31 December 2016 - in your light

[ Today's Readings ]

There is darkness in the world. Many antichrists have appeared. But for us who are in Christ this need not cause fear. In Christ we find the light which the darkness cannot overcome. In him we find truth that the antichrists are powerless to take from our hearts.

What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

We are made God's children in baptism. He anoints us with his Spirit and makes us his own. If we realize who our Father is and how great and full of love he is fear becomes impossible.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God

We see that circumstances, even dark ones, are still allowed to run their course but that now all things work together for the good of those who love God and who are called according to his purpose (see Romans 8:28). Yet we often forget how much we have been given in being made children of God. We acknowledge the truth with our lips but begin to live in fear as though we didn't have a Father in heaven looking after us.

But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One,
and you all have knowledge. 
I write to you not because you do not know the truth 
but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.

This anointing comes first in baptism. We do in fact have it. And we, yes, you and I, have all knowledge, or at least all knowledge that matters in the grand scheme of things. And the core of this knowledge is who God is and who we are to him. That is why it is this anointing, the Holy Spirit, who makes us cry out to God as Father. Sometimes we forget who we are and need reminders. But the truth is always there, at the core of our beings, waiting for us to return. The Father always welcomes us back into his embrace.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD.

30 December 2016 - familiar example

[ Today's Readings ]

Today is the feast of the Holy Family. God reminds us that family is not an accident of evolution, nor an idea created by man, but rather something which he himself designed. Family has a deep and essential purpose in God's plan.

Jesus calls God his Father and teaches us to do the same. The relationship of the first and second person in the Trinity is a family bond. That bond itself is the Holy Spirit that makes us cry out, 'Aba, Father.' The archetype of family exists in God before it ever manifests in creation. Our Father in heaven is not named because he happens to be like earthly fathers in some way. Rather fathers are earth are named because there is some similarity in what they are to what God the Father is.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named (see Ephesians 3:14-15)

Because this is so God really cares about how well we live family life here on earth. He wants the harmony, peace, and love which will help us not only to live together with one another, but to know will also help us to know him more deeply.

God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.

Rules are important, but more than these we need to let Christ guide our homes and families by the Holy Spirit.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, 
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, 
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs 
with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The Holy Spirit will tell us how to be compassionate, humble, gentle, patient, and forgiving, and to put on love as the bond of perfection. These are fruits which only he can manifest. Only when the peace of Christ controls our hearts is it possible to live the family life God envisions for us.

After saying all of this we should realize it is no accident when Jesus himself chooses to be born into a human family. He does so precisely to offer it as an example to all families. He even allows the family to have an imperfect head, Joseph, to lead two sinless individuals. He really wants to help those of us who are also sinful to understand the lessons of obedience. He wants those of us in leadership roles to understand how to perform them in humility. Above all, he wants to teach us to be led by the Spirit just as Joseph is.

the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, 
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

Guidance from heaven is not just for Joseph but for all. Let us give thanks for the Holy Family and then put what in to practice what they have to teach us.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.

2016 December 29 - in the sight of every people

[ Today's Readings ]

When we look at the Christ child what do we see? Do we see what Simeon sees?

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel

When the Christ child is placed into our hands do we bless God for giving us the salvation prepared in the sight of every people? Simeon sees this hidden reality. We ought to look for it as well.

There is much darkness in the world. But if we learn to see like Simeon sees we behold a light to reveal God to the nations. We find that "the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining." This is true regardless of circumstance. The consolation of Israel is already available to us to behold and to receive. The Holy Spirit wants to reveal this to our hearts just as he does for Simeon.

In order to truly behold the light we must set aside the works of darkness. The LORD makes his light shine. He wants to cast the darkness from our hearts. But we are still free to prefer the darkness. We can choose it over and against the light of the King. But why? The selfish and hatred that constitute the darkness seem like they will help us to achieve goals, to be happy and successful. But these are false promises. Only in the light of Jesus do we find happiness Only beholding that light are we able to find the peace Simeon finds. Let us allow Jesus to shine in our hearts this morning so that we too may go in peace, just as the LORD promises.

This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.

It is our union with Jesus that makes this possible. This union comes from seeing his light and letting it shine in our hearts.

The LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty go before him;
praise and grandeur are in his sanctuary.

28 December 2016 - qualified by the King

[ Today's Readings ]

There is nothing that can keep us from being used by God to build his kingdom unless we let it. Even though he is perfect light and we still have darkness within our hearts we still qualify. The darkness does indeed act as a barrier. But the reason Jesus comes is to cleanse us from all sin so that we may be in the light with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Before we are even created God knows we will choose to sin. Even then Jesus plans to be an Advocate and an expiation for us.

Even little children, too small to make a conscious decision for Christ still bear witness to his truth.

He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.

The Holy Innocents would seem too small to be of use to Jesus. But they give testimony as martyrs. Their very lives proclaim that Jesus is king. Their deaths give evidence that Herod is not truly a king. He is acting falsely to protect what is not truly his own. Herod tries to defend what is not truly his and fails. But nothing spent for the Kingdom is wasted. Even the loss of these tiny lives is a temporary tragedy, a momentary prelude before they enter heaven to rejoice and play forever around the throne of God.

So let us never believe that we are too small or contain too much darkness to serve Jesus and to make him known. God can use us as surely as he uses Joseph. As with Joseph, all we need to do is listen and obey.

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.

We can do obey with complete trust, knowing that our efforts for the King are never wasted.

Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.

27 December 2016 - things visible and invisible

[ Today's Readings ]

The disciple whom Jesus loved, to whom he entrusted his mother, has special insight into the importance of the incarnation.

What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life— 
for the life was made visible;

John does write about in lofty passages about the invisible Logos, the eternal Word through whom God made the universe. But he understands this invisible Logos precisely because this word was is visible in the flesh of Jesus Christ. Before it is abstract and philosophical for John it is first something he hears, sees, and touches in the person of Jesus Christ.

John stands with Mary at the cross as Jesus suffers. He sees the body taken down and laid in a tomb. It is precisely through this body that the glory of the resurrection is revealed to him. Only after embracing the word made visible is John able to write about the invisible and the cosmic. Only in the resurrection of Jesus is the secret of eternal life made manifest to the world.

Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.

John shows us an important truth about approaching Jesus. Along with him, as we read and learn about Jesus we first understand the facts of what he does as we gradually learn about who he is. From learning who he is God the Father is eventually revealed to us. We don't start with doctrines. We don't start with grand ideas. We start with a person. We can do this because that person is truly born in a manager in Bethlehem. The doctrines and ideas are all possible because this baby is held in his mother's arms on Christmas morning.

John, it turns out, is an expert at Christmas. Let him teach us the importance of the incarnation so that we can come close to Jesus just as he does. We come to see just how personal is the love which Jesus has for us. We understand what is meant by relational in describing our relationship with him. As we do we may find that we too are the disciple "whom Jesus loved."

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.

26 December 2016 - gift of love

[ Today's Readings ]

On its face, the martyrdom of Saint Stephen can seem like an abrupt change from the feast of Christmas. For Christmas we celebrate the birth of God in the flesh. The Eternal Words becomes a human baby. For the Feast of Saint Stephen we celebrate Stephen's willingness to leave the flesh to offer himself back to God. These two might not seem obviously connected. In some ways the seem like opposites. One is God taking on flesh. The other is a man leaving life in the flesh.

They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.

Yet it is precisely the gift of Christmas that Saint Stephen manifests today. It is not just any flesh that can give itself for the sake of love and truth. Only because of the birth of Jesus as man as human flesh renewed and this possibility made available. It is only by his union with Jesus himself that life can be freely and selflessly offered back to God. 

For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

By the union of Stephen and Jesus Stephen receives words from the Holy Spirit. He speaks to his persecutors with an eloquence that belies his young age. And they are not words without effect. They plant a seed in one named Saul that the LORD will eventually bring to fruition. But Stephen doesn't get to see that effect. He must surrender himself without knowledge of just how God is using him. But Jesus himself gives Stephen the power to offer his life in this way, out of love. Because Jesus goes to the cross first, and then unites himself to Stephen, Stephen is able to surrender himself just as Jesus does first.

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

The birth of Jesus is already touched by the shadow of the cross. He is born to give himself. And he gives himself in order that we may be transformed. Martyrs really are a Christmas gift from Jesus to his Church. Saint Stephen, pray for us!

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.

25 December 2016 - light of the world

[ Today's Readings ]

And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

We celebrate a hidden birth in a small town in an obscure point from history. But this hidden birth has unimaginable cosmic significance. The little baby Jesus is born, but this same Jesus is the Word who was with God from the beginning. Mary cradles him in her arms and yet he himself is the Word through whom the Father created the universe. This beautiful baby is somehow also the refulgence of the glory of the Father, the very imprint of his being. This child who is nourished at the breast of Mary is somehow the word that sustains the entire universe.

Because Jesus comes we can now see directly, before our eyes, the LORD restoring Zion. The LORD, now flesh and blood, can be seen with our human eyes. The inner light of the universe, the intelligibility in things that enables generation after generation to seek the good the true and the beautiful, is now manifest as a particular child at a particular place and time. 

Let us look to the infant and see the cosmic LORD! Let us realize that the whole abstract cosmic order is abstract no longer. Let us see that the infant is that very light made flesh. God comes down from heaven to meet us. He does not become anything less by doing so, but rather takes on what he was not before. He is now one who comes to us and makes his dwelling among us. Yet he is no less cosmic in power and significance. He steps down to us in order to list us up to himself.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, 
to those who believe in his name, 
who were born not by natural generation 
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 
but of God.

Jesus becomes flesh in order to come as close to mankind as he possibly can. This act is an act of the most profound love. This Christmas let us celebrate and give thanks for that love. Let us enter into it ever more deeply.

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.

24 December 2016 - o radiant dawn

[ Today's Readings ]

Should you build me a house to dwell in?

Honestly, what are we thinking? He is the uncontainable God of the universe. He is present in all places by his power. How can we think of confining him to a specific place our time? To be fair, the LORD himself has led us to think this way. His power is present everywhere but there are always specific places elevated to be points of encounter with him. Whether the burning bush, the ark, or the Holy of Holies, the God who is omnipresent chooses one location to be present to his people.

Perhaps we can make God's dwelling as fitting as possible. He is so great that he deserves the best we have. And this is true. But it does not consider the most important fact. God does not come to us because we finally prepare an adequate dwelling for him. He is content with the tent long before the temple is built. He comes to us in order to show his love for us.

And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. 
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.

We are unable to provide a dwelling appropriate to the LORD our God. But because he loves us he himself provides the dwelling. Because he wants the best possible place of encounter with us he takes on flesh and becomes man.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

From this initial bastion God spreads his presence into us as well. In all of our concern for his dwelling place we would not likely advocate our hearts as the most fitting place for him to dwell. Yet because he loves us he wants to dwell in human hearts. He himself forgives the sins that makes our hearts unworthy of him. He comes to dwell within us by his mercy. This presence is even more real than was his presence in the Holy of Holies. This is what he promised to generations past! This is the dawn from on high that breaks first in the incarnation! The shadow of death begins to flee. The light of the world, the radiant dawn, Jesus Christ is coming. God dwells in mortal flesh. He wants to be born in us as well. Let us welcome him.

He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the rock, my savior.’
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.

23 December 2016 - redemption near at hand

[ Today's Readings ]

John the Baptist is sent to prepare us to receive Jesus.

Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.

From this we learn that we must not simply let Christmas take us by surprise. God sends to forerunner because we need to prepare. He tells us to get ready precisely because we are not ready, we need to be, and we can be.

The plans of God seem almost too amazing to us. We are ready, like Zechariah, to question them and to doubt them. But as Christmas draws so near God helps Zechariah silence his negative talk. Spiritually, he can help us do the same. We can learn not to use our voices to speak words of distrust and doubt but rather to speak words of agreement with the plan of God.

He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.

We hear that we are not ready and become fearful. But let us not give voice to this fear. Let us instead agree with God who tells us that he himself will make us ready for Christmas, ready to receive our Savior.

He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

So let us prepare to receive the messenger of the covenant whom we desire. He is coming soon. Let us lift up our heads and see. Our redemption is near at hand!

22 December 2016 - great thanks for great things

[ Today's Readings ]

I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.
I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.

Let's prepare our hearts to receive the one who is the answer to our deepest desires. Mary shows us how to receive the coming king. She shows us the joy and thanksgiving that ought to mark Christmas morning for all of us.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

Are we prepared to proclaim the greatness of the LORD? Are we ready to rejoice in our savior? Do we really know how blessed we are because of Christmas? 'Great things' is an understatement. Mary is at a loss for words to describe what God does for her. There is no precedent for it in history. There no way to expect it or anticipate it. All Mary can do is to receive the gift of her Son with joy and thanksgiving.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

As we receive the gift of Christmas we realize that it is the answer to every promise God ever makes.  In hindsight we are able to see how everything points toward the morning of Christmas. This serves to heighten and further emphasize the importance of the gift as we receive it. It is the very culmination of history. In the gift, everything is changed. All wrongs are set right, even if that is yet incipient and hidden.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

Let us dedicate this gift back to the LORD. Jesus empowers humanity to return his own love to the Father in return for the Father's gift of the Son. Let us dedicate ourselves to returning this love always.

Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”
She left Samuel there.

With Mary and Hannah let us proclaim, "My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior."

 

21 December 2016 - what we are waiting for

 

[ Today's Readings ]

 
Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.

How poignant in the midst of winter to imagine the coming of the eternal spring. It is brought to us by the bridegroom who comes, "springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills" that separate heaven from earth. As Christmas approaches "he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices". He draws near to earth. He does so because he loves us and longs for our love.

“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
We have been forced to hide in the clefts of the rock of this world in order to survive. But now, as he comes to us, we are now called out into the open by our Savior. In his presence we can come out from the rocks without fear. His love is stronger protection than any hiding place we can find. We are now free to shine our light, to worship without fear, free from the slavery that fear imposes.

This is why Elizabeth is so elated by the coming of the bridegroom to her even while he is yet hidden in the womb of Mary.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Elizabeth is sufficiently attentive that she recognizes when the child in her womb rejoices and why. The coming of the Savior is yet hidden and mysterious. But we can share in the joy of Elizabeth and John the Baptist if we are attentive. His coming in the manger, in the Eucharist, and in our hearts, needs to be seen with our inner vision using the eyes of our hearts. But if we provide a place of stillness and quiet and look with sincerity and expectation we can know a joy that is no less great than that of Elizabeth. For though the infant Savior comes to meet her he wants to come even closer to us, especially in the Eucharist.

Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

The grace of this season is to recognize and welcome the one who never ceases to come to us. We are empowered to ever greater levels of union with the bridegroom who comes. So come, LORD Jesus!

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust. 

 

20 December 2016 - coming, closer

[ Today's Readings ]

The LORD spoke to Ahaz:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

But we don't ask. We know that we are bad at asking for signs. We ask for signs mostly for selfish reasons. They make great entertainment or maybe even give us something we want. We ask God to prove himself and to be subject to our terms. We do this out of fear and doubt. We may eventually give up on signs at all. But God does use signs. He uses them because he wants to communicate to us. It is no abstract idea that he wants to share, either. He wants to communicate himself.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
God uses signs to make himself known. These aren't risky like the other signs because they don't pad our egos. They don't stem from a place of fear. In fact, these signs require that we set aside our pride in order to receive them.

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

These signs seem dangerous at first. Mary has plans for her life based on her idea of who she is. Now her role in God's plan is revealed and everything is changed. We can see that the sign of her Son is not something she demands from a place of pride. It is rather something she is able to welcome from a place of humility. Pride would demand things on her terms in a way that she can understand. And she emphatically does not demand anything at all as she accepts God's terms.
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

Let us expect that God has signs he wants us to see as well. Emmanuel means God with us. God wants to communicate himself to us. He wants to be closer to us than we are to the person next to us. In a mystical way, he wants to be closer to us than we are even to ourselves. Let us lay aside pride and fear so that we can welcome the signs God wants to give us. Let us be prepared to welcome Emmanuel. He wants us to know more deeply the reality of who he is. He wants us to let him come ever closer. The incarnation proves this. The Eucharist proves this. And he isn't done yet.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

19 December 2016 - the big picture

[ Today's Readings ]

Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this? 

Zechariah should be able to trust the LORD. He knows that the history of Israel is replete with examples of the barren giving birth. From Sarah and Abraham on it is a regular theme. When the birth of Samson is foretold we even hear similar words from an angel announcing it.

for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. 

Maybe this precedence is what scares Zechariah. Maybe he is afraid of being part of the grand adventure of salvation history. Perhaps he prefers keeping it all at a comfortable distance. But this too should be familiar. God is always using ordinary men and women to bring about his plans.

Just as Zechariah fails to trust the LORD even though the LORD has already proven himself so do we. We read many stories in Scripture and are content as long as they stay on the page. When God's power really is revealed within our own spheres of life we tend to get afraid and draw back and become silent ourselves.

But in contrast to Zechariah we have Mary. She has no idea how the angel's announced plan is possible. But she is willing to trust. She is willing to have it be done to her according to the word of the angel.

When God comes to us with plans that seem to big for us let us look to his word where we can see how faithful he is to his promises. Let us respond like Mary with complete surrender and trust.

For you are my hope, O LORD;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength. 

18 December 2016 - emmanuel labor

[ Today's Readings ]

Ahaz does not know how to ask for the sign God wants to give his people. In fact, it is more than anyone can ask or imagine. Whatever sign Ahaz might think to ask for would be less than the virgin birth of Emmanuel. Often we ask for signs out of our doubt. Ahaz isadmirable in not asking for a sign with this motivation. But sometimes God gives us signs just because he wants to show us something. In this, the sign of signs, he reveals the depths of his love for us.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: 
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, 
and shall name him Emmanuel.

The one whom the virgin bears is not merely the Son of David according to the flesh. He is not merely another attempt in the list of flawed human beings sent by God to his people. He is the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness. He truly is Emmanuel, God with us, whom even death itself cannot hold or stop.

Jesus may choose unexpected times and places to enter our lives more deeply. This is true in his promise to Ahaz and it is true in his promise to Joseph. Let us listen attentively to the voice of the angel.

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.

Let us welcome Mary into our lives in order that we might have room also for her son. Let us embrace the virgin so that we can receive from her Emmanuel.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, 
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him 
and took his wife into his home.

God truly wants to be with us. This sign is deeper than the netherworld and higher than the sky. The king of glory truly enters the mortal realm. Let us be ready to receive him!

17 December 2016 - inside job

[ Today's Readings ]

Jesus has a family tree. This is something we are asked not to take for granted. He is not merely God who puts on a human costume. Rather he becomes fully human in addition to his divinity. He comes at a specific point in history. He has s specific face and a specific voice. He receives the DNA his mother passes to him. He comes in the fullness of time as part of the plan the Father has from the beginning.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

He is the son of Adam just as all of us are. He comes to set right what Adam ruined. As the new Adam he is obedient where the old Adam disobeyed. He stretches out his hands on the cross to pay for the one who wicked stretched out his hand to take the fruit.

He is the son of David whose kingdom will truly have no end. David is a man after God's own heart. Even so, he still makes some serious mistakes. He can not lay the foundation of an everlasting kingdom. The kingdom of David sputters on weakly until ultimately collapsing. Yet God does promise a kingdom without end. It is a promise fulfilled in Christ.

Judah was meant to be like a lion who is victorious over all his enemies.

Judah, like a lion’s whelp,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?

Like David we see the promise a scepter and a rule and homage from the people that does not end. But again, like David, Judah is too flawed to be made this cornerstone. It is as if God says, 'I would make you this if you would let me but instead you choose sin.' This is why only Jesus can be the true lion of Judah. Adam, Judah, David and all who come before prove unworthy to open the scroll of God's promise to his people. Only Jesus can do so.

“Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

The genealogy reminds us that Jesus does not address these problems as an outsider. Rather he takes our fallenness and failure and transforms it in himself. Because he does so as man we who are men and women can truly be transformed ourselves. We ourselves can truly share in the victory.

May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. 

16 December 2016 - feast forward

[ Today's Readings ]

John is proclaiming one greater than himself. He is giving testimony so that we can be ready to receive Jesus the Messiah. The point of this season is not simply to rejoice in the burning and shining light of celebration of Christmas and then to get on with business as usual. The point of this season is to prepare to receive Jesus more deeply so that as we walk through the next year with him, seeing all the works that the Father gives him to accomplish, we can more and more realize that he is sent by the Father. We can make him, more and more, the LORD of our lives.

Christmas, like Christianity in general, is not something to be done and forgotten. It is something that is meant to permanently change us. It is meant to permeate all that we are. That is the meaning of the feast for which we prepare.

Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.

If we embrace this coming feast we are transformed into offerings pleasing to God whereas before the coming of Christ nothing we can do is pleasing to him. We are then among the gentiles who love the name of the LORD and become his servants. We are brought in to his covenant and permitted to enter the holy mountain, joyful house of prayer, the Catholic Church.

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.

So let us not rejoice in the burning and shining light of Christmas only for the season. Let us prepare so that we can welcome Jesus more deeply into our lives. He is meant to be born in our hearts and not just in history.  But he will not force himself on us. We must welcome and invite him. The more we do the more he fills us, the more we made joyful in his house of prayer for the coming year.

The earth has yielded its fruits;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

 

15 December 2016 - the call back

[ Today's Readings ]

What do we look for in the Advent and Christmas seasons? Do we look for fine and luxurious garments? Do we look mostly for sumptuous living and feasting? Or do we seek, above all, the prophetic voice pointing us toward our Savior?
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom Scripture says:

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.

The celebrations are fine, of course. But not if they prevent us from recognizing the one who is coming to us. He comes with none of the trappings of luxury. The humbleness of his birth is repugnant to modern sensibilities. We can scarcely imagine what the Holy Family lays aside to follow God's will. The risk to us is that if we focus too much on the trappings of the season we will be too distracted to see the poor and humble birth in a manger.

We do get distracted. But the LORD is calling us back.

Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back

We need to focus on the prophetic voice even amidst the noise and haste. The circumstances may be much more humble than our elaborate parties and feasts. But what we find is ultimately so much more than anything the world can give.

For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
But with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.

We feel abandoned at times. We begin to fend for ourselves. We aren't interested in laying aside even more of what the world offers to focus on God. Not when we already feel deprived. But this is the only way to find the one thing that truly satisfies. This is the only way to hear the voice of the LORD welcoming us back.

“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.

New Matt Maher:

 

14 December 2016 - what we have seen and heard

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

And Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard

This is what Jesus calls us to do as well. Perhaps we underestimate all we have seen Jesus do in our lives and the lives of others. We have seen the spiritually blind given sight. We know people who were once in the dark. They banged their heads, stubbed their toes, stumbled and tripped and dark alleys that promises happiness but could not provide. Now their eyes are open and they seek the one thing necessary. Maybe we ourselves are these people. We know those who were stuck in life, who seemed trapped by the circumstances, who now experience the freedom and power to move forward. None of us is without sin (see Romans 3:23). All of us are cleansed of the filth of sin that causes us to disintegrate from within. We learn to hear God's word. Our souls are raised from death to new life. We ourselves are the poor who hear the good news.

To see these blessings given, much less to receive them, is not something we should keep to ourselves. We need to tell what we have seen and heard. People who have no faith definitely need to hear this. But we who have some faith need to edify one another with the mighty deeds of God. John the Baptist recognizes in Jesus the lamb of God. But in prison he still benefits from hearing what Jesus is doing in the world. Prison is like a dark night of the soul where the consolations of God seem distant. We can bless people suffering in this way.
Now we can join every knee in bending before the LORD. Now we, the faithless, and those that doubt, can join together, swearing "Only in the LORD are just deeds and power." He alone is the LORD. He wants everyone to know it so that we can seek the one source of life and salvation. Let's help one another to recognize his handiwork.

Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the skies drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let justice also spring up!
I, the LORD, have created this.

 

13 December 2016 - one accord

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
Only the humble and the lowly can really do no wrong and speak no lies. They have allowed the LORD to purify their lips. Their secret is that they take refuge in the name of the LORD. This can be our secret as well.

He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go.
Which of the two did his father’s will?”

Perhaps the second son intends to go at first. He might then realize just how much work there is to be done and eventually just not go. In bravado he promises what his virtue can't deliver. Maybe the first worries about these things at first and knows his weakness so he says he will not go. Maybe this initial refusal stems from a sort of humility which eventually can be transformed into a trust in the father that enables him to do the work.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.

Perhaps not. But we can see that success here is not in promises made to protect our pride and our image. It is rather in doing the will of God. Better still would be to say we are going to from the beginning, because we trust in the Father, and then to do it, because that trust gives us strength.

This is why tax collectors and prostitutes have an advantage. They know their own weakness. They are not convinced of their our righteousness. They know their desperate need.

Let us realize our need, as well. We make many promises to the LORD that we don't entirely keep. Let us come to him to be purified. May he touch the coal to our lips as he does with Isaiah (see Isaiah 6:7). He will fill us with his Holy Spirit that we may truly serve him with one accord. No longer will we be double minded. We shall trust completely and in that trust we find peace.

They shall pasture and couch their flocks
with none to disturb them.
 

12 December 2016 - many nations

[ Today's Readings ]

Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people,
and he will dwell among you,
and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

The LORD still seeks out the nations to be his people. He wants everyone to join themselves to him. He sends messengers to us like Juan Diego and wants us to believe that he sends them so that we can receive the blessings of the messages they have to give us. Juan Diego's message was to a specific people at a specific place and time. But it is also to all people in all times and places. God wants us to be a family that transcends bounds of race or ethnicity. He wants to be the Father of all. He wants us to have Mary as our mother.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Mary is no accident in the plan of salvation. She is no afterthought. She is set apart to bring the nations the blessing of Jesus Christ. She continues to be set apart for this role. She wants to see us all become his brothers. That is what Jesus himself wants and Mary desires nothing more than that his will be done. It is precisely in her obedience that she can be a perfect mother for the people of God. She is meant to become the mother of all who follow him and keep his commandments.

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea (see Revelation 12:17).

In fact there is no plan of salvation apart from Mary. We do well, therefore, to avail ourselves of the blessings God wants to give us through her. Let us listen to Juan Diego and believe that God wants to bless us through Mary. The particular grace of this blessing today seems to be one of unity in the family of God. It is a power to transcend the various boundaries that keeping us from loving one another as we should. It is a power to transcend cultural baggage keeping us from giving all that we have to God.

Mary is humble. She is in some ways all too easy to miss, too small to notice. But when we do notice her our lives become filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

So let us embrace Mary as our mother.

All true children of God have God for their father and Mary for his mother; anyone who does not have Mary for his mother, does not have God for his father.

--Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

Mary is the doorway through which grace comes to the world. She is the place where the Holy Spirit brings forth the incarnation of the Word of God. If we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to become more like Jesus we need to avail ourselves of this blessing.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

11 December 2016 - like the dewfall

[ Today's Readings]

“Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?”

How do we recognize Jesus when he comes?

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: 
the blind regain their sight, 
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, 
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

We know that we can be too fixated on miracles. We know we can't just turn on the TV, try to figure out how the most compelling faith healer is, and the follow him. Yet the LORD does indeed bring restoration. He brings healings of the mind, body, and soul.

The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.

He does reveal himself be the transformation he brings to lives and situations. It is more than the mere events themselves that prove he is the one behind them. It is the fruit of the Spirit that he always leaves in his wake when he intervenes. It is the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit that we should seek to find.

Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.

Jesus is coming. May we be content with nothing less than him. 

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, 
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Only in the rains the LORD brings is true joy found. If we seek after miracles and special effects we might find other things that hold our interest for a time. But we find nothing else that truly transforms us. True joy is found nowhere else.

The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.

10 December 2016 - the days of elijah

[ Today's Readings ]

Elijah had done such wonders that the scribes must have a hard time recognizing his role being fulfilled by John the Baptist. They watch for the extravagant and amazing and so miss the core of the message. Whether or not John shuts up the heavens and brings down fire three times is less important. What is most important is that he turns back the hearts of fathers toward their sons and re-establishes the tribes of Jacob.

You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.

This Elijah is the one who can help us prepare to meet Jesus. We must not take offense at his words and do to him whatever we please. We must not wait for miracles to help us get ready. Jesus is coming soon. He sends out prophets to prepare for his coming. He asks us to clear room for him in our hearts. The main thing he comes to do is in our hearts before it is in the world. He does come with miraculous deeds. But the most miraculous of which is his choosing to be born in us and to bring us to life when we are dead in our sins. 

There is no sense waiting. Jesus is coming and if we reject the call of John it is likely we will also reject the call of Jesus.

So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.

Each time God calls us it is because he genuinely wants us to return to him. Each time he calls is an opportunity. It can lead to a hardening of hearts if we reject it. But it is meant to lead to restoration. It is meant to lead to salvation.

O God, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.

9 December 2016 - mourning broken

[ Today's Readings ]

God is calling us to prepare for a celebration. He wants us to dance for joy at the birth of Jesus. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking. He invites us to join in the feast. This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday and we are called to rejoice. We are called especially to rejoice on the feast of Christmas. We must not insist on our own dirge and mourning when God gives us so much to celebrate.

We need to listen to the command of the LORD. He teaches us what is good and leads us on the way we should go. His commandments tells us when to mourn and when to rejoice. We do well to listen and not let our own agendas our priorities keep us from doing so. Both mourning and rejoicing are attitudes and ways of acting that have real value. They reflect what we believe is important. When we mourn and rejoice according to the will of God we commit ourselves to putting first things first. But if we refuse to act with joy at the coming of our king in the flesh we prove that something else is more important to us than his coming.

It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.

We mourn and rejoice according to a worldly paradigm because we think the things of the world are important and can actually give us joy. But they cannot. Only God can.

If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.

Let us listen to the joyful music he plays this season. Let us sing and dance for joy in his presence.

Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

8 December 2016 - mother of the living

 

[ Today's Readings ]

 he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world

Things seem to go horribly wrong with God's plan when man succumbs to the temptation of the serpent and eats the forbidden fruit. But God always has a plan.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.

When Eve is called mother of all the living she is called this more as foreshadowing for God's ultimate plan than for what she herself is. She is meant to be the mother of all the living but surrenders the privilege and instead becomes the mother of a spiritually dead world. She bears the name mother of all the living precisely so that when it is given to the one who truly deserves it we can see how fitting, appropriate, beautiful and necessary it is. There is not much enmity between Eve, her seed, and the serpent. But when God places enmity between the true mother of the living and her seed we see that God's plan was never thwarted. It comes to pass in the fullness of time. Finally we realize the depth of our need. Finally we realize how empty and impossible life and enmity with evil are apart from God. Only by his grace can these things by ours.

From Eve we learn that God often first allows us to experience our need before he fulfills it. From Mary we learn that when he fulfills our needs he does so in ways greater than we can even imagine.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.

We learn that even after a very long time nothing is impossible for God. For our particular need we may have to wait for the fullness of time. But even so, God is always worth the wait.

Let us therefore realize how much we need Jesus. We are the children of the dead without him. But if we wait for him we see that in the fullness of time he speaks to us from his cross. He gives us Mary as our mother. He sets things right in a way we could not even guess. We are children of the living in a way that is so much more than mere mortal life. We are made partakers of very life of God! Even after so long singing the sorrowful songs of earth we are given the new song of the angels of heaven to sing.

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

7 December 2016 - rest for the weary

[ Today's Readings ]

In Advent we often get distracted by our own preparations. We hear the Baptist cry to prepare the way of the LORD and get busy with a million personal projects to do so. Or we berate ourselves for not doing so. Advent feels like work. But it is meant to be restorative. It can be, if we let it.
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.

We are busy this time of year, aren't we? We labor. We are heavily burdened with so much to do. What Jesus asks of us in preparing for his coming isn't to drown ourselves in more work. It is rather to come to him and discover rest and peace. How can we have peace even amidst all that is going on?

He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.

To experience this strength we need to make sure that the yoke we bear is the yoke of Jesus and not a self-assigned yoke.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

His yoke is easy because he carries it with us. We are stronger, therefore, than we can possibly be without him.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.

6 December 2016 - love for the lost

 

[ Today's Readings ]

What is your opinion?
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?

What is our opinion? Do we really pursue the one lost sheep? Or are we content with the ninety-nine we still have? Do we give special attention to the ones who really need our love? Or are we content to love only those who are easy for us to love? We are called to have a special love for those who are lost.

And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
If a sheep is not so much lost as obstinately going its own way it may be difficult to lead it back. It may not want to come. But at least for those who are genuinely lost we must be courageous enough to risk much for their sake.

In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.
Some in this world are obstinate. But many, even many who seem obstinate, are just lost, looking for their way home. Unfortunately, we sheep aren't very smart. Without the voice of the shepherd to guide we often wander and place ourselves in ever increasing danger.

It is true that we don't have much to offer the sheep on our own. If we go on our own we simply have two lost sheep instead of one. We have the blind leading the blind. But we don't go alone. We go with the LORD. He has the power to save any sheep that is lost. In fact, the reason Jesus comes is to seek and save the lost (see Luke 19:10). Without him we are all lost.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (see Isaiah 53:6).

The LORD is not content to see any of us wander astray. He wants to seek out each and every sheep. We need to cry out to each and every person that wanders lost in the wilderness that the LORD is coming to seek for them. He wants to bring all of us home.

Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.