many options. We feel limited. We don't feel free. Yet we know that "Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom" (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17). Even in the desert if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit we experience true freedom. Apparent external limitations mean less and less as are changed within. We become able to return to the LORD with our whole hearts. To be free in this way is true freedom. The options which externalities provide are superfluous. They feel like freedom but can in fact ensnare us.
Jesus deserves all that we are. He is "gracious and merciful", "slow to anger, rich and kindness, and relenting in punishment." When we fast, we recognize that our true bread is to do the will of our heavenly Father. We recognize the ever greater goodness of our God over all of the things, even the good things of this world.
Lent is not like an exercise program. It is not exercises we do in order to make ourselves grow. Lent is a posture. Lent is a time to "Rend your hearts, not your garments". Yet rending garments is easier. It is external, something we can do with our hearts still set in their same old ways. Rending our hearts acknowledges our complete dependence on God. It acknowledges that we fail on our own and that we keep failing without his help.
Because Lent is a posture before God we must be on guard against seeking anything from our fasting, prayer, and alms-giving that is selfish. We must "not blow a trumpet before" us, we must not "pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see" us, and when we fast we must "not look gloomy like the hypocrites" so that we can win sympathy for ourselves. In all of this we are not opening ourselves to dependence on God but instead using God to build ourselves up in ways that are at best natural and insufficient and at worst sinful pride.
Our Father sees in secret and longs to repay even the slightest steps we take toward him. He sees us acknowledge our dependence on him and cannot stay away.
Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.
That is why we should not hesitate. We should spring forward toward him with all that we are. We don't need to wait for some future time when the graces we need are finally available. If we were waiting on a circumstance that might be so. But we want God and for that the time is always now.
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
The posture of Lent is essential to have in our lives if we are to not "receive the grace of God in vain." It prevents us from turning aside. It keeps our spiritual practices from masking selfish intentions. It shows us the way to rely on God alone. And we learn that when we rely on him alone he is always more than enough. Let him teach us to praise him even in the desert!
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
4 March 2014 - worth the sacrifice
4 March 2014 - worth the sacrifice
The readings today are helping us prepare to follow Jesus more radically this Lent.
Peter began to say to Jesus,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Peter is being Peter again. Listen to that bravado. Yet Jesus does not discount what he says. The disciples have indeed given up their former lives to follow Jesus. But they are not finished yet. He affirms what Peter says and helps him to understand just why it is worth it to give these things up.
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
Even in this life the kingdom is a much greater treasure than whatever we have to give up to seek it. Jesus tempers this with realism. There are indeed "persecutions" as well. We are going out into the desert with Jesus to divest ourselves of the non-essential. We want to become more and more attuned to the leading of the Spirit. We want to rely more and more on God for our fulfillment. We want him to be our treasure, our portion, the delight of our soul. We want to find our nourishment in doing his will. But Satan does not leave Jesus alone in the desert. And he does not with us, either. Even having said that, these persecutions are only one bullet point in a list that is otherwise blessings: a hundreds times more than what we give up. And that is just here and now. Eternal life awaits.
No wonder the Good News is said to be "things into which angels longed to look." The prophets announce it, but not for themselves, nor their contemporaries. They are serving us. They are helping to prepare us to recognize the significance of this revelation.
the Spirit of Christ within them indicated
when it testified in advance
to the sufferings destined for Christ
and the glories to follow them.
We should therefore appreciate that this is a big deal. And understanding that importance should motivate us to give up anything we are called to give up to follow Jesus. It is so important that the first part of human history was simply a preparation for it. That preparation was for us precisely so that we might understand the magnitude of the thing now that it has happened. Understanding that significance we are able to believe that what it offers us is much greater than what we give up.
This is why we sing that, "The LORD has made his salvation known". This is not an abstraction. As the author of history he makes salvation known to us. And he does not do this so that we may have it as head knowledge. He makes his salvation known so that we can stake our very lives on it.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
The readings today are helping us prepare to follow Jesus more radically this Lent.
Peter began to say to Jesus,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Peter is being Peter again. Listen to that bravado. Yet Jesus does not discount what he says. The disciples have indeed given up their former lives to follow Jesus. But they are not finished yet. He affirms what Peter says and helps him to understand just why it is worth it to give these things up.
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
Even in this life the kingdom is a much greater treasure than whatever we have to give up to seek it. Jesus tempers this with realism. There are indeed "persecutions" as well. We are going out into the desert with Jesus to divest ourselves of the non-essential. We want to become more and more attuned to the leading of the Spirit. We want to rely more and more on God for our fulfillment. We want him to be our treasure, our portion, the delight of our soul. We want to find our nourishment in doing his will. But Satan does not leave Jesus alone in the desert. And he does not with us, either. Even having said that, these persecutions are only one bullet point in a list that is otherwise blessings: a hundreds times more than what we give up. And that is just here and now. Eternal life awaits.
No wonder the Good News is said to be "things into which angels longed to look." The prophets announce it, but not for themselves, nor their contemporaries. They are serving us. They are helping to prepare us to recognize the significance of this revelation.
the Spirit of Christ within them indicated
when it testified in advance
to the sufferings destined for Christ
and the glories to follow them.
We should therefore appreciate that this is a big deal. And understanding that importance should motivate us to give up anything we are called to give up to follow Jesus. It is so important that the first part of human history was simply a preparation for it. That preparation was for us precisely so that we might understand the magnitude of the thing now that it has happened. Understanding that significance we are able to believe that what it offers us is much greater than what we give up.
This is why we sing that, "The LORD has made his salvation known". This is not an abstraction. As the author of history he makes salvation known to us. And he does not do this so that we may have it as head knowledge. He makes his salvation known so that we can stake our very lives on it.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)