30 November 2017 - how beautiful

Today's Readings (Audio)

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.

This is not a natural response. It is supernatural, aided by grace. The invitation itself has the power to cut through every obstacle within and without to empower the response. The one who invites is the word of God. The response to his invitation is to accept his word and make it our own word. This word becomes our yes to God as it is first the yes of Jesus to the Father. The word of God has power. It is not like RSVPing to a wedding. Any number of things could then come up and prevent our attending. With God's invitation there is literally nothing that can prevent our response except our own will. What God asks of us he gives us the grace to do.

Saint Andrew wants to help show us how to make this response. He wants to show us that it is not only possible but that circumstances need not hinder us whatsoever. We might think that to respond to the call to follow Jesus we have to come gradually be degrees. We might think we gradually untangle ourselves from the world and then follow Jesus. But Andrew leaves all he knows immediately. This moment of enlightenment is then perhaps followed by tethers of the world pulling him back. There is a process is gradual growth for everyone. But the ability to make a clean break with the world comes from the power of the invitation of Jesus. The more clearly we hear this the more completely we can separate ourselves from all that is not of him. Jesus is inviting us today to follow him ever more closely.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.

Let's speak these words with the complete commitment of Saint Andrew. And then let us re-echo the invitation to anyone who will listen and to pray for those who proclaim the word.

And how can they hear without someone to preach?
And how can people preach unless they are sent?
As it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!

The words of the LORD really are more precious than gold, sweeter than syrup, or honey from the comb. Let us make these words are own. Let us make the yes of Jesus to the Father our own. Let us make his invitation to us to say yes to the Father our invitation to the world.

29 November 2017 - trust stored

Today's Readings (Audio)

It will lead to your giving testimony.

Whether before kings and governors, or, even more frightenly, before friends and family, we will be called on to give testimony to Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Because this is frightening we may feel like getting ready now by thinking of all the great things we'll say.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,

The real way to get ready now is by trusting in Jesus now. If we do we will know how to listen to him even when we are under pressure.

for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

We need perseverance.

You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

Perseverance means trusting in God no matter how things around us appear. It means that we believe his word more than our circumstances. We see circumstances that speak anxiety and fear to us but we believe instead the peace of Jesus. We see people who are smart, well-educated, and committed to non-Christian ways. It would seem we aren't smart enough to say anything to them to change their minds. Instead we believe in the wisdom in speaking Jesus gives to those who follow him. Perseverance does not mean we will easily or automatically find words to speak. It means that if we speak, trusting in God, in spite of our circumstances, we will find that he gives us the words.

This is how Daniel is able to listen to God in order to deliver a difficult word to the king, a word which the king does not want to hear.

But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.

"This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.
These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Do we trust God enough to let ourselves be used by him? He calls us to trust him more and more. He has great plans for us. He wants to use us in the building of the kingdom which will never be shaken or destroyed, put to an end, found wanting, or divided.

Give glory and eternal praise to him.

Trusting in God is a process. We believe that we can trust him because he speaks to us and tells us we can. We believe that we can trust in him because he shows us that he is faithful to his word. As we accept that he is trustworthy our trust grows. Trust begets trust and more trust.

28 November 2017 - one thing's for sure

Today's Readings (Audio)

"All that you see here–
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

There is only one thing certain. There is one thing that matters, one eternal thing that survives the impermanence of this world.

In the lifetime of those kings
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people;
rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms
and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever.

This king is Jesus and his kingdom is the kingdom of heaven. If we put are trust in anything else the stones will be thrown down. Nothing else truly lasts except that which is in the kingdom. It is a kingdom of love that embraces all that is truly love. Nothing good is ever lost. The temple was a place of God's presence. It served a legitimate and admirable function. But while the goodness of having a place to come into God's presence was not lost, the external aspects of the building had to give way to the deeper truth of the presence of God in Christ. We too may find ourselves shaken as the core good things which we value are freed from the tethers of sin. Our temples may be thrown down. But in Jesus, united to Jesus, they are rebuilt.

Many people pretend to have solutions to the problems of sin and death.

"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' 
Do not follow them! 

Only Jesus can solve these problems. Only he defeated death! Only he opens heaven to us! When all around us is shaken, when stones are being thrown down faster than we can stack them, let us trust in Jesus.

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.

27 November 2017 - mitey gifts

Today's Readings (Audio)

The LORD is asking us to be available so that he can use us.

Even if the situation isn't ideal, we need to remain faithful.

Please test your servants for ten days.
Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Daniel and his companions are willing to accept less than that to which they are accustomed in order to remain faithful to the LORD. Moreover, they have to serve in the palace of a pagan king. This itself would be a difficult thing for exiles from Israel. Yet they sense that if they do this well the LORD may be able to use them. Because they remain faithful the LORD blesses them with what they need.

He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days;
after ten days they looked healthier and better fed
than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.

The LORD meets the needs of those who trust in him. He can use even the most unexpected people in the most unguessed places because he himself bestows the grace they need to fulfill the mission.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency
in all literature and science,
and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.

They didn't sign up for their roles understanding all of this in advance. The LORD responded to their faithfulness and willingness to be used. This is a model for us to follow. We may feel like we are in situations we don't like. We may feel we have nothing more than two coins to offer.

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.

Even if we have only two coins, if we give them in fidelity to the LORD we give more than all the rest.

26 November 2017 - the king of love my shepherd is

Today's Readings (Audio)

And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 

The LORD is the Good Shepherd. He will not force those who don't want his guidance to receive it. Goats that do not want to be shepherded need not live in the kingdom of the shepherd. These goats shun the shepherd by shunning the poor, the sick, and the weak. Sheep that choose the shepherd and his kingdom love the image of the shepherd in all of his people. They choose the shepherd and his kingdom every time they choose to love. Goats that cannot do this are not suited to life in a kingdom where everything is based on love. They opt out of living in this kingdom by their choices both implicit and explicit. But do they realize the consequences?

And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.

Goodness is to be found in the Good Shepherd and his kingdom alone. He is the source of all goodness. There is no place for the goats to find it apart from him. It's frightening to know that we can all be stubborn goats at times. But it is not too late. It is the time of mercy where we can choose to belong to Christ more and more.

so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power. 

When we see clearly we realize that our shepherd king is wonderful. We see how foolish we are when we choose anything but him. We may be distant from him. We may be lost. But he is the shepherd that leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one. He is searching even now for us. He desires a more complete surrender of our hearts to him.

As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark. 

If we want to come to the green pastures of repose promised to the blessed we need to choose Christ now. We live in the time of mercy but we do not know how long we have. Judgment is certain and time will eventually run out. We need to choose him freely now. If we aren't all the way converted he'll do the rest. He'll destroy every sovereignty and power in our hearts as well as in the world. And as long as we cling to him we not only survive that judgment but we experience deep union with God himself beyond anything we can imagine.

When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

25 November 2017 - more than enough

Today's Readings (Audio)

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.

The Sadducees don't believe in the resurrection. Moreover, they don't believe there should be a resurrection. They have a hard time imagining a future where all of the injustices and hardships of this world can be set right. They think of the resurrection as nothing more than a more perfect version of what we have now. But eternal life is qualitatively different. The resurrection is enough to make up for each loss that the childless widow has to endure. Relationships in heaven are no longer marked by longing and loss. Rather than symbolizing God to one another we finally receive the vision of God directly as we worship side by side with those whom we loved in this life. This at last is a vision we cannot ever lose.

The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise. 

The LORD is always present. He beholds every sorrow and every tear. When we finally come into his presence he will comfort us, wiping each tear away until there is no sorrow anymore  (see Revelation 21:4). It is true that here in this life we suffer. But the LORD is not absent. He will more than make up for whatever pain we experience in this life if we just stand firm in the grace of salvation he gives us.

King Antiochus is a cautionary tail of what can happen if we try to use our own abilities to alleviate pain and provide comfort at the expense of morality and truth.

But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.

Jesus wants to give us the hope we need to live for him rather than ourselves. He wants to teach us to desire heaven. Let's receive that grace today.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor shall the hope of the afflicted forever perish.

24 November 2017 - redidcated

Today's Readings (Audio)

Now that our enemies have been crushed,
let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.

Let's rededicate ourselves to the LORD today. The temples of our hearts are all meant to be houses of prayer. Yet we all let them become filled with buying and selling from time to time. Jesus wants to enter into us and bring us back to our original purpose. He speaks to us and his word his the power to change us.

because all the people were hanging on his words.

Jesus will help us to change our priorities from buying and selling to the faithfulness and worship. We can do this in small ways as well as large. When we fail to be attentive in prayer we don't need to despair. We can rather rededicate ourselves to the service of God. We can join the songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals or the angels and saints in heaven worshiping God and giving him thanks.

The buying and selling that fills our souls doesn't even give us pleasure. Only in listening to the word of Jesus is true joy to be found.

Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel
decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar
should be observed with joy and gladness
on the anniversary every year for eight days,
from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.

Let us turn back to Jesus each time we find ourselves distracted. Let us rededicate ourselves to him each time we wander. Let us hear him speak and join in praising him.

23 Novembers 2017 - thankful hearts

Today's Readings (Audio)

And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. 

Do we return to thank Jesus? He gives us so many blessings. He does wondrous things on the earth. Life and everything in life that gives us joy of heart comes from him.

Paul is a good example. He is constantly giving thanks to God.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus

Paul gives thanks for what he himself receives from the LORD. He gives thanks for what his congregation receives. He gives thanks for their faith, their obedience. He tells us he is actually "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father" (see Ephesians 5:20). This is a great model for us to follow. His faith is firm and his commitment is strong. One reason for this is his trust in God is built up by actually thanking him for all he receives. If we learn to give thanks we can have the confidence of Paul:

He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mary is the best example of treasuring the blessings of the LORD. She reflects on them and treasures them in her heart. If we imitate Mary and Paul the enemy won't be able to steal the blessings from our hearts and make us forget them. He won't be able to undermine our trust in God even during difficult times.

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

22 November 2017 - investment strategy

Today's Readings (Audio)

The LORD entrusts coins to the servants in the gospel reading today. What has he entrusted to us? What are the special graces which we are in a unique position to share? What can we do for others? What can we do to build the kingdom? How can we invest the time, talent, and treasure which are gifts from the LORD, so that we at least gain interest and hopefully bear much fruit?

From beginning to end there must be fidelity to the word of God. This is the bank the keeps safe the coin and allows it to bear interest. Without fidelity to the word of God the coin is just an idea stashed away somewhere with no power to generate wealth. With fidelity, the word bears fruit.

Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who saw her seven sons perish in a single day,
yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.

Sometimes we're tempted to hide the coin so we don't have to suffer for having it. This is the risk. This is the fear. But the mother in today's first reading sees beyond this fear. She realizes that if she is faithful to the LORD, even if her coin is taken from her she will receive it back again.

Do not be afraid of this executioner,
but be worthy of your brothers and accept death,
so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them.

What do we do with the gifts the LORD gives us? We put them to work as we obey his word. We only lose if we refuse to play. No matter the challenge, no matter the obstacles, if we step out in faith trusting in God and obeying his word we have nothing to fear.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.

21 November 2017 - men full of God

Today's Readings (Audio)

We need examples like Eleazar in our world today. We need people who are unwilling to bow down to the pressure of society to conform.

At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense;
many young people would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar
had gone over to an alien religion.
Should I thus pretend for the sake of a brief moment of life,
they would be led astray by me,
while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age.

He not only avoids the sin itself, but also the scandal it will cause if other people think he commits the sin.

The Lord in his holy knowledge knows full well that,
although I could have escaped death,
I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging,
but also suffering it with joy in my soul
because of my devotion to him.

How do we come to a place where we can endure hardship and suffering with joy because of our devotion to God? We need Jesus to be welcome in our souls. He wants to come and dwell with us. If we let him, he will give us the grace of conversion.

Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house." 
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 

Isn't it good to know that Jesus wants to come to dwell with us? He doesn't miss us when we're passing buy even if we ourselves feel lost in the crowd. He isn't looking for just anyone. He is looking for us in particular. When we welcome him we can't help but be changed.

Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.

It is Jesus within us who changes us. Only God can give this grace of conversion. Only he gives the grace to hold it firm to the end like Eleazar does.

Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.

If we're feeling pressure to conform to the world's ways let us welcome Jesus with joy. If we're feeling lost, let us invite him to dwell with us. He wants to be the strength on which we can depend.

But you, O LORD, are my shield;
my glory, you lift up my head!
When I call out to the LORD,
he answers me from his holy mountain.

20 November 2017 - that i might see

Today's Readings (Audio)

We often fail to see. We are blind to what really matters. We live in a world of idolatry and yet we do not see the idols.

"Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us;
since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us."

Because we live and work so closely with nonbelievers we have no real sense of what is normal for Christians versus what is normal for the world. The world pursues comfort and entertainment. Christians assume this is a normal pursuit. The world flees from demands of the gospel about, for example, using sexuality in accord with God's design. They flee from and demands which challenge and seem to impose. They pay lip service to the commands they like, ones about loving and not judging. This becomes normal not only for them, but for us. We're all guilty of being judgmental while saying we should not. We're all guilty of ignoring the least of our brothers and sisters while saying we should love them. The world's normal is not different for Christians and non-Christians. Or at least not different enough. We are not what we are meant to be! We are meant to be a shining light to the nations. To that end we must resolve in our hearts to follow God rather than the world.

But many in Israel were determined
and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean;
they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food
or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.

Since it is easy to come to see the ways of the world as normal we need to ask Jesus to help us see things his way and from his point of view.

"What do you want me to do for you?"
He replied, "Lord, please let me see."
Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you."

Jesus very much wants to open our eyes to the truth. He doesn't want us living with our morality based on comparisons with anyone but him and what he tells us is possible. His gospel seems lofty and impossible to the world. Sometimes they approve and sometimes they don't. But for us who know Jesus there is ample grace and truth to follow his ways. It is not lofty or abstract. No command of his is mean or arbitrary. It is beautiful to follow his ways.

 Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands.

19 November 2017 - children of the light

Today's Readings (Audio)

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief. 

The LORD comes like a thief in the night for those who live in darkness. But those that know Jesus are the children of the light. The day does not overtake us like a thief. Although we can't predict the day or the hour we don't fear it. We look forward to it and welcome it.

Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.

We stay alert and sober by remembering to put the time, talents, and treasure of the master to good use while he is away on a journey. It doesn't matter what we start with and it doesn't matter what we finish with as long as we are faithful to put them to use.

See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. 
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'

Darkness and fear can make us want to squander the gifts of the master while he is away. We are afraid to lose even what we have. But this is a false fear. It arises when we worry too much about ourselves without realizing that the light that shines through us does not come from us. We are always able to gain interest on the talents we are given if we are just willing to put them to work.

This is what makes the wife in today's reading from Proverbs so compelling. She puts her gifts to good use.

Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

18 November 2017 - wait in faith

Today's Readings (Audio)

Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night? 

The LORD is a just judge. He does not hesitate to answer the prayers of his chosen ones. The unjust judge waits to respond because he is lazy and because answering the request of the widow is difficult for him. If God seems to delay in answering our prayers it is only to build up desire and faith within us. He tells us to ask and keep asking, to knock and keep knocking. It is not to motivate God, but to help us to have more faith in him. The opposite often happens. We ask once and despair of ever receiving an answer when that one time does not get an immediate response. We're better at treating prayer like a science experiment where we do it and see if it works. We are called to treat prayer as an act of faith in the just judge who longs to answer us.

We wait, and there is a mystery to the waiting. It is hard to predict God's timing. We tend to grow impatient and despair. We are called, instead, to learn to trust, even as we bring our requests to prayer again and again. We cannot bring them only once. We must bring them at every opportunity until we receive answers. Each new prayer should increase our confidence that God is working. We should have more and more peace that things are in his hands.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (see Philippians 4:6).

Prayer gives us peace and takes away our anxiety even before the answer comes because it puts us in constant contact with the One who will answer. His answer is as certain as the coming of dawn each new day.

When peaceful stillness compassed everything
and the night in its swift course was half spent,
Your all-powerful word, from heaven's royal throne
bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land,
bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree.

In the absence of an immediate response we make the mistake of feeling forgotten. But we are not forgotten. God is very near.

For he remembered his holy word
to his servant Abraham.
And he led forth his people with joy;
with shouts of joy, his chosen ones.

17 November 2017 - the original source of beauty

 Today's Readings (Audio)

Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.

If we are lost in the good things Jesus has made we risk forgetting about him and not being ready when he comes.

For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.

We are permitted, even encouraged, to appreciate the goodness and beauty of the created world. But we must do so in an attitude of thanksgiving. In everything we must acknowledge and give thanks to the One from whom all good things come. When we do this we actually gain insight into God rather than losing ourselves in his works.

For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.

We need to be ready for the day of the LORD. He is coming to the bring us salvation because he loves us. But if we are too invested in the things of this world he won't force us to look away from the lesser things which enchant us so much. Let us practice giving thanks to God. Let us practice lifting our eyes to heaven. We will then be ready to welcome him when he comes on the clouds.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

 

16 November 2017 - the refulgence of eternal light

Today's Readings (Audio)

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
"The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.'
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you."

The Pharisees were hoping for something that could be observed. They were hoping for a kingdom of this world that would throw off the oppression of Rome. We tend to have similar hopes. We wish that the kingdom would bring immediate change for difficult circumstances. But the central element of the kingdom is not the circumstances. The central element is the king. This is why the kingdom is among us. It is because Jesus is in our midst.

We need wisdom to appreciate this. Otherwise, oppression and injustice in the world make us doubt the kingdom, by making us doubt the king. Wisdom shows how we can exist in a tainted world without being tainted by it.

For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,
and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.
For she is an aura of the might of God
and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.

Simply changing external circumstances does nothing to give us wisdom. But if we receive the wisdom God offers us first than circumstances lose their power over us. In the end the Father will bring everything under the feet of Jesus. Creation itself will be redeemed. Justice and peace will meet upon the earth. But first wisdom is offered to those who will welcome her. Those who dwell in the presence of Jesus learn to experience the kingdom even now.

Compared to light, she takes precedence;
for that, indeed, night supplants,
but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom.

Let us pray for wisdom. Let us learn to see the kingdom in our midst. In turn, let us invite others to see it as well.

The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.

15 November 2017 - prizing surprise

 

Today's Readings (Audio)

"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Here is the peril of assuming we deserve things from God. We go out into the field and come back expecting the banquet. We are not at all surprised when blessings come but each occasion of suffering is a jarring surprise.

This is why it is so dangerous to have power. Power makes the sense of deserving come more naturally to us. It makes accountability harder to experience.

Because authority was given you by the Lord
and sovereignty by the Most High,
who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.

The secret is a humility. It seems to be a theme we like to repeat here, but humility is the proper posture of the human before God. It correctly recognizes who we are and who God is. Humility avoids the errors we make when we believe that we deserve things. Once we believe that we begin, in our own small ways, to act like tyrants. And when we are frustrated by thinking we deserve what we don't get, we act like frustrated tyrants, who in turn act like frustrated children.

Instead, we receive every blessing as a gift under the tree of the Cross. This is unearned mercy. This is unmerited grace.

And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.

This doesn't lower our expectations of God. When the casual link between our deserving and his acting is broken in our minds we are free to expect even greater things of him because we are no longer the limiting factor in any way. Even our expectations for ourselves can increase, because we are no longer subject to our own limitations. We experience that apart from God we can do nothing, but with him all things are possible. We not only realize this truth. We desire it.

Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed.

It is a desire which God always honors. He will not love them lonely who seek him only.

 

14 November 2017 - in his hands

Today's Readings (Audio)

We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.

We don't earn our place at the table. Doing what we are obliged to do does not put the master in our doubt. In fact, we are in his debt long before we begin to fulfill our obligations to him. We begin to serve having received mercy we can never repay. This is true and we need to reflect it in an attitude of humility. We are then able to receive every blessing with thanksgiving to the gracious giver rather than smugness about ourselves. Every blessing becomes another surprise at just how much God loves us. We stop feeling like it is the least he can do. We stop thinking that sense we've been through so much already that we deserve this. Instead, we are grateful each and every time. Our souls, finally, are in his hands and not our own.

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, 
and no torment shall touch them.

In the final accounting, what we receive surpasses what we give and endure by unaccountable orders of magnitude.

For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.

The secret is humility. This doesn't mean beating ourselves up or tearing ourselves down. It means being a child continually surprised by the love of the Father.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

13 November 2017 - wisdom

Today's Readings (Audio)

And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."

The LORD tells us to avoid giving scandal to little ones and to always be ready to forgive others. We need faith to do these things. Faith allows us to have the wisdom of God to act in ways which don't enable or provoke sinful behavior in others. Faith allows us to live a life sufficiently consistent with the gospel, that, while not perfect, is evidently still striving in that direction, rather than mere hypocrisy. Faith compels us to offer forgiveness to others even when our emotions are raw and when even to think about them and what they've done is the last thing we want to do. Faith gives us the wisdom we need to see from God's loving point of view. He loves all of us and wants all of us to share in his love.

Love justice, you who judge the earth;
think of the Lord in goodness,
and seek him in integrity of heart;
Because he is found by those who test him not, 
and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.

Let us seek the LORD. We may feel like our faith is not sufficient. We might feel like we just can't be good examples to others and that we can't offer forgiveness when it matters. Moving actual mountains often seems easier than moving the mountains within. This is honesty is a good starting place. We pray, "I believe, help my unbelief!" (see Mark 9:24). With a solid base of faith we are able to receive the wisdom we need to walk in the ways of God.

For the Spirit of the Lord fills the world,
is all-embracing, and knows what man says.

It is this wisdom which guides us along the everlasting way. It is this wisdom that knows us through and through and still shows us the way to holiness.

Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.

12 November 2017 - in joyful hope

Today's Readings (Audio)

The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. 

We need to have fuel on hand so that we are ready for the coming of the bridegroom. We need the wisdom of God who is the Holy Spirit to fill us. We want to prepare to be ready for his coming but we are human. We may even fall asleep at times. Being ready isn't all about us. We may sleep. Our attention on God may not be as perfect as we would like. God is going to surprise us. We do not know the day or the hour of his final coming. Even his little comings into our daily lives are unpredictable. God does not remove the surprises from our lives. He gives us wisdom to change our relationship to the ways in which he surprises us. Wisdom does not help us predict the date and the hour. It helps us to wait with joyful hope for his presence.

For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil
shall quickly be free from care;
because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her,
and graciously appears to them in the ways,
and meets them with all solicitude.

When we are attentive to wisdom we are attentive to the eternal perspective and final hope that gives all else in life meaning.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 

We do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope, because we have the wisdom of God. This wisdom frees us from the cares of this world to the degree that when God does surprise us with his presence we are ready to welcome him.

I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

11 November 2017 - to God only wise

Today's Readings (Audio)

Let us be trustworthy in small things. Let us be faithful so as to put any time, talent, and treasure to use for the kingdom. Let us remember that the things of earth eventually fail but the things of heaven are eternal. The risk is that the gifts we are given can come to rule us. Any gift we have can become our master if we do not put it into the service of the kingdom.

No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

We see that even Paul's relationships are all oriented toward the kingdom. His greetings to individuals in Rome all take into account the Church. His wishes for them cannot be separated from his proclamation of the gospel.

Now to him who can strengthen you, 
according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen.

May we too become so unified of purpose as to live entirely and without division for the sake of the kingdom.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

10 November 2017 - wealth thought through

Today's Readings (Audio)

I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'

Let us learn to put to good use the things of this world, things which aren't really ours anyway, for the sake of eternity. All things truly belong to God and we are merely loaned them. Rather than using the things of this world to assert power of others, let us use them for the sake of love and fellowship.

To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'

We really are in a position to show mercy to others on the basis of what the master puts in our charge. If we cling to tightly to the things themselves we lose a golden opportunity. We risk spending a lot of time digging or begging for what we ourselves need. If instead we use our stewardship for the sake of others we can not only be welcomed into their homes but also into eternal dwelling places.

This form of stewardship gives us reason to boast in what pertains to God. It is not in what we ourselves accomplish, which comes at the expense of our brothers and sisters. It comes rather as we use our stewardship to make of all peoples an acceptable offering to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The master allows us to be the ones through whom mercy reaches them. It is an amazing thing which Christ chooses to accomplish through us if we just let him do so.

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.

9 November 2017 - than thousands elsewhere

Today's Readings (Audio)

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.

When we go to the house of God to worship do we not bring with us our buying and selling and money changing? Our worldly priorities distract us from the purpose of the place as much as they do the people in Jesus's own day. They are less externally visible. But they are present and problematic nonetheless.

Jesus sometimes needs to make a whip of cords to drive out distractions. Distractions, after all, turn out to be less pleasant than the heavenly joys of worship. They in fact, by comparison, turn out to be painful. They are afflictions from which we can run once we recognize them. Jesus is willing to do everything that is necessary to build a new and perfect temple. He will even destroy the old one so that the new one can be built with himself as the foundation. He allows us to be crucified with him so that we might live as new temples of his presence.

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

Once our old sinful nature is put to death in baptism we are established on the foundation of Jesus Christ. 

for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

Rather than being temples of money and pleasure we are able to offer true worship to God.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The new temple has infinitely much to offer the world. Only within the courts of the house of God can the water of life be found.

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

We are built on the foundation of Christ. If any poor workmanship has entered into our temple building through our own fault let us turn back to him. If we ask, he will chase away all that tries to usurp his rightful place. He will rebuild the temple in our hearts.

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.

8 November 2017 - foundational principles

Today's Readings (Audio)

Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.

But "no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (see First Corinthians 3:11). Our resources apart from Jesus always come up short. We can't build a tower which can bridge the gap between heaven and earth. Only Jesus is the ladder on which angels ascend and descend (see John 1:51) We can't oppose the army of Satan with the few troops at our disposal. Jesus has already overcome the world (see 16:33). This is why Jesus tells us we must put him first. We must "renounce all" possessions and hate "father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even" our own lives. The struggle is simply too great for any other strategy to succeed. We do disservice to our families and our possessions if we try to defend and build for them apart from Jesus. We set them up to fail. Our foundations, in such cases, turn out to be sand.

What is the strength that God gives us? What can we do built on his rock solid foundation? Finally, we can love one another.

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

We don't really realize how much is set against this love. This is what the enemy fights against. He wants us divided from one another and from God so that we cannot live out this call to love. The message this morning is that to succeed we don't need to reinvent the wheel. The foundation is there to build on. We just need to realize we need it.

Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
gracious, compassionate, and righteous.

7 November 2017 - to the feast

Today's Readings (Audio)

But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.

What priority do we give the the Kingdom of God in our lives? Do we choose to do everything else first and then fit God in to whatever we have leftover? Does our work or our relationships take precedence over serving God? If we seem to be lacking time for God is it because we don't accept his invitation to come to him? Work and relationships has a legitimate and important place in our lives. But everything needs to be oriented toward the kingdom. The work we do with oxen or with our fields is to support us as we journey toward the Kingdom of God. The women or men we marry are meant to accompany us on that journey. Nothing can be allowed to become an excuse to do something separately apart from the overarching goal of the kingdom.

I ask you, consider me excused.

Rather than making excuses, we should consider our own susceptibility to these temptations. We feel the tyranny of the urgent and so we need to respond the way God wants us to respond. We need to request from him the grace we need to put him first no matter what else is going on in our lives.

Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.

We have so many gifts. But they are meant to be at the service of one another. We are meant to all be part of one Body in Christ. We are given grace to sincerely love, to hate evil, to hold on the the good, and to love with mutual affection. We can't do this effectively when our own stuff separates us from God and his body. When we are moving not toward the feast but away from it we are not using any of the graces we are given as they are meant to be used. God wants to draw us all together toward him. To let him do so we must give him our whole lives. We must offer back any graces we receive.

O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.

6 November 2017 - mercy upon all

Today's Readings (Audio)

Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.

God invites us to his banquet even though we don't deserve it. He in turn invites us to love as he loves. He invites us to give of ourselves for those who cannot earn it or repay it. This is surprisingly difficult. We imagine ourselves as selfless but when the rubber hits the road we live in a system are carefully accounted giving and taking. We are called to love and not count the cost. It is hard to silence the voice within that is ever counting and tallying that cost. That voice demands repayment for our work and it is hard to ignore.

In order to love as we are called to love we must first receive the mercy of God. As we receive it we must acknowledge it with great thankfulness. If we imagine we are we are are in our own lives because we deserve it this is a lie of which we need to disillusion ourselves. We have nothing that does not come from the mercy of God. Much of it comes to us through others, through their prayers, their examples, and their guidance. But mercy has its source in God alone.

God shows mercy with the expectation that we share it. Mercy is for the one who receives it but it must also overflow to others. Mercy is not real which leaves someone with a selfish and inward focus. He gives specific graces to individuals not just for their own sake but for the sake of those who encounter them. What graces has the LORD given us? How does his mercy at work in us make us uniquely suited to show mercy to others?

Just as you once disobeyed God 
but have now received mercy
because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.

There is no point in this process where we can do it on our own. We don't take the ball and run. God continues to support and sustain us. We must continually cry out, "Lord, in your great love, answer me." If we do so God will use us to show his mercy to the others. He will build one growing chorus of praise to his name.

For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To God be glory forever. Amen.

5 November 2017 - as a mother cares for her child

Today's Readings (Audio)

The LORD is calling us to compassionate leadership. He is calling leaders to be the servants of those they lead. Leadership is vital. All of us, in way way or another, exercise some form of leadership. We must not shrink from this task when we are called to it. But do we do it with compassion, leading by example, and doing all we can to help those in our charge?

Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example. 

Or rather, do we barrage people with words and ideas without doing anything to help them to meet the standards? The ideas remain good, noble, and true, but if we only use them to make ourselves seem superior we are unlikely to gain anything either for ourselves or for our brothers and sisters. We need to have no concern whatsoever about how good we look we when exercise roles of leadership except insofar as we are being a help to our brothers and sisters.  Instead there is only one thing necessary to be good leaders: we must put the LORD first. 

If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.

Only by doing so can we be the examples that others need to follow our leadership. Only from the LORD do we find what we need to help our brothers and sisters who struggle to follow. We ourselves do not have the grace they need, but God can give them that grace through us if we put him before all else.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.

Putting God first means having the most profound trust in him, believing that he cares for us as a mother cares for her children. We are then in turn able to show that same care to others. We do not simply state rules and then leave others to their own devices. We share our very selves.

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