31 August 2015 - cloud-centric

so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope

We are called to hope this morning. We are called to a hope which does not necessarily abolish the need to grieve but instead transforms it and fills it with meaning.

In Nazareth they don't want this transformation of their grief to hope. They would be happy to have the immediate cause of their grief eliminated. If they were no no longer subject to Roman occupation or to the hardships of their daily lives they would be happy to welcome that. But Jesus says,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

This sounds good. It sounds exactly like what the people of Nazareth probably want. But then Jesus says "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."  What must his listeners think? They're still subject to the Romans and their lives are still a mess. There is no sign of anything changing soon.

The hope which Jesus has in store for them and for us is more than we expect. But it might not be the hope we would prefer. We are promised that "we shall always be with the Lord." But if that isn't a desire we have we wind up looking like those who "have no hope". We follow a God who "died and rose", not one who simply never died. We seek the one who "will wipe every tear from their eyes" (cf. Rev. 21:4), not the one who prevents any tears from falling.

This moment does contain suffering and sorrow. We have to come to terms with that. Can we follow a God who allows suffering so that he can bring forth something greater and more amazing than he could in a world where he did not allow it. Or are we David Hume, following Epicurus and echoed by so many others, who asks "Is he (God) willing to prevent evil, but not able? then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? then whence evil?" We must not take this too lightly. We can't dismiss this question by indifference. There is suffering and it matters. We can't just look the other way. The question is whether we are able to know this, to care about it, and yet to trust that God is working to bring something even greater from this suffering. Can we say with Paul, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us"? Can we, with him "rejoice in our sufferings" because of the good that can come through them?

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church

To do so, we must be able to stare down suffering and have a hope which is stronger than anything we see. Since we need this, let us listen to these words of hope:

For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven, 
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.

We shall always be with the Lord. This is somehow, mysteriously, a greater destiny than a world which did not permit any suffering would allow. Let us celebrate this hope.  Let us "console one another with these words." We need this desire of our hearts, to be always with the Lord, to be the foremost desire of our hearts. We have a hope beyond this age with the power to transform our entire lives even now in this temporary world, on this pilgrimage through the dark valley of shadow.

The psalmist is filled with such joy this morning. He sings a new song to the LORD not because his kingdom is fully here but because he is coming.

Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.

Let us reecho this joy!

30 August 2015 - unchanging law, unchanging love

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

This morning God invites us to come closer to him with our hearts. The law can degenerate into externals if we let it. It can be just a list of things to keep us busy. But this is not the intention of the law. The law is meant to help us to be close to God.

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?

But keeping the externals clean is so much easier than actually addressing the state of our hearts. And it is superficially more rewarding. Other people actually notice the externals. The inner workings of our hearts, those things about which God truly cares, are largely invisible to the world.

Even when the works to which we are called by the law are visible to others, "care for orphans and widows in their affliction" we don't do these things because then, if we do, others will see us as good and religious people. Every legitimate good work risks this sort of stain by the world. And that can lead us down a path where the external reward matters more and more and love matters less and less.

We are fickle, but God is unchanging. There is "no alteration or shadow caused by change." If we do not add externals to his law or subtract essentials it will help us to remain close to him. The law is, after all, all about love. It is summarized as love of God and love of neighbor. This, of course, sounds good to read about. But in practice it isn't always glamorous. We risk running after more proximate rewards.

Instead of running, "Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls." God takes the initiative. He gives us his word which is his unchanging law. This law shows us how to live in love. It insists that we be doers and not hearers only. Hearing the law and purifying our kettles and beds and jugs and ritually washing our hands and dishes is a real risk. We think that because we have heard the law and have these boxes checked on our lists that we are in good shape. But where are our hearts? If we humbly welcome this word we remain in the presence of the LORD, undefiled before God and the Father. We do the justice the law prescribes and live in the presence of the LORD.

Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.

29 August 2015 - he must increase

Today we celebrate the Passion of Saint John the Baptist. From him we can learn the value of preaching the word "in season and out of season" (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2). John is able to point to the one who comes after him, the one whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. He is willing to decrease that Jesus may increase. He is willing to say, "Behold the lamb of God" even if his own disciples will leave to follow Jesus.

These things are obviously related to John's mission as the herald. But John is not just faithful in those things. He is faithful in smaller things as well. He does not look the other way when Heriodias marries Herod. He says, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." This is what lands him in prison. This is the thing that ultimately gets him killed. He is faithful in all this even though it doesn't seem to contribute directly to his mission. He wants to preach the truth in all circumstances and this is why he is the perfect herald for the one who is the way, the truth, and the life (cf. Joh. 14:6).

John is one of the people who has "been taught by God to love one another." He is taught to love no matter the cost to himself. He is taught to love others no matter whether or not it'll make them like him more.

We are probably called to mind our own affairs more than a public prophet like John. We are called to aspire to a "tranquil life". But the Holy Spirit is inviting us to have the same fidelity to the truth that John has. He calls us to fidelity in the things that obviously build the kingdom. But he is calling us to fidelity in the smaller things as well. John teaches us that this is possible. With him, we say, "He must increase, I must decrease" (cf. Joh. 3:30).

"The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice." Let us prepare to welcome him with new songs of praise. Let us clap with the rivers, shout with the mountains, and sing with the seas. May our praise so fill our lives that we are faithful in all things, both large and small.

28 August 2015 - late have i loved thee

For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.

We are called to holiness without which no one will see God (cf. Heb. 12:14). Jesus tells us that it is the pure of heart who are blessed to see God (cf. Mat. 5:8). Today we see that a pure heart isn't a heart that is shut down, isolated, or asleep. A pure heart must be awake.

‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

The foolish virgins never see the bridegroom. They do not have oil for their lamps and no one can provide it for them. They miss the bridegroom when he comes and find themselves locked outside the wedding feast. Both the foolish and the wise virgins both end up sleeping. This itself isn't a deal-breaker. They are human, after all. But the foolish do not prepare. They are not ready to welcome the bridegroom. They lack the oil of the Spirit. When they hear the cry, "Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!" they realize that a passive purity which doesn't long for the bridegroom and take preparations to welcome him is insufficient. True purity is active. It reaches out in longing for the bridegroom even before the watchers announce his coming.

The oil of this Holy Spirit is the only way these wise virgins are able to welcome to bridegroom. It is also the only way to be fully present in our other relationships. It is the alternative to taking advtange of and exploitation or sisters and brothers. It allows us to act in holiness and honor toward them rather than lustful passion. Without it we are either in the dark, stumbling, or too busy trying to provide our own oil to be there for anyone else.

The LORD himself is willing to provide this oil. He wants to anoint us with the oil of gladness (cf. Psa. 45:7). "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (cf. Act. 10:38) He wants to anoint us with the same Spirit. He tells us "stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (cf. Luk. 24:49). This is the power to stay awake and meet the bridegroom when he comes. Paul has this power. Because of it he presses on toward the bridegroom "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (cf. Phi. 3:13).

Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.

The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (cf. Mat. 26:41) so let us pray for more Spirit and less flesh. After all, "It is the spirit gives life; the flesh is no help at all" (cf. Joh. 6:63). Let us believe in the one who pours out this Spirit, rivers of living water, "the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive" (cf. Joh. 7:38-39). The bridegroom comes to meet us and supplies the oil of gladness so that we can go to meet him. So, "Rejoice in the Lord, you just!"

27 August 2015 - teach us to number our days

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Are we living as if the temporary things of this world can give us lasting happiness? Are we building houses on sand and expecting to weather the storms of time? In what are we investing ourselves? Practically speaking, what do we do with our time and resources? Are we trying to get more out of the pleasures of this world than they are meant to give us? When we forget that our time here is short, that our master is coming again, we risk becoming selfish and indifferent to others.

But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely

We want to see things from the master's point of view. His purpose for us is that we "distribute to them their food at the proper time". When lose this perspective the shortness of life becomes a fearful thing. We become those who are "held in slavery by their fear of death." We try to solve this fear with temporary pleasures. We jump from one amusement to the next trying to string them together so continuously that death never comes to mind. But there are always cracks in this armor. Instead, let us cling to the eternal perspective.

“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

If we do this, if we stay awake, the LORD himself will make us increase and abound in love for one another and for all, so as to strengthen our hearts to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. After all, what else endures? This is absolutely the perspective which allows Saint Monica to continue to pray for Augustine long after most anyone else would give up.

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.

26 August 2015 - pretense projects

What is our faith all about? Is it about building tombs and adorning memorials of past things that do not affect our hearts right now? It is such an ordeal to build tombs of prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous that it allows the Pharisees to fool even themselves into thinking that they are pious. It distracts them from hearts which are very much prophet killer hearts. The externals may be beautiful, but the insides of full of bones and filth, hypocrisy and evildoing.

The LORD has searched us and knows us. We can't fool him. He knows us even better than we know ourselves. He calls us to lay down our pretense and to be like Paul. Paul cares more about others and about the mission than he does about self-image. He is able to be truly present to them because he isn't overly focused on his own externals.

You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.


The Pharisees "tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger." The reason they will not help is that they are overly focused on externals, on appearances, and neglect their hearts in which God would create sympathy for the burdened peoples. They don't celebrate God in the lives of the people. Rather, they celebrate the scope of their own influence in their lives. This is a stark contrast with that for which Paul gives thanks.

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.

Paul isn't so much interested in the work he is doing as he is in the work the word of God is accomplishing in the world. This word can illuminate the dark and hidden places of our own hearts.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.

Let us listen to this word and proclaim it so that the whole world can be transformed. No matter how far we stray his presence is always right there to meet us if we will only welcome him.

If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.

25 August 2015 - inside and out

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.

We are called to sincerity and integrity. We are warned to avoid the way of the Pharisees who only worry about the outside of the cup and dish. They only worry about what people see. Their concern is with what can build their own pride. They do only the work which others will acknowledge. They ignore the inside full of plunder and self-indulgence.

We realize that it is tricky for anyone to avoid this trap. We are incentivized to seek incentives. It is a risk that Paul faces. Especially after a struggle in which he and his company are insolently treated we might expect that their motives would be imperfect. When we are just returning from something difficult, some struggle in our lives, aren't we willing to let some impure motives creep in? At such times, don't we make more room for self-affirmation and even self-indulgence? We feel as though we must present this deceptive version of ourselves to the world if we are to be credible. But Paul does none of this. He tolerates none of it. How does he manage?

But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts.

Paul remembers that his mission doesn't start with him. It isn't something he makes up. And because of that, it isn't something which he has to manage on his own. If he did he might have to resort to flattering speech. It is likely that the mission would become a pretext for greed and for seeking the praise of men. But his mission is entrusted to him by God. It is first and foremost about pleasing God and not men. But, oddly, the result is that Paul behaves in a way which is far more pleasing to men than the self-indulgent hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Rather, we were gentle among you,
as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.

After all, God knows us top to bottom, inside and out. We can't fool him with well manicured lawns when the houses of our spirits are a mess. He searches us and he knows us entirely. But he isn't here to condemn but rather, and here is the heart of the matter, to help us clean. There is more work than we can ever do alone. We end up focusing on the wrong things. Let's invite God inside to help, knowing that he knows us, trusting in his love.

Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.

24 August 2015 - come and see

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Whenever we hear about spiritual things they are shaped, to one degree or another, by human expectations. We all know a Nazareth from which, we imagine, no good thing can come. We can't be content to dwell on our past encounters. We have to come afresh to Jesus and all of his blessings. Yet that means that every time we do we risk our expectations diminishing what we can perceive and therefore what we can receive. Perhaps we catch ourselves thinking, 'Can anything good come from mass at my parish?' Maybe the music is mediocre. Perhaps the preaching is poor. It could be that the congregation lacks commitment and concentration. 'Sure,' we think. 'At some well known parish in Ann Arbor I might find something good at mass. But here?' Let us hear and truly hear the invitation, "Come and see." And what do we find? Even at the more liturgically impoverished parishes?

“Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.

This is the heavenly reality concealed by earthly symbols which are sometimes sub-par. If we truly respond to the invitation to "Come and see" this reality is what we discover. To come and see means to leave our worldly expectations behind and let ourselves encounter Jesus anew. To shed our expectations is neither natural nor easy. Yet if we are open to it Jesus himself wants to initiate the encounter.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”

He surprises us. His actions break the mold of the expectations which we set. He knows us. He touches our hearts in ways we do not expect and for which we do not plan. It starts on this personal level. He turns out to be real in ways that statues and stained glass are not. He is real. From here he is free to elevate our minds to perceive the deeper truths of the heavenly things and spiritual blessings which he gives.

And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Let us join Philip in extending the invitation, first to ourselves, than to others to "Come and see." Let us join Bartholomew as one of the friends of Jesus. Let us "make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom."

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

23 August 2015 - to whom shall we go

If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. 
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

We are being called to renew our commitment to the LORD our God this morning. We are called to remember that following God is not something into which we drift. It is something which we must consciously choose and affirm. And this is not just done once. It is not as though the people children of Israel choose God to bring them out of Egypt and then are free to coast along after that.

For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery. 
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed. 
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

We remember all the blessings he has already given us. We celebrate the freedom of spirit we now enjoy. This is how we trust him enough to give him all that we are today. He first proves his love for us. We in turn respond with our whole hearts. Then, when what he requires of us increases we are still able to follow him.

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?

Jesus is divisive insofar as a choice to trust him or not to trust him is necessary. He wants to unite the whole world in himself. But unity must be in truth. And we are free to trust the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, or to not trust him. We can accept the truth that he gives us our we can make up something else. He will not give us less than the truth for the sake of acceptance. But he will give us the Spirit to help us to receive it. The Father himself calls us. He draws us to the place where we can lay down our need to grasp and understand everything by the power of our own intellect. He himself sends the Spirit to give us the mind of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16) so that we can understand in a new way.

Then, when Jesus puts the question to us, "Do you also want to leave?" we are able to answer with Simon Peter:

“Master, to whom shall we go? 
You have the words of eternal life. 
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

We don't fully understand this in the way that we understand with our intellects. But we do perceive the truth in what is said. We perceive it even more deeply than anything else we know. Now that we understand in this way, with the mind of Christ, Jesus can create the unity among us which he desires.

For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it, 
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Humanly, it seems hard to  accept. But we are invited, not to figure it out, but to taste and see the goodness of the LORD. At mass our attention is constantly tempted to wander. It is as though we hear Jesus asking if we will leave him too. But he gives us the grace to remain with him and confess, "You have the words of eternal life."

22 August 2015 - whose story?

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

There is always the temptation to be like the Pharisees. We are conditioned to desire praise for our work. The Internet consists largely of likes, plus ones, up-votes, and re-tweets. This builds off of childhoods of show and tells, contests, and stickers and other byproducts of the token economies of elementary schools. If we realize how deeply embedded this stuff is in us we will realize how dangerous the temptation is now. 

It isn't that we get phylacteries and long tassels or seats of honor at banquets or synagogues. Those aren't the honors which motivate us. But we do very much want to be honored for our work. We want to be thought of in a certain way, whether as a teacher, or master of a skill or art, or as this kind of person or that. Maybe we want to be thought of as kind, or clever, or creative, or some other thing. But to desire those things for self-image is very different than desiring to actually simply be them, whatever they might be.

How can we step back from this conditioned need for affirmation? Let's look at Ruth. She has a certain contentedness that prevents her from overreaching from what she needs to insisting on what might be more impressive. She does not think highly of herself even though the fact that she left her father and mother and the land of her birth to come to a people she did not know previously. That is actually quite an impressive thing to do, just as it was for Abraham. But she doesn't let it go to her head. She doesn't insist on being thought of a certain way now just because of that. She is willing to glean the grain in the fields as the poor are allowed to do. When Boaz takes notice of her she is deferential and humble. She is allows her own child to be the heir to support Naomi in her old age.

How can Ruth be so humble? It can only be the LORD that gives her this grace. In Naomi she sees the work of a God who is worth following. She sees how the LORD blesses those who fear him and begins to fear him herself. This is her focus, her purpose, and her motivation. Her story is impressive and it would be easy to become wrapped up in that. But she never loses sight of the LORD. She pursues him and his blessings. The story never becomes all about her. It remains God's story, of which she has a wondrous part. 

21 August 2015 - love above all

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

It's all about love. We know what love is because he shows us. "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers" (cf. Joh. 3:16). He first loves us even while we are acting as enemies toward him (cf. Rom. 5:8). Love is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus summarizes the whole of the law in two commandments of love. We are to love God and we are to love one another. It's all possible because he loves us first. He shows us love. He helps us to know what it is. He fills us with his own Spirit to make his love present in us. "Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us" (cf. 1 Joh. 3:24).

If we try and do it on our own it is a constant struggle. We are not compelling witnesses. People see us and don't want what we have because we're basically empty. But when we let God fill us with his love by his Spirit we become compelling. Other people begin to notice the light within us of which we ourselves are not the source. The begin to want what we have. This must be the experience of Ruth with Naomi.

Naomi said, “See now! 
Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god.
Go back after your sister-in-law!”
But Ruth said, “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you!
For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge,
your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

Wouldn't it be great to live such a compelling life? It is possible! All we need to do is to rely on the Holy Spirit of God! He'll do the rest!

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.

20 August 2015 - the feast we can't live without

‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’

The feast is ready. We are invited to the banquet of God. It is more than all we ask or imagine (cf. Eph. 3:20).

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined (cf. Isa. 25:6).

It is not the same sort of meal we are used to eating. This is the bread which satisfies. "Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst"" (cf. Joh. 6:35).

And yet we still respond like the invited guests of the parable.

Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.

We imagine that we have more important things to do.  Note that we don't necessarily go away to things which we imagine to be more fun, more entertaining, or more fulfilling. We go to the work which seems immediate. It isn't really what we want to do. But we perceive it as what we have to do. We need to adjust our priorities. We need to understand that this banquet to which we are invited is more important than anything else in our lives. When, on pain of death, celebration of the Eucharist was forbidden in 304 AD an individual named Emeritus was asked by the Proconsul why he and his fellows disobeyed the emperor and met anyway. His answer? "Without the Sunday Eucharist we have no power.  We cannot live without joining together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. We would lack the strength to face our daily problems and not to succumb."

The banquet to which we are invited is the only source of life. 

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (cf. Joh. 6:53-54).

All of our other priorities and necessities pale by comparison. They yield temporary results which, while possibly important, only have meaning to the degree to which they relate us to the eternal. This is why our lives must be marked by love. Love relates all we do to eternity. But love itself requires constant replenishment from its true source, as St. Bernard reminds us. "Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountainhead, flows back to its source, always drawing from there the water which constantly replenishes it."

Let's not ignore the invitation to the feast. We need it more than we realize. But there is another risk we face even if we do come to the feast. We are so filled and strengthened that we might go off and start our own vows and projects and assume that they are sanctioned by God. This is like how Jephthah makes his own rash vow in response to the victory the LORD gives him. The victory in no way sanctions the vow. We always risk endorsing our own projects and ideas in the periods following consolation and blessing from God. It's as if we try coming up with ideas to keep feeling the blessings which are actually gifts from God. The danger is different but the defense is the same. Let's not go off our own ways. Let's stick close to God and what he wants to do in us. Let's take up the invitation to attend the feast and then go forth not as we determine ourselves but instead as we are called.

“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me. 
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”

19 August 2015 - living wage

These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.

But they are equal to us, they are not just made thus arbitrarily. The criminal crucified with Christ hears Jesus say, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." He works for even less than an hour. Yet he is given the same reward as the greatest Saints and martyrs.

The workers complain that their hard work is not being rewarded. But they are called to realize "it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (cf. Eph. 2:8-9. It seems like it ought to be a result of hard work though, right? I mean, here we have a vineyard, an owner, a wage, and workers. If the owner needs us what right does he have to treat those who work more the same as those who work less? Doesn't he owe more to hard workers? But what if the owner doesn't owe us anything? What if he is being merciful when he sees us standing idle? Couldn't it be that he is allowing us to work in his vineyard because it is better for us rather than because he needs us? The wages too, are what the landowner wants to give us more so than what we earn. Those who choose to rely on the mercy of the landowner for work can trust in him to provide for their needs.

Let us take shelter in the shadow of the LORD. There are plenty of leaders on earth that are willing to reward our need to work hard. There is plenty of buckthorn willing to offer us shadow. But these leaders are usually more interested in themselves than us. They reward us not according to what we truly need but according to what we do for them. If they are interested enough in us to give up their own sweetness and good fruit or rich oil whereby men and gods are honored it is usually because there is something they want from us. Let us work for the landowner who doesn't need our help. His vineyard is where we belong. In the labor of this vineyard we find fulfillment and purpose. When we trust him he pays us a wage that is sufficient to all of our needs even we haven't worked enough to deserve it.

For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him 
length of days forever and ever.

It doesn't seem fair, perhaps. But one thing we should never ask God is to give us what we deserve. Instead, let us rely on his mercy and not our worth. Rather than our own efforts, let us trust in him.

Lord, in your strength the king is glad.

18 August 2015 - what god wants

But Gideon answered him, “Please, my lord, how can I save Israel?

He adds up his own resources and abilities and comes up short. His family is the lowliest in Manasseh and he himself is the most insignificant in his father's house. Not only that, he hasn't seen any miracles recently. Instead of wondrous deeds by which the LORD delivers the people from Egypt Gideon finds circumstances quite dire, asking "why has all this happened to us?"

The disciples are on the same page. They are considering mainly their Roman oppressors at this point. It seems like what they need to win are resources. But Jesus tells them, "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." An abundance of human resources won't help. If that won't help, what will?

“Who then can be saved?”

We must learn to trust in the LORD rather than ourselves. We cannot rely on our own background or wealth to overcome our adversaries.

“I shall be with you,” the LORD said to him,
“and you will cut down Midian to the last man.”

We are up against impossible odds. The armies of the world outnumber us massively. If we try to do this on our own we will be overwhelmed as a matter of course. For us it is impossible, but not for God.

“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”

In order to face the opposition we are called to face it isn't about our families, our riches, or even our preparation and training. It is about what the LORD wants to do in our circumstances. If it is his will it does not matter what forces seem set against us. If he is for us none of that matters (cf. Rom. 8:28).

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.

A large part of our problem is that we don't understand just what the Kingdom of God is. We still think in terms of the perfecting of the earthly city rather than the establishing of the heavenly city on earth. We think in terms of riches, of lineage, and of Romans and Midian oppressors. Our priorities aren't quite right. Instead, let us say truly together with Peter "We have given up everything and followed you." Let us surrender our claim to the earthly city. Let us leave the definition and design of the Kingdom to Jesus as we ask him, "What will there be for us?" Let us ask that question in genuine humility. We should want to know what God desires for us rather than what seems best to us. If we just allow Jesus to define the Kingdom by his terms we trust him to do what needs be done to bring that kingdom.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire (cf. Heb. 12:28).

The benefit to us is not less than the rewards the earthly city has to offer.  It is not less than the riches and family we leave behind. It is more. It is far more.

Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.

So let us trust him.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace
To his people, and to his faithful ones,
and to those who put in him their hope.

17 August 2015 - lifeboat

Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge
and save them from the power of their enemies
as long as the judge lived;

But it is not enough to ask the judges about what is good. We might want to ask them, "what good must I do to gain eternal life?" They would in turn tell us how to avoid serving Baals and abandoning the LORD. This is a good start but it is not a long term solution. The judges remind us, "There is only One who is good."

But when the judge died,
they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors,
following other gods in service and worship,
relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

The judges can help us with our external conduct. But they can't transform us from within. The can remind us of the law.

You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

They cannot write that law in our hearts. When the law is written merely on stone and not written on flesh it kills rather than giving life (cf. 2 Cor. 3:6). If the law doesn't change us within we risk the same relapse that the children of Israel fall into again and again.

What is the secret then? Where is the good of God alone who can truly change us from within?

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”

If we follow Jesus we find the one who is good. We discover the power that changes us from the inside out. We make real progress rather the backsliding whenever we aren't being watched. We see God remember his promise to put his law within us and to write it on our hearts (cf. Jer. 31:33).

Let us hear Jesus say, "come, follow me". Let's not just stand here idle. Let's take the first step and see where he leads us. What we see is God regarding our cries, hearing us, and remembering us. This is his rescue operation. Jesus himself is the lifeboat. We can stay here sinking or we can get on board.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (cf. Rom. 8:6).

“Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!

We might otherwise assume that setting the table is our job. We might legitimately worry that we need to build a house suitable for wisdom. But this morning we see that it is just the opposite. Wisdom is building her house, preparing her feast, and inviting us!

God is inviting us to come to the house with "seven columns". We come to the Church with the solid columns of the Sacraments. He invites us, "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

If this is where wisdom wants to dwell we will never succeed in providing her cheap imitations that satisfy her design criteria. If we don't want to be foolish there is nowhere else to be.

Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding.”

We are called to live "not as foolish person but as wise". This wisdom is not something we can produce on our own. We must "try to understand what is the will of the Lord" and "be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and singing and playing to the Lord" in our hearts. It all comes from him and so we are to be grateful for everything.

The wisdom to which we are called is very different from the wisdom of the ancient philosophers. This is not a wisdom we mine through the efforts of our minds. This is a banquet which is already set before us to which we are invited. The old way says we must prepare a banquet that lures wisdom down to us. This new way assures us that the banquet is already set. Wisdom herself is already in attendance. We must simply keep the feast.

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”

What Jesus tells us runs counter to any earthly wisdom we can imagine. But people who subscribe to earthly wisdom eat bread and still die. Whoever believes and eats his bread will live forever.

For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink. 
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him. 
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me. 

15 August 2015 - the place prepared

For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life

Irenaeus sees even more deeply into the fact that Christ is the new Adam. He undoes the damage that Adam causes. Where Adam's sin brings life Christ's obedience brings life. What Irenaeus tells is it that Mary's obedience is antidote to the disobedience of Eve.

And thus also it was that the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary (from Against Hereies III.22).

Today we celebrate Mary's special place in the plan of salvation. She is raised on high to heaven. "The queen takes her place at your right hand in the gold of Ophir." She is taken to a place where the devouring dragon cannot reach her. Eve was intended to be the mother of all the living (cf. Gen. 3:20) but her sin made her the mother of the dead and dying. As Jesus undoes the sin of Adam he in turn raises up a new Eve to be the mother of the truly living when he tells us to behold our mother and tells Mary in turn to behold her sons (cf. Joh.19:26-27).

Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus (cf. Rev. 12:17).

The dragon is getting frustrated by all this obedience. He isn't finding an attack vector that works. So he's coming after us and he is angry. We should take refuge in our mother. She is safe from the perils of the enemy as she reigns in heaven. She can be a refuge for us as well.

It is the humility of Mary and her obedience which make her invincible to the dragon. We can share in this humility. We can share in her fiat, her yes to God. We can proclaim his greatness rather than our own. We can rejoice in what he does for us rather than relying on ourselves. When we do this we find that he does indeed have mercy on those who fear him in every generation. Mary brings the presence of Jesus to the world as the Ark of the New Covenant in a way so profound that the child in the womb of Elizabeth leaps for joy. But we are meant to bring the presence of Jesus into our worlds too. What if the people we meet jump for joy because of the presence of God we bring? It is possible.

14 August 2015 - unbreakable

He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” 

We recall what Paul says about this. "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." Superficially, we read that divorce was once permitted but now no longer OK. But there is more to what Jesus is saying that that.

God is so faithful to us. If he were going to divorce his people we already gave him plenty of reason to do so. Yet he remains faithful to us. He gives Abraham descendants, delivers Moses from Egypt, guides his people thorough the desert. He leads them across the Jordan and into the promised land. He does this for us in spite of our weakness. He does this for us in spite of our failings.

They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power.
You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them, 

Our love is called to be faithful in the same way. Our marriages especially are called to mirror the fidelity of God toward his people. What he joins must not be separated. But his fidelity comes first. His mercy endures forever. It is his own love and mercy which make possible the kind of human relationships to which we are called. Without this, he permits divorce because our hearts are too hard. We can't live out the call to love without grace. But we have found grace. We have experienced the fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.a You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God (cf. Eze. 36:25-28).

God's mercy frees us from our foes. It can even free us from the foes which set themselves against our relationships day to day. His mercy endures forever. It can even triumph over our own hard hearts and empower us to live the call he places on our lives.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (cf. Phi. 3:14).

Let us rely on his faithfulness to produce mercy in us which is supernaturally steadfast and utterly unwavering. No foe can oppose him if we only trust him.

Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
And slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever.

13 August 2015 - changing our channel

You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?

When we receive mercy we must be open to let ourselves become channels of mercy. We are all debtors forgiven a huge amount. Our master is moved with compassion and forgives us a debt we can never repay. We must not just go off our own way to pad and comfort our own. We should consider that the servant really is owed money by his fellow servants. It is, in a sense, a legitimate claim. It is a claim which he had not exercised so violently before. Only after being forgiven does he start choking them to demand payment. Clearly he has somehow missed the point. He himself reaches the point where his resources are totally inadequate to the demands placed on him and is forced to depend on his master. He should learn what a great master he has. He should learn how great forgiveness is. He should see how much of a better place the world can be when mercy triumphs over strict justice. But instead he turns inward and tries to protect himself against ever come to that point again. He tries desperately to scrape together his own resources in order to become self-sufficient. And in a sense, this is his prerogative. Except it isn't. Now that he is shown mercy, mercy must mark his own life.

Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.

The mercy described here seems passive. It sounds like the choice to simply not hold a debt against someone. But we are called to a more fearsome mercy than that. The mercy of God leads the children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea at the hands of Moses. Joshua is among the recipients of this mercy. He in turn is called to actively make this mercy present to the children of Israel at the Jordan.

When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD,
the Lord of the whole earth,
touch the water of the Jordan, it will cease to flow;
for the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a solid bank.

Mercy active seeks out the imprisoned. Mercy provides the way through the sea to deliverance. It isn't enough to be merely passive. We are called, in fact, to love. But we should realize that we don't have the money to pay our own debts let alone those of any other. We must rely on the master who delights to lavish his riches upon us. The ark of his presence is the only place we will find the mercy we all need.

Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
You mountains, that you skip like rams?
You hills, like the lambs of the flock?

12 August 2015 - live, but not unplugged

Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses,
whom the LORD knew face to face.
He had no equal in all the signs and wonders
the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt

Moses is an amazing leader and the people come to rely on him a lot. Even when until dies"his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated."

"the Buddhist saint always has his eyes shut, while the Christian saint always has them very wide open. The Buddhist saint has a sleek and harmonious body, but his eyes are heavy and sealed with sleep. The mediaeval saint's body is wasted to its crazy bones, but his eyes are frightfully alive." - from Orthodoxy by GK Chesteron 

The children of Israel weep for thirty days and we shouldn't doubt their sincerity. Moses does so much for them. Through him God works miracles of deliverance. When the people mess up and commit sin Moses is the one to stand in the breach for them. The whole deliverance from Egypt is so huge that it doesn't seem like it can ever have an equal. The opposition of the Egyptians and the hard hearts of the children of Israel themselves seem insurmountable. Nevertheless, Moses perseveres and they arrived at the borders of the promised land.

Joshua is appointed to succeed Moses but even he isn't considered a prophet like Moses "whom the LORD knew face to face." Yet Moses promises that there is one to come who is indeed like him. "A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen" (cf. Deu. 18:15). The wait is a little longer than that.

Jesus is the prophet who can finally live up to the legacy of Moses. He works  deeds of might and terrifying power as he heals the sick and casts out demons. He delivers us from slavery to sin and guides us from the desert of this world to life eternal in the kingdom of God. When Jesus leaves us, when the clouds take him from our sight, he does not leave a vacuum in his absence as Moses does. As great as Moses was, his ability to provide for the people stops with his death. But Jesus lives forever. Even from heaven he leads and guides his people in a way that is even more perfect and amazing than the way Moses guides the children of Israel from Egypt to the promised land. This is a treasure that we have right now. This is something worth celebrating!

For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.

That is why the Church Jesus founds has such authority. The Pharisees sit on the Chair of Moses and exercise authority in the name of one who had died and gone to his rest (cf. Mat. 23:2). But now the Popes sit on the Chair of Peter and make present the authority of the one who lives forever. 

That is why the members of the Church Jesus creates have access to such power. Unlike Moses, the power is not unplugged by the death of Jesus. His resurrection is the source from which this power flows and he continues to keep his Church plugged into that power through his Spirit as he himself reigns over us in heaven.

Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.

This is why we can say, "Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!" Do we experience this? Jesus is the prophet who is like Moses but somehow even better. Moses is limited by his humanity, by his sin, and by the fallen world in which he lives. None of these things can limit our risen LORD. Let's believe this, celebrate it, and ask for even more fire to fill us so we can live this truth.

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God: “How tremendous are your deeds!”

11 August 2015 - march without madness

Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them,
for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you;
he will never fail you or forsake you.

The greatest army is not the strongest. It is the one with whom God marches. The greatest in the kingdom of Heaven is not the most highly qualified professional with the best education or the most impressive resume.

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

In fact, the only way to the promised land is to trust in the God who marches with us. The only way to the kingdom is to become like a child. Otherwise we will fear and dread. We will ultimately turn aside from foes greater than ourselves.

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all people (cf. Deu. 7:6-7).

It isn't our great number, our strength, or our qualifications for which God chooses us.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?

He chooses us because he loves us. He does not choose the qualified but instead qualifies the chosen. He tells us that somehow we are his own chosen portion. We are the part he wants all for himself. We are the one sheep which he will not abandon. He does not leave us to wander lost. He does not leave us to face the wolves alone. He seeks us out and brings us back tenderly to his arms, the arms of the Good Shepherd. This works when we are willing to be small, when we let ourselves be shepherded, and when we allow ourselves to be children protected by our Father. Let's trust in him to march with us. No matter how strong the enemy armies arrayed against us let us trust that our God is stronger and that he will never fail or forsake us.

It is the LORD who marches before you;
he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you.
So do not fear or be dismayed.”

God wants us to experience the love which he gives to his own. He wants us to know what it means to be his sons and daughters. He desires that we say with John, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." When we truly experience this we also experience the Fatherhood of God. We cry out "Abba! Father!" (cf. 8:15) and march with him into the promised land, the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us sing his renown. Let us proclaim the greatness of our God!

10 August 2015 - sowing lessons

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

We are wary of being taken advantage of these days. There are a million causes which vie for our attention. We are on guard for all money grabs and anything requests that seem disingenuous. We must be on our guard. If we are not we are quickly exploited. Even among legitimate causes there are more than we can possibly support. Yet being on guard we run the risk of shutting ourselves off entirely. We run the risk of being unavailable even to legitimate needs and requests with which we could help. We may still give in these cases, but not out of our need as the woman does when she gives her last two mites (cf. Luk. 21:1-4). It isn't that we are being called to give our last two mites, but we must at least be open and vulnerable to that if we are called. We can't be so protected that we can only give out of abundance. Otherwise we become unable to sacrifice. We give only when it is convenient.

We are called not merely to sow seeds superficial and external to ourselves. We are called to do what Jesus does and to sow our very selves.

Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

This is the secret to kingdom agriculture. This is how love works. It gives from who it is not merely from what it has. We become so protective of who we are that we are only able to give what we have. And such giving makes little difference, ultimately. It addresses things in a way which is temporary and lacks power.

Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

This is not sorrowful or dour. "God loves a cheerful giver". What that means is that he himself gives us the power to give from our very selves and yet remain cheerful.

Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.

When we let ourselves be this open we experience the fidelity of God as he provides for us.

An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
till he looks down upon his foes.

We experience the blessings promised to those who are gracious and lend to those in need. Our horns are exalted in glory.

9 August 2015 - bread from heaven

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. 
He prayed for death saying:
“This is enough, O LORD! 

This is the effect that walking in the desert can have on us. We do OK with some shade, a cool breeze, and food in our stomach. But once things got hot and we get hungry it is only a matter of time before "bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling" surface.  Just walking in the desert takes so much strength that we just don't have the reserves to remain "kind to one another, compassionate, "forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ."

Our way does lead through the desert. There is no changing that. We need something to strengthen us. We need food for the journey. In our hunger we want to give up, but when we are strengthened by the food which God gives we have the strength to journey on. Elijah is ready to quit after a single day but with the food the angel gives him he makes the entire forty day journey to the mountain of God.

He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

We receive even better food than Elijah. An angel gives him water and a hearth cake. We receive the bread from heaven and the cup of salvation. We need to taste and see just how good the LORD is. The angel of the LORD encamps around us just as he does around Elijah. When we trust in the bread God gives for strength we are delivered from all of our fears and our faces our radiant with joy, even here in the desert.

The risk we run is to look at this bread from heaven and see mere bread. The risk is to look at Jesus and see the earthly only, the son of Joseph only. We need to look to Jesus and see him who is both Son of God and Son of Mary. We need to look at the Eucharist and see the bread from heaven and not mere earthly bread. The Father wants to draw us and teach us to see Jesus here. It is absolutely vital that we do so. The desert is too much for us on our own. In the desert this bread from heaven is the only oasis of life.

I am the bread of life. 
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die. 
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

May the Father reveal this to us by his Holy Spirit "with which you were sealed for the day of redemption". Filled with the bread from heaven and sealed with the Holy Spirit we have strength enough for our journey. We no longer risk bitterness and fury because of our weakness and hunger. Instead, we have grace enough to look beyond ourselves and exist for others, just as Christ does.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

8 August 2015 - mustard seed

“Why could we not drive it out?”
He said to them, “Because of your little faith.

Let us pray, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (cf. Mar. 9:24)

Jesus wants us to have faith. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (cf. Heb. 11:1). Faith is how the people of Israel escape "out of Egypt, that place of slavery" and come into the promised land "a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant". Faith assures Israel that God is able to bring them into the promised land. When their faith wavers they fall back on their own efforts. When that happens they always come up short. We learn from them how much we need to remember who God is.

The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.

When we remember who God is we trust in his power. When we trust in his power we experience the deliverance that only comes through faith in him.

My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!
And I am safe from my enemies.

It only takes a little. The one in whom we believe is so great that even a small amount makes a huge difference. A little bit of God goes a long way.

Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.

Let us take this to heart and drill it into ourselves and our children. Let us constantly repeat to ourselves the truth of who he is, whether we are busy or at rest. Let us give ourselves constant reminders of who he is.

Bind them at your wrist as a sign
and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

We are wont to forget. Let us do all we can to keep the LORD before our eyes. When we do not forget him mountains are moved and nothing is impossible for us.