31 January 2017 - for the joy set before

 [ Today's Readings ]

She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.

This woman keeps her eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of her faith.

He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."

Many people assumed that Jesus was on his way somewhere, too busy for them, preoccupied with his journey to the daughter of Jairus. They are afraid to interfere with his grand plans by interjecting with their own needs and desires.

At first, it does seem that the woman has delayed Jesus so much that the daughter of Jairus is lost. But to those with eyes of faith she is not lost.

The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.

Many harden their hearts to the idea that Jesus can bring the dead to life. And certainly none of us fully understand it. But understanding is not a prerequisite. What is needed faith enough to invite Jesus in and to let him stay even with all seems lost, when we cannot imagine how a good outcome could be possible any longer.

He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

Jesus endures opposition from sinners who doubt him. He endures even the ultimate opposition of the cross. He does this for the joy set before him. That joy is now set before now. We are encouraged to see it and to endure for it. Jesus himself gives us the grace of his own obedience to struggle against sin so that we too can receive the joy set before us.

And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.

 

30 January 2017 - unbound

 [ Today's Readings ]

Jesus wants to heal us all from the demons that afflict us. We are not possessed as is the man in today's Gospel reading. But we all have dark spirits working against us. Legions of issues afflict us from without even if they don't have total control over us. Jesus has the power to set us free. If we have been living in (or near) unclean circumstances these might not survive.

And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.
The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,
where they were drowned.

If we let Jesus cast out the demons from our lives, demons that cause frustration, anxiety, anger, and suffering, demons that the world can't help us with and cannot subdue, we are changed deep inside of ourselves.
As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.

We are inspired to follow Jesus. But we must be attentive. We may not be called to leave all we know behind and follow him in the most explicit ways. His mission for us may be to remain in our former circumstances as a witness to the grace he shows us. We have to listen to his plans for us and then put the grace of conversion to work in following his word.
Jesus wants to inspire faith in ourselves and in those to whom we bear witness. The victories of the kingdom come from faith are elicit faith. It is faith that makes us truly powerful. It is faith that turns the tide of the struggle with the principalities and powers and the rulers of this present darkness. Whereas without faith the demons cannot be restrained, with faith they can be conquered. Without faith their is no victory. With faith the promises are obtained. This is how Jesus can say that he has already overcome the world even before he is crucified.

Let us look, then, at the power of Jesus as he heals the demoniac. Let us look at his power at work in the history of his people. Their perfection might seem a distant ideal, but it is not truly apart from our own, as we are all meant to be one in Christ.

Yet all these, though approved because of their faith,
did not receive what had been promised.
God had foreseen something better for us,
so that without us they should not be made perfect.

In our pride we are no better than a demon thrashing against his chains. But in faith we are truly free. We are one with the saints of whom the world is not worthy.

The LORD keeps those who are constant,
but more than requites those who act proudly.

 

29 January 2017 - weak, foolish, chosen

[ Today's Readings ]

God chose the foolish
God chose the weak
God chose the lowly

God doesn't think like we do. He doesn't build his team by picking the best and the brightest. Why not? Wouldn't that be a better team? It wouldn't, because they are missing something even more fundamental.

But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.

We are all foolish and weak on our own. But many of us pretend to be strong and rely on that strength. We pretend to be wise and rely on that wisdom. The kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who truly know and accept that they are poor in spirit and therefore take refuge in the name of the LORD.

We are not disqualified by our foolishness and our weakness. Rather it is precisely because we are foolish and weak that we can rely on Jesus "who became for us wisdom from God". Those who believe themselves strong cannot receive this wisdom. They are frustrated as they fight and struggle and ultimately fail by their own effort apart from God.

Jesus wants a people who are willing to forego what the world suggests will make them happy, the normal ways of avoiding sorrow and seeking pleasure and security, and instead desire above all else the kingdom.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.

When we trust in him we really do experience the blessedness he promises. It is a blessedness which is so much better than any merely natural happiness.

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

28 January 2017 - boater safety

[ Today's Readings ]

"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"

This is a relatable question. We find ourselves asking it whenever our own plans go south. There are many storms in our own lives, violent squalls, the break over the boats of our hearts, and threaten to drown us. Storms themselves are completely beyond our control. All we can do is to do our best with sailing our boats. If the storm itself becomes too great we know that we will be overwhelmed. This brings us back to the question. Doesn't Jesus care?

He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!"
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?"

Do we not yet have faith? We want to say yes. But rather than trusting Jesus completely we also want to believe one of two contraries. One acceptable belief would be that once we have faith their would be no more storms. This is obviously false, much as we might wish otherwise. Another, is that once we have faith we are free to ignore the storms. This is closer to the truth but it isn't quite there. We are free to not fear the storms. And we are free precisely because Jesus is in our boat, even if he seems to be asleep. We cannot, however, take the wrong boat, a boat in which Jesus is not present, into the wrong storm, a storm in a direction he does not ask us to sail, and remain fearless. This is how ships sink. It is not courage to be fearless without Jesus, it is foolishness. But fortunately, even then, even when we leave the safe harbor of his presence, we know he stands ready to save us. He comes to us even across the waves, ready to still the seas. 

The thing about storms is that they make us want to not care about our boat or are destination. If we don't care about them we imagine that the storm can do nothing to harm us until we find ourselves adrift and imperiled at sea. Jesus has a destination for each of us. And he has the power to see us safely there.

They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
"Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"

He has a proven track record with Abraham, with Isaac, with people Old Testament and New, even with friends and acquaintances we ourselves know. We see what happens when people rely on faith. Faith carries us through every storm to the final home God has prepared for us.

But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, 
for he has prepared a city for them.

When we have faith that can hold fast to the destination even amidst the storm we are free to "worship him without fear". So let us worship!

27 January 2017 - hidden in plain sight

 

[ Today's Readings ]

Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

The Spirit within us works on us and makes us grow in ways that are often imperceptible at first. Ultimately he brings forth fruit in us. But since it doesn't come from ourselves it is often quite surprising even though we know the seeds are planted. It is this same property of hiddenness that makes the Kingdom of God seem insufficient. The seed starts off so small. What difference could it make? To what use could we possibly put such a seed?

But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.

We need to trust in God who gives the growth even when we ourselves cannot see it. If we are faithful in planting and watering God does make the seeds grow. It is too our advantage that we can't effect the process by our own efforts. It is harder for our prideful egos to claim as our own. It is more obviously the LORD at work.

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds his audience that they are in fact bearing fruit.

Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened,
you endured a great contest of suffering.
At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction;
at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated.
You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison
and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property,
knowing that you had a better and lasting possession.

They need this reminder lest they throw away their confidence in despair when they come up against the limitations of their own efforts. Like them, we need endurance to do the will of God. We need to trust in the one who is at work within us, knowing that we will have the great recompense of a bountiful harvest if fruit if we do so.

We are not among those who draw back and perish,
but among those who have faith and will possess life. 
Looking back on our lives so far should help us to trust that God does in fact work in us and change us. He does in fact bear fruit. Let us be thankful for it.

The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

 

26 January 2017 - let it shine

[ Today's Readings ]

Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?

We are given light by Jesus. We must not keep it hidden. We may be tempted to hide the light for various reasons. We may not feel qualified as, perhaps, Timothy doesn't due to his young age. Through Paul God we are reminded not to give in to fear.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.

Because of the Spirit God of power gives us we need not be ashamed of our testimony to the LORD. He does not call the qualified. Rather, he qualifies the called. Since he calls us we can be sure that he also equips us with all that we need. It is enough grace and strength even to "bear your share of hardship for the Gospel". These hardships, ranging from feeling awkward to genuine persecution, are what we usually fear. Well, here is the strength promised to bear them.

We must not hide the light. The recognition of this light, of "religious truth" as Paul says, is so important because in it is contained the hope of eternal life. We can't keep it to ourselves. Love refuses to remain bottled up inside of us.

He also told them, "Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, 
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given; 
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

We need to put this grace to use. Those who hide the light find that it is eventually taken from them. It is not given to us for ourselves alone. To keep it in is a failure to love. The light, unshared, ceases to be light, because by its very nature light is diffusive of itself.

Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

25 January 2017 - chosen instruments

 

[ Today's Readings ]

Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.

We are all called to "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." Our sphere of "all the world" may be smaller or larger than Paul's but no one is exempt. Paul's story is one of great hope for us. Even though he chooses the wrong path God does not give up on him. He persecutes the Church. This is the very opposite of the calling God has for him. But God does not thereby write him off and find someone else. God has a special plan for Paul and does not give up on that plan. He does not look only for hearts that are ready to follow him. He looks also for hearts willing to come to the light, to see things in a new way, and to be changed.

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

God wants to use all of us. If we have been blind to him today is the day to let him open our eyes.

"Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.

Let us not doubt the dignity of the call. We can each say that we are chosen instruments of God. Our human failings serve only to highlight the divine strength at work within us.

"Is not this the man who in Jerusalem
ravaged those who call upon this name,
and came here expressly to take them back in chains
to the chief priests?"
God has the same desire for us as for Paul, "to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice" and then to witness what we have seen and heard to others. It is made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why the proclamation is accompanied by miraculous signs.

These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

We need not worry whether or not we are worthy of such great gifts. We aren't. But God desires to use us nonetheless.

For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.

 

24 January 2017 - family plan

 [ Today's Readings ]

"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

So we ought to get to work, right? In order to have this relationship with Jesus we need to do the will of God. But does this mean that the relationship is about our efforts, about our doing everything right? Not quite.

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (see John 6:28).

The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God (see Hebrews 11:6). These people that come to Jesus and know this relationship with him aren't called his mother and his brother and his sisters primarily because they keep the commandments. Rather, it is precisely because they come to Jesus and believe in him.

The law is unable to make anyone perfect on its own. It only serves to remind us of our sins. It reminds us of our need for Jesus. If we try and work until we are worthy to be his family it will never happen. Being his family means sharing his relationship with the Father. By nature Jesus is the only one that can do the will of God, his Father. But he consecrates us all by that obedience, makes us able to do God's will, and so allows us to share his relationship with the Father.

Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will.
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Becoming brothers and sisters of Jesus makes sense to us. But what does it mean to be his mother? It means loving him with an unconditional love that is not based on what we get out of it. It means believing in his mission even when times seem to be the most dark. Mary wants to share her love for her son with us. She wants us to trust him as she does. She wants to teach us to follow him in faith even to the cross and beyond.

I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.

23 January 2017 - greater is he

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

 [ Today's Readings ]

Mankind is under the dominion of death and Satan. Adam sold our birth rite. On our own we are not strong enough to plunder the enemy strongholds, to free ourselves, or to free others.

But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.

Jesus ties up the strong man. He takes away any claim the devil has on us. He takes away any power the devil has over us. The only reason we might stay in the house of the devil now is if we choose to.

Christ is mediator of a new covenant:
since a death has taken place
for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant,
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

Jesus Christ is the only one who can appear before God on our behalf with a price sufficient for our redemption. He gives us the same Holy Spirit that empowers him to dwell in our hearts as well. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is stronger than the one who is in the world.

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (see First John 4:4).

We need to believe this. We need to confess this with our lips. It is beneficial to say this verse out loud when the enemy causes us to doubt. The only sin that can't be overcome is the sin of despair, where we do not even ask for help, where we stay in the enemy stronghold, and ignore the divine grace which Jesus makes available to us.

May we not hesitate to avail ourselves of the strength and grace of the Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus. He is coming again to bring us salvation. In the power of his Spirit we do not fear his coming. We "eagerly await him."

The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.

 

22 January 2017 - one light

[ Today's Readings ]

Jesus himself is the light of the world. Where he goes, there is light. Where he walks darkness is dispelled. He brings abundant joy and great rejoicing with him. He does this by bringing freedom from the rod of the taskmaster. Just as the Israelites were slaves in Egypt so too is the whole world is slavery to sin, to fear, and to death. This is the cause of all of the darkness we see. There is plenty of it. It almost seems normal. It certainly seems almost impossible to fight or change. Yet where Jesus walks this darkness is dispelled.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?

Even if some of the effects of sin still mar the world we no longer need fear them. Sickness and death are still facts but they need not control our lives. Even if the valley is still dark we need not fear any evil because the LORD himself is with us giving us (see Psalm 23:4). His word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (see Psalm 119:105). The one who follows Jesus does not walk in darkness but has the light of life (see John 8:12).

What cause can there be for division among us? There is only one light whom we are called to follow, to imitate, and to make present in the world. Even if there are different liturgical styles, musical preferences, Spiritualities, modes of prayer, styles of preaching, and whatever other legitimate differences there may be, the one essential thing is the presence of Jesus Christ. This presence is only found completely in the Church of Jesus, because that Church is his body. When we turn away from that light because it doesn't suit us, or because we have better ideas, or because we find greater entertainment elsewhere, it is always succumbing to the darkness in some way. The symptoms may take a while to become evident. But always they do.

there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
"I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," 
or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ."
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?

Great, we think. We're Catholic, so we are good to go. Perhaps. But are we truly of one heart and mind with the Church? When she calls us to the demands of discipleship and invites us to follow her light, do we respond, or do we adapt the call to our own needs? Are we already beginning to create small divisions to suit us? With one call to follow Jesus the Church reminds us that there is but one light of the world. Let us follow him.

He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.

21 January 2017 - one way

[ Today's Readings ]

"He is out of his mind." 

What is it that some people have a hard time understanding about Jesus? It is often a problem that the claims of Jesus are so all encompassing and absolute. There is no room for middle ground. He is not merely one teacher among many. He himself is the only way. One can't take the parts of his message that he or she likes and ignore the person of Jesus himself. Jesus himself is the message. Were he not the Son of God his message would have to be lies or insanity. People laying down their whole lives and hearts in surrender before him is something that people who don't know Jesus just can't get. Because knowing him is not an experience they have they assume their is no way that such claims can be substantiated. But the crowd knows better. They have seen the healings. They have heard the teaching with authority that no one else has. He is not simply a megalomaniac gathering around him a crowd of impressionable or desperate people. Jesus is who he says he is. The crowd know because as they stay near to him they themselves are transformed.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes 
can sanctify those who are defiled 
so that their flesh is cleansed, 
how much more will the Blood of Christ, 
who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

So let us come to Jesus. He is the way the truth and the light. His is the only name given under heaven by which we may be saved. It would be crazy were it no so true. The closer we come the more we experience the power of this truth in ourselves, in the depths of our very souls. Let us make ourselves thrones for his presence.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

20 January 2017 - with him

 [ Today's Readings ]

Saint Fabian

Why does God pursue us? Our history with him is so meandering, so marked with failures on our part, that we may wonder. Is each new intervention just one more attempt to get us to fall in line, to be good, and to act right? Is he mostly concerned with keeping order, in making sure we behave appropriately? No! We constantly fail to act rightly. He could force us to do so if this was what he really wanted. But what he actually really wants are our hearts and our minds. He knows us and loves us. He wants us to know and love him.

But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds
and I will write them upon their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.

He is concerned with our behavior, of course. But he is not going to make any intervention that takes away from our potential to freely love him. Loving him freely is what we are meant to do. This is the ultimate meaning of every human life including yours and mine.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
He calls us all to follow him. This following isn't just about aping correct behavior. The main thing we ought to imitate in Jesus is his living and obedient relationship to the Father. Jesus receives all that he is from the Father. He shares the authority and power that are his with those who follow him.

He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,
that they might be with him
and he might send them forth to preach
and to have authority to drive out demons

The power we receive from Jesus is how we address the problem of sin and suffering in the world. He sets the example and gives us the power. But it begins, as the passage says, "with him". He appoints the Twelve first and foremost "that they might be with him" and this is also why he calls us.

Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

 

19 January 2017 - shadow to substance

 

 

 [ Today's Readings ]

They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary

There was a pattern beforehand to set expectations and to start us in the right direction. It was a prelude and promise of things to come. But while they worship in a copy and shadow we are called to worship in Spirit and in truth (see John 4:24). The precursors all had to worry about themselves as well as their people. They had to offer sacrifices for their own sins as well as others because they are subject to weakness. But our high priest is different. He is holy. He is innocent. He is undefiled. This is how he can exist beyond the copy and the shadow in the true sanctuary and tabernacle.

The main point of what has been said is this:
we have such a high priest,
who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary
and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.
Jesus gives us a better covenant and better promises than any that came before him, indeed, better than any that anyone else can give. He is at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. He does not offer the old sacrifices. Instead he offers something of infinitely more worth. He offers himself. In the sanctuary he intercedes for us. This is already better than any earthly high priest. But the ultimate promise is that he will one day bring us to himself.

A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.

No wonder the people follow him. They don't even understand this promise of Jesus yet. But they already sense that there has never been anything like this before.

He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
The people already sense that Jesus is real and powerful in a way about which the entire history of the world has only offered hints and glimpses. This reality is not something for the demons to tell. Indeed, it is not something they can tell without deflating it of its true depth of meaning.

And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
What the demons cannot tell us is nevertheless what we are called to realize. Jesus is the Son of God seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. He intercedes for us. He calls us to himself. Let us confidently approach the throne.

18 January 2017 - all the rest

[ Today's Readings ]

Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"

Perhaps the Pharisees don't want to deal with the ugliness of the world on the Sabbath. They may prefer to treat it as a day when they can pretend that there is no sickness or suffering. After all, what does the Sabbath mean? Isn't it putting aside all work? And isn't dealing with this sort of thing work?

The Sabbath is the LORD's day. It is therefore even more appropriate to do good on the sabbath than any other day. We turn aside from the work related to our clawing struggle for self-preservation and promotion. But as we turn to the LORD we cannot do so by neglecting love. We cannot, therefore, treat the Sabbath as a day where we pretend that we are in heaven already.

Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."

Jesus makes the truth of this suffering apparent. He does not keep the withered hand concealed and simply speak a word. He does not take a minimalist approach to this healing which hides it from public view. Instead he lets the reality of suffering be seen so he can bring the full love and power of God to bear.

The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
The Pharisees and the Herodians are furious. This Sabbath rest where they can hide from the demands of love and holiness is being taken from them. This place where they can sit securely upon thrones of their own amidst a perfect world is being taken out from beneath them. Perhaps we need a little bit of this ourselves.

Jesus is the king of peace, without beginning of days or end of life. He is a priest forever. He never stops interceding for us. He never stops loving us. He calls us to enter into the eternity of his priesthood. In doing so we learn the true meaning of the Sabbath and begin to realize what the true hope of Sabbath entails.

The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool."

 

17 January 2017 - in joyful hope

 [ Today's Readings ]

so that you may not become sluggish

The temptation to become sluggish is always present. It is a symptom of the fact that we are more concerned about this world than about the kingdom. We rush and hurry to get things done. We prioritize the things that are needed the soonest rather than the things which have the most lasting effect. The solution to this is hope.

We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness
for the fulfillment of hope until the end

God wants our hope to be strong. He wants it to be so strong that he gives an oath as "an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose". It is a "guarantee" and "puts an end to all argument." He can swear by no one greater so he swears by himself. As he himself is unchanging, so too his promise, so too especially the oath by his own unchanging name. This is meant to be for us "an anchor of the soul". But unlike normal anchors this doesn't keep us motionless. It instead keeps us tethered to our ultimate destination and draws us onward toward it.

This we have as an anchor of the soul,
sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,
where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner,
becoming high priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is our high priest who intercedes for us in the presence of God behind the veil. One day he will bring us fully into his presence. We will dwell in glorious light and eternal day. Every tear will be wiped from every face. If we cling to this hope we don't put anything before Jesus. On the Sabbath the will of Jesus for us comes before even our best ideas about how we ought to spend our time.

Then he said to them,
"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

This is true of every aspect of our lives. Jesus is meant to be the LORD of our whole being, not just part. If we cling to the hope we have in him this will happen more and more.

He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.

16 January 2017 - made perfect

 [ Today's Readings ]

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,

Jesus experienced the full meaning and cost of obedience in his human nature. He experienced suffering caused by choosing God above all things. He experienced clinging to God, "the one who was able to save him from death," with "prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears". Certainly it was a temptation to prefer his own life to our lives and to the Father's will. He was tempted to avoid his own suffering at the expense of the whole world. But he did not give in. He did not disobey the Father or abandon us. Because of this he is "made perfect" to be our savior.

he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Jesus did what we would not. He chose to love selflessly and to prefer the Father's will to his own. But now we can be united to Jesus. The same power to love is now available to us as well. To live in the love is the truest meaning of salvation because salvation in essence is sharing in the life of the Trinity, the inner life of the God who is love.

Jesus is alive and union with him means that old formulas, paradigms, and the written law, are insufficient.

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.

It is not enough to practice religion simply according to custom any longer. Instead we must bear our hearts to Jesus so that he can give us his own obedience where we are being stubborn and rebellious. He does call us to fast when fasting is what we need. But he also calls us to feast. He won't just let us beat ourselves up so we can feel good about it. Nor will he let us celebrate as if we need no more growth in holiness. Without him often deceive ourselves, keeping certain practices constant, but never really attaining true obedience or true charity.

Let us receive from Jesus new wine of joy which he has for us. Let us not patch old robes but rather where the new baptismal garments he gives us. He teaches us how and where to be obedient. If we let him he truly becomes the source of eternal salvation for us. Let us worship the one who offers his all for our sake.

Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.

15 January 2017 - into the light

[ Today's Readings ]

We see the Spirit come down on the one who is the Son of God.

I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.

Even John the Baptist doesn't fully recognize Jesus at first. But as he is revealed more and more John finds the one for whom he waits. Jesus is truly a light to the nations that all might see God's glory. John himself is not the light but testifies to it so that we might believe it ourselves. John points us to Jesus. He wants us to encounter the light of the world individually and personally.

Paul encounters that blinding light himself on the road to Damascus. Just as Paul is called to follow Jesus by the will of God so too are we. Let us look at that blazing light of truth, beauty, and goodness in a dark an ugly world. Let us look upon Jesus, the one upon whom the Spirit rests. In him we find the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in bodily form. He calls us to be holy. 

to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

He calls us to holiness so that we can be lights of the world who allow his light to shine within us. He calls us to sanctity so that we too can reveal the glory of the LORD when we rely on him to be our strength. The world is meant to see this light shining in us. They are meant to wonder what we have and to desire it for themselves. It is meant for them no less than for us. Jesus calls us all to accept the Spirit so that we too can be children of God, united in one faith and one Spirit.

Let us behold the light and the Spirit and then follow the call of Jesus.

Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."

14 January 2017 - prequalified

[ Today's Readings ]

Jesus knows everything about us. We have no secrets from him.

No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.

Even those things which we hide from everyone else Jesus knows. This could make us afraid to approach him. After all, we all have things of which we are not proud that we do not wish others to know. But Jesus understands our weakness. He is sympathetic. He does not turn away from us or cease to offer help.

For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.

This is why we can follow him when he calls us without thinking twice. We don't have to stop and assess if we are qualified or not.

Jesus said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed Jesus.

Jesus knows that we are sinners already. It is sinners who need him. It is sinners whom he has come to call.

Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.

It doesn't mean that we stay sinners. It doesn't mean that we stay in bondage to our darkest secrets. It means that only in Jesus can we find the healing and forgiveness we need.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;

So let us approach Jesus knowing that in him we have a friend who understands us and loves us and offers not only sympathy but grace.

So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

13 January 2017 - toward rest

 

[ Today's Readings ]

Let us hear Jesus say, "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."

And let us hear him say, "Child, your sins are forgiven."

Let us surround ourselves with people who can help bring us to Jesus when we ourselves do not have the strength to go to him.

What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
we will declare to the generation to come
The glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength.

Let us receive the healing of soul and body that Jesus has for us. Let all who hear be united in faith so that it will be a profit to us.

God is calling us onward and upward to the rest he has in store for us. He himself rested after finishing his work in creation. He guided Israel to rest in the promised land. These were both to teach us to long for the final rest of Heaven. That is why the promise of entering into his rest remains. But to arrive their we must first make it through our own work, our own pilgrimage. And to do that we can't be paralyzed by sin.

Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest,
so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.

Jesus himself has the authority to forgive us and to heal us and to send us on out on the journey he has for every one of us. If we realize how paralyzed we actually are, how we are not truly free to live the gospel with abandon, then this healing will astonish us every bit as much as the healing of the paralytic astonished everyone in his day.

They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

 

12 January 2017 - beginning to the end

[ Today's Readings ]

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."

It would be easy to harden one's heart after years of leprosy. It would be easy for the leper to believe that God must not want to heal him.  Or else, why wouldn't he have done so already? But this leper's heart remains open.

Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion
in the day of testing in the desert,
where your ancestors tested and tried me
and saw my works for forty years.

After a life that might make testing in the desert seem easy the leper is still open enough to believe that Jesus might want to heal him. He encounters Jesus and one can see that he wavers and doubts. But he does not harden his heart. It is enough.
"I do will it. Be made clean."

With Jesus requests like this are not a matter of if but rather of when and how. Even if the body of the leper were to be restored at the resurrection on the last day Jesus still wills that he be clean. And ultimately the leprosy will be the blink of an eye in the face of eternity. But to remain open to what Jesus desires in spite of suffering is the lesson he has to teach us today.

Jesus is leading us all toward the Sabbath rest of eternity that he has in store for us. If we're in the desert the promised land awaits us. If we're suffering from sickness Jesus wants to heal us. So we ought to encourage ourselves and remain faithful even when times are difficult. We need to keep our hearts open to God so that we can "hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end." The end is worth it.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

11 January 2017 - blood and flesh

 [ Today's Readings ]

Everyone is looking for you.

They seek Jesus because they hear about the healings. But Jesus has more in store for those who seek him.

that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the Devil,
and free those who through fear of death
had been subject to slavery all their life.

Jesus does not come to treat merely the symptoms, though often he does, but also the root cause. He comes not only to give us temporary relief but true freedom. He comes to cast out fear from our lives and make suffering and death powerless over us where once they dominated us.

Jesus does this by entering into the suffering itself. He draws very near to those who suffer. He himself suffers. This union allows us to share in the hope which Jesus himself has in the Father. The resurrection begins to transform our hearts and minds. It matters less how much Jesus treats our symptoms and much more how close he comes to us in our suffering. This is the true game-changer.

Because he himself was tested through what he suffered,
he is able to help those who are being tested.
This is not to say that we should be so spiritual that we don't ask for physical healings.

He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons
throughout the whole of Galilee.

Jesus does want to heal us, body, mind, and soul. When we seek him for help with one of these let us be open to his presence transforming them all. Let us learn from his presence what the demons cannot teach us by their words.

he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Let us learn to know Jesus. He shares in blood and Flesh. He shares in our suffering. The demons can never know him in this way. But we can.

Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.

 

10 January 2017 - one origin

 

[ Today's Readings ]

 In "subjecting" all things to him,
he left nothing not "subject to him."

Even the demons are subject to him.

A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.

Yet it doesn't always seem this way.

Yet at present we do not see "all things subject to him,"

The world still is still full of pain and suffering and sorrow. How can we say that all things are subject to Jesus when this is what we see? Let us look to Jesus before we look to these circumstances because we see Jesus "crowned with glory and honor". But we realize that we see this precisely because "he suffered death" and that he tasted death for everyone by the grace of God. He makes us perfect through his own suffering. He does so not because he has to. His word is sufficient to heal us. His teaching has all the authority he needs. Rather, he does so in order to draw near to us and reveal his love for us. Somehow, if he simply waved away our suffering we could not come as close to him as we do when he shares our suffering with us and transforms it.

For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates
and those who are being consecrated all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them "brothers"

Jesus knows what we're going through. He wants us to share it with him and let him transform it so that we can offer it together to the Father as an acceptable sacrifice.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (see Romans 12:1).

What is missing in an external healing that doesn't share the suffering of the one who hurts? Empathy is missing. Meaning is missing, for suffering can be transformed into grace that can renew us, but suffering that is brushed aside must have merely been a fluke. Jesus does have empathy for us. Our suffering does have meaning, or at least it can in him.

You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.

9 January 2017 - to fulfill all righteousness

 

[ Today's Readings ]

Jesus comes to be baptized and John tries to prevent him. He does this because he knows that Jesus is righteous and that John's baptism is a call to repentance that Jesus himself doesn't need.

"Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness."

Jesus brings his sacred humanity to the waters of baptism just as he will later bring it to the cross.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (see Romans 6:3).

He does this not for his sake but for our own. He submerges his sacred humanity in the waters of baptism and our broken humanity is renewed. Flood waters which once destroyed reveal new life. When he suffers and dies in his humanity on the cross our suffering and death is transformed. The humility of Jesus allows him to enter with us into the worst of our circumstances and transform them. He strips off the outer garment of his glory and washes us in the waters of baptism. Water itself is transformed. It is made new. No longer destruction and chaos, living water can now give life to all who are joined to Christ.

After the incarnation Christ's divinity is not evident. His glory is not overwhelming. He divests himself of those things which are his prerogatives as the Son of God. He does so in humility and out of love for us. Yet somehow, precisely in this humility, precisely where he should be the hardest for us to recognize as he truly is, his presence is revealed most profoundly.

After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

The baptism of Jesus reveals who Jesus is and who we are meant to be in him. Joined to him we too are filled with the Spirit and called for the victory of justice.

I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

This is a lofty calling. But it is only found on the far side of the waters of humility and surrender. These waters may seem threatening at first. But because the LORD is enthroned over the flood they truly do promise life to the full.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.

 

8 January 2017 - cosmic king

[ Today's Readings ]

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.

The star of Epiphany shines this morning. It reveals the birth of the king. 

"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage."

Let us follow the star, the LORD shining upon Jerusalem, his glory blazing brilliantly. The star calls all nations to worship this king. He is not just a king of this nation or that nation but is rather the king of the cosmos to whom even the stars of heaven owe obedience. We too are meant to be his subjects.

that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

This light shines upon and is meant to enlighten to entire world. It is meant as something which transforms, which casts out darkness, which makes us truly radiant at what we see.

How then do we respond to this star, this light, this revelation of the newborn king? The Magi show us how.

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

We follow the star to the place where the child and his mother can be found together. We worship. We give our treasures to honor the king. Jesus welcomes all of us. The dividing wall the separates the Holy of Holies from the peoples of the nations is already being broken down as we come into his presence. Let us bring the fullest worship and the most valuable treasures to offer at the foot of Jesus our newborn king, our shepherd, that we too may be radiant at what we see.

Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

7 January 2017 - kept until now

[ Today's Readings ]

We have this confidence in God,
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

Let us learn to ask for things according to God's will. But how can we know God's will in order to pray in accordance with it? We know that if we see someone sinning that it is not the will of God. We definitely ought to pray about that confident that God will make grace available in that situation. That's a good starting place. From there we can learn to know his will in more specific situations.

When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."

Even when it doesn't seem like something about which we should even bother Jesus...

And Jesus said to her,
"Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come."

...it may still ultimately be his will. He may desire that the marriage feast have the joy of wine. We need to learn to be attentive to the heart of Jesus. We should try to be so close to him that we begin to understand not simply what we know he wants, or what we think he wouldn't want, but begin to feel the very same desires that he himself experiences. He really "has given us discernment to know the one who is true."

Mary knows that on some level Jesus does not want to see a marriage feast deprived of joy. She knows she can ask him for wine because she is around him enough that she feels the same thing. She knows it well enough to persist even when Jesus doesn't act right away. Why does he make her wait if it is what he truly wants?

His mother said to the servers,
"Do whatever he tells you."

Somehow the persistence of Mary allows others to get involved, to become obedient, to be used for the plan. For her part, Mary knows that this is the will of God, so she is able to persist in spite of obstacles. Because she does the wedding feast again has the joy of wine, wine even better than any they have yet tasted.

Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now.

We are called to learn where Jesus wants to bring new wine into the circumstances of our lives. He really does desire joy for his people.

Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.

6 January 2017 - the three who testify

[ Today's Readings ]

So there are three that testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
The testimony of the Spirit and the water is seen in the gospel reading.

On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open
and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens,
"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

The Spirit descends and water is so sanctified by the presence of Jesus that it can now represent the divine. Living waters renew us in baptism. Living waters flow those who believe in Jesus. There is a very real sense in which, because the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus here, the Spirit himself is the living water which flows from believers.

The water is made to give testimony because of the presence of Jesus by the Spirit. The testimony of the blood is also present but it is present only implicitly. Jesus contains the only blood which has significant testimony in himself. It is a testimony better than the blood of Abel because only Jesus is truly innocent.

and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (see Hebrews 12:24).

This blood gives testimony the most truly at the crucifixion. The water has not yet had its ultimate say, either.

Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (see John 7:39).

Yet all of this testimony is already implicit as the Spirit descends and the Father speaks. But what of it? What difference does it make for us?

If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.

We read these things so that we might know:

that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

Do we believe that? If not, let us hear the testimony once more.

"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

And hearing it, let us rejoice.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.