31 July 2019 - hidden treasure

Today's Readings

(Audio)

How much do we value the Kingdom?

The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

We've found the treasure. Do we know what it's worth? Do we act like it? Are we actually willing to give up whatever might be holding us back so as to attain it?

Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

What we have found is a treasure. It is a pearl of great price. It is not just an obligation, nor even a nice subjective experience. It is something of immense and potentially world-transforming value. What we have to sell is by no means enough to afford the true value of this treasure. We can only count ourselves blessed to have found it.

This treasure transforms us when we possess it. It makes us radiant just as the skin of the face of Moses became radiant in the presence of the LORD. Moses enjoys his possession of the treasure and he teaches us how to allow the full worth and beauty of the treasure to be unleashed in us.

the skin of his face had become radiant
while he conversed with the LORD.

The LORD himself is our treasure and none other. The light that shone from him on the Mount of Transfiguration is the same light that makes us radiant. It is what other people ought to perceive as different in the lives of Christians. It is why Jesus is the light of the world (see John 8:12) but his followers are also the light of the world (see Matthew 5:14). Like Moses we will be transformed, and thus the world will be transformed, when we spend time conversing with God and gazing on him with our hearts in prayer.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (see Second Corinthians 3:18).

Perhaps we've been afraid of the brightness and left the treasure buried. It is not meant to stay buried or hidden. It is meant to shine as a light in the darkness. Here is its hidden worth!

Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.

30 July 2019 - good seed growing

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Just because there are weeds around us even interfering with our growth does not mean that we aren't where the LORD has planted us.

He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.

Even though other roots might make us feel choked, wordly obligations might seem to conflict and demand too much, and even if we ourselves are oppressed outright for our faith it doesn't mean that we're in the wrong place. We imagine and wish to believe that the field should be empty of weeds, empty, indeed of effort or struggle. But it is not meant to be so. Weeds are permitted because without resistance we do not grow strong. 

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (see Second Corinthians 4:17).

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives (see Hebrews 12:6)

Yet the point is not to battle the weeds. Indeed, we can't even identify them with certainty. The point is to put down roots that are deep enough and spread our leaves broadly enough toward the light that weeds cannot interfere with our growth.

How do we grow in spite of the resistance of weeds? Joshua seems to show the correct posture, immovable before the revelation of God.

Moses would then return to the camp,
but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun,
would not move out of the tent.

Everyone else would return to business as usual. But Joshua was so transfixed that he couldn't immediately leave the LORD's presence. He took moments extra to exult in who God was and the glory of his presence. He spent the extra time in the sun he needed for his growth.

Our life, however, is not meant to be one of immobility. We are called to follow where the LORD commands. Yet to do even this begins from learning to abide in his presence.

Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O LORD,
do come along in our company.

The LORD reveals to us where and how to grow. We need only delight and strain toward the light which is already shining.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.

29 July 2019 - now and later

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.

Martha is a woman of profound faith in the power of Jesus. It is doubtlessly this faith that gives her the strong desire to serve Jesus when he comes to visit her.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?"

Perhaps she is even speaking for Mary's sake, insisting that she would be making better use of her time by serving Jesus, so deserving of service, rather than lounging near him.

But there is something correct about the attitude and posture of Mary. There is something about being present to Jesus here and now rather than simply setting things up for the future that Jesus wants us to share.

Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."

Martha is quick to learn this lesson. She is able to help us to see it as well. The resurrection is not a future-only event. Rather, we can come to partake of that life even now.

"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord."

As we read yesterday from Colossians:

And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,

Even when the Israelites were dead because of their idolatry God nevertheless forgave them and raised them up. Things happen that seem to cement negative events as unchangeable. We learn first a vague future hope, perhaps another life, perhaps a future generation will break free. But Martha is showing us that the resurrection power of Jesus is meant to fill our lives here and now.

Let us learn to confess what both she and Peter confessed at the prompting of the Spirit:

She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."

No circumstances we face are any match for this belief.

28 July 2019 - how to pray

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,

Nothing about prayer makes sense unless we first know to whom we pray. He is the Father of Jesus and our Father. He is the one to whom the Spirit makes us cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit of adoption we receive is adoption as his children.

See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!

In Jesus we are more the dust and ashes. We are the righteousness of God in Christ (see Second Corinthians 5:21). We are sons in the Son (see First John 3:2). Though we must come before the almighty with humility nevertheless, even while remembering that on our own we are nothing and can do nothing (see John 15:5), we must approach the throne of grace with confidence (see Hebrews 4:16), and this not just once but with perseverance.

I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

The LORD knows how to give good gifts to his children (see Matthew 7:11). He calls us friends (see John 15:15) and gives us gifts of friendship. Yet he insists that we learn to persist. He wants our hearts to become more like his, unchanging in our desire to see his blessings flow.

As we ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking, we find our own desires refined. We find the dross purified from that which we ask. We learn to delight in the gifts the LORD longs to give.

If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

We have been brought to life with Christ. The bond which was against us was removed and nailed to the cross. How vital it is that we persevere with hard, with even seemingly impossible cases, until they too know faith in the power of God and new life in the Spirit.

And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,

Let us together worship in the holy temple in the presence of the angels, knowing that our prayers have their origin in God's desire for us to pray and so cannot help but finding their fulfillment.

27 July 2019 - untangled

Today's Readings

(Audio)

While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.

It is difficult for us to understand the origin of the weeds of suffering and evil in our world. In the parable, the one who sowed good seeds slept.

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep (see Psalm 121:4).

God does sometimes choose to refrain from action. Just as he takes his Sabbath rest even though he is not exhausted from creation so too does he not choose every action he might take or even every action that we think he should take. Most of us would stop the weeds before they even get planted.

His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.

The LORD must know some greater good that will come if he allows more freedom in his field. There must be some benefit to be gained for the wheat and the weeds to grow alongside one another. Apparently the weeds and the wheat cannot now be safely separated. Our roots are attached and tangled. We ourselves are too involved with weeds at this stage of our growth. If they were pulled we would go with them rather than let go.

We need deeper roots. Then, even if there is still some interplay between our roots and the weeds we will be sufficiently separate to be safe when weeds are pulled and we are harvested. We need to grow more and more into our identity. Who we are comes from the fact that we are the result of good seed. We don't need an elaborate strategy but we do need to keep growing. We need roots the expand widely into the soil of the Kingdom, breaking from the roots of the weeds when those roots try to hinder our growth. If we are content with shallow faith it becomes more and more likely that we will be so tied up with weeds that we ourselves will become indistinguishable from them.

Growth may not be easy, but it is simple. It is the obedience of faith.

Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do."

Fortunately, we are watered by the blood of the new covenant. It is nourishment that only sustains wheat and causes weeds to whither. Let us drink deeply of the living water. Let us be washed in the Precious Blood. Then the tangle of weeds will effortlessly fall away and we will grow in fruitfulness until the joyful day of the harvest.

"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me."

26 July 2019 - 30, 60, 100

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The LORD is calling us to bear fruit. He wants us to hear his word and understand it so that we can yield a hundred or sixty or thirty fold. It is possible to hear the word of God without understanding it. To understand, to stand under, is a posture of humility and receptivity to the word.

The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom
without understanding it,
and the Evil One comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.

To not understand the word is not a failure of intelligence. It is rather to have only a brushing contact with it where we leave it on the path for the Evil One to steal away. We must choose to consciously engage with the seeds the LORD gives us. We must study them. We must desire to receive them fully into our hearts.

The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.

Yet even if we do get the seed off the path and into the soil it does no good if there isn't enough room in us for it to transform us by its roots. If we insist on keeping our nutrients, our time, talent and treasure, for ourselves and our own purposes then the seeds will indeed whither and not bear fruit. The possibility of self-deception exists here. For we might be joyful about the seed sown knowing that growing plants are a good thing but ignoring the warning signs as it reaches the limits of growth we impose on it by our hardness of heart.

The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.

At any stage our anxieties and worldly desires may become thorns. These not only prevent further growth of the seed but become directly harmful and hostile to it. Our desires and fears have that potential.

But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

If we choose to offer the seed rich soil rather than the path, or rocky ground, or thorns, we can be assured that the fruit will grow almost automatically.

He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how (see Mark 4:27)

The commandments are an example of a seed we must internalize. They seem to threaten us when we first hear them and that is because they do compete with the thorns in us. They seem difficult because our nutrients are well invested in vacuous and empty things instead. But if we choose to understand them we realize that they are made to ensure the freedom of a people coming from a place of slavery. 

I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

The psalmist is one who is well practiced in the proper understanding of these words of everlasting life. He can teach us just how to understand and indeed to treasure the words and decrees of such a generous sower.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

25 July 2019 - refined desires

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus said in reply,
"You do not know what you are asking.

We often ask without realizing the full implications of our request. Often there is a part of our requests that is simply not good and which we must ultimately relinquish.

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.

Part of why we want to be near Jesus, on his right and on his left, is because we desire greatness. Our pride wants us to be seen as correct. We want our effort vindicated. Yet there is something deeper and true about our desire to be near him.

Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
He replied,
"My chalice you will indeed drink

Jesus helps us to purify our desires. To drink the chalice of the Father isn't what we would have initially asked. But Jesus leads us to a place where we do want to drink it because it is the same chalice that Jesus drinks. The more refined our desire and intention the more effective we can be.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (see Luke 14:28)

To simply sit and be well regarded is easy enough. Anyone could do that if they were given the opportunity. But Jesus calls us to something deeper. Our own desires call us, if we listen well, to something which is entirely beyond us. We count the cost and find that we ourselves do not have enough. Yet we still desire it in the deepest part of our hearts.

We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.

As we begin to drink from the chalice of the LORD we do not find ourselves the subjects of praise and adulation at the right and the left of Christ. When we focus on ourselves we feel perplexed, experience persecutions, and are often struck down as we advance. But when we focus on the surpassing power we realize that we are not abandoned or destroyed and so we don't have to give up or despair. This isn't the position we initially asked for. We just wanted to be famous or popular. But what we are given instead actually does for us and for others is greater than anything we would have even imagined.

so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

It is OK to follow our desires so long as we are willing to bring them to Jesus and let him purify them, revealing the core truths that will actually bring us nearer to him.

Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.

24 July 2019 - bread from heaven

Today's Readings

(Audio)

A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.

The sower is generous. He is willing to sow regardless of the soil.

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.

Some seed fell among thorns

Even when our hearts are hard and our minds are filled with thorns the LORD still invites us to receive his life. All of us have these characteristics to some degree. All of our hearts contain rocky ground, unable to move and give way when the LORD touches it, unable to supply nutrients for life. We all occasionally respond to invitations from the LORD to go deeper by attacking the very idea with the thorns of our thoughts and habits.

But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.

Although our hearts don't have ideal growth conditions there is still good soil in each of us. It is this soil to which we must allow the LORD access. It seems precious and undefended. Perhaps we feel like we need to keep it unsown for now just in case something better comes along. Perhaps we feel the need to fill it with other seeds from less trustworthy sources. But we need to trust the generous sower. We need to feel what it is like for the seed to be planted in this soil. Once we learn what it's like we learn how to make the other, less desirable parts of our hearts more like the parts that produce fruit.

Israel responded to the freedom the LORD gave with thorns and rocky soil.

The children of Israel said to them,
"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!"

Yet the LORD was generous in sowing and found a place where his seed could germinate.

On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
"This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."

Forever after the Israelites knew the experience of receiving bread from heaven. They were forever changed. It was a change the persisted even unto the coming of Jesus, the true bread from heaven, so that they could recognize a similar, though greater seed being sown.

Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.

23 July 2019 - the song of Moses

Today's Readings

(Audio)

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

Jesus invites us to become his family.

But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God (see John 1:12-13).

He gives us his own Spirit. The Spirit of the Son cries out "Abba! Father!" from the deepest part of our beings (see Romans 8:15).

This privilege is meant to lead us beyond slavish fear because "the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever" (see John 8:35). Not only that, but because we are his family we hope to receive the same inheritance that is designated for Jesus himself.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory (see Romans 8:17).

We realize that it is by no means our own effort that earns our place in the household of God. Yes, we have to do the will of our heavenly Father. But the power to become children of God is given to those who believe in his name. The fearless sense that we can abide forever in the Father's house is a gift. 

The Israelites also needed to obey God. But they never could have escaped from Egypt without supernatural aid. Their belief in Moses and in the LORD put them in the place where God would deliver them.

When the water was thus divided,
the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

If we follow the LORD where he calls us we too will see the supernatural aid with which he surrounds his family like a wall to our right and to our left. We too will hear Jesus calling us his brother, and sister, and mother. Together we will sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (see Revelation 15:3).

Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

22 July 2019 - whom my heart loves

Today's Readings

(Audio)

On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves–
I sought him but I did not find him.

When we hear that we are supposed to have a personal relationship with Jesus we may still underestimate just how personal it is supposed to be. But here in the reading this morning we see that the Church applies the role of the Bride to Mary Magdalene and Bridegroom to Jesus himself. This is not meant to be an extraordinary grace to Mary Magdalene. It is rather her embodiment of what all the Church is meant to be.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church (see Ephesians 5:31-32).

Mary Magdalene shows us that none of us are too far gone to hope for this intimacy with Jesus. She herself had seven demons driven out of her (see Mark 16:9). She is one who loved much because of all the love she herself first received. And whatever else her past may have contained it nevertheless could not define her or constrain her. She was doubtless once a slave of darkness. Yet she became the first witness of the resurrection.

Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.

Her deep affection for Jesus made her stand persistently and perseveringly at the tomb weeping unable to let go of her LORD who was also the lover of her soul. May Mary Magdalene teach us to turn to Jesus from our own demons for healing and for the love for which we long. May she teach us to cling to him even in the darkest night of our own suffering until the resurrection power of Christ is at last revealed.

I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves.

What is it precisely that she can teach us? Thirst and the fulfillment of thirst, the living water of Christ.

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

21 July 2019 - entertaining angels

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (see Hebrews 13:2).

Abraham didn't let the heat of the day stop him from showing hospitality. He entertained three strangers with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Yet these strangers were more than meets the eye. They were actually angels manifesting the very presence of God.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? 

Martha wanted to be hospitable as well. More than Abraham she knew her guest deserved the best she could offer. Yet hospitality is always work. The serving pulled Martha in many different directions at once. Unlike Abraham who had a laser-like focus on his guests Martha become more focused on the serving than the one served. It was only natural for her to be upset with Mary who was simply sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.

But perhaps the problem was not that Martha was serving and Mary was not. Perhaps Martha might have been able to serve Jesus with a focus more like Abraham. Maybe she could have remained in his presence even amidst the efforts of the active life.  

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

Perhaps even the difficult parts of service and of life need not become distractions for us. We all do need to spend time at the feet of Jesus. This is, in the end, the main thing which can set all the other aspects of life in right order. But we are all also called to serve and be hospitable. And when we do we are called to focus on the God whom we serve in others, even if they are three strangers in the heat of the day. We know that the imagine of Jesus, who is the one thing necessary, is to be found in all his creatures.

He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

20 July 2019 - a hidden freedom

Today's Audio

(Audio)

He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

This isn't how we would probably arrange things if we were to send a savior into the world. We'd use massive special effects all around him. Withdrawing on his part would not be possible. We would insist not only on his availability to those who are willing to seek him in hiddenness. We would prefer that he all but force himself on the world. In our minds this would make more clear the choice set before every man and woman.

The reason Jesus does not force himself on the world is precisely due to his mercy. He does not overwhelm us to the degree that we can't help but choose him. He invites. He calls. He draws. But he leaves us free to respond.

A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

This seems hugely inefficient to our modern sensibilities. It even seems a bit unfair. But we know that it is everything that it needs to be. No one is actually left without the opportunity to respond to grace. We are each given lights to varying degrees. We are each free to respond.

This was a night of vigil for the LORD,
as he led them out of the land of Egypt

Jesus is leading a new pilgrimage out from the spiritual Egypt of sin. But he won't force us to come. Sin was the force of compulsion and Pharaoh is no longer in charge.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (see Galatians 5:1).

19 July 2019 - not against the grain

 

Today's Readings

(Audio)

His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

The disciples are hungry so they eat. Normally this would be considered work and therefore forbidden on the sabbath. But in there are certain kinds of service that take precedence over the sabbath prohibitions. The disciples are where they are and not in a place with food prepared precisely because they are following Jesus. If even the priests that serve in temple are allowed to serve on the sabbath how much more are the disciples of Jesus allowed, who are there in his service?

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.

Worth nothing, too, is that the specific violation which Jesus permits is for their own sake, to sate their hunger, and to give them the strength they need to continue following Jesus. The Pharisees would have insisted that they follow the rules in a cold and arbitrary manner, a way which would compromise the ability to carry out the mission. Jesus knows that the sabbath is given for the sake of man and so he knows how it fits into the bigger picture. Only when we realize that Jesus is greater than the temple and the LORD of the sabbath do we begin to see that bigger picture. Apart from him we can't make sense of the law. We end up using it as a weapon and a tool for judgment. But in him, all things find their fulfillment and meaning.

Tell the whole community of Israel:  On the tenth of this month
every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb,
one apiece for each household.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. He himself is the lamb given to forgive all of our sins. He himself is the true food that can satisfy for all eternity. His death keeps the angel of death from executing judgment upon us. Without Jesus we can't fully make sense of the sabbath or of the Passover or of our own lives. But in him everything takes on new and radiant meaning.

The bread of the fields, the bread of Passover, and the bread of the Eucharist are all gifts of God most high. They are given to us for our sake, to strengthen us to follow Jesus and to abide with him more and more. In return, we have nothing to offer besides what we ourselves are first given.

How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

 

18 July 2019 - all you who labor and are burdened

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.

Who among us is not burdened? Who among us does not long for rest? We seek after these but often exhaust ourselves still further in the search. Just shedding the yoke of our daily responsibilities isn't enough. Many of us can remember a vacation that was more work than rest. The solution to true and sustainable rest is surprising.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.

Perhaps with no yoke we become restless just as with the wrong yokes we become worn down and tired. Yet the yoke of Jesus will not exhaust us nor leave us restless. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

Yoked together with Jesus we do experience the feeling of effort. We are coworkers with Christ (see First Corinthians 3:9) and so there is a sense in which work is involved. Yet this work, though it is a monumental task, does not leave us exhausted. 

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (see Isaiah 40:31).

Moses questioned how this could work for him. God wanted Moses to share in his yoke in a unique way. There would be many challenges for him even after he did so. But God knew it was better for Moses and for his people to be free with him than slaves in Egypt. Moses for his part needed only cooperate. He did not have the strength or skill to bring about this deliverance. Moses and the people ultimately obeyed because of the revelation God gave to Moses about who he is, a revelation which he then shared with the people.

God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you."

Moses came near to the burning bush and was able to receive the yoke precisely because of who it was with whom he spoke. We come to Jesus and receive his yoke, not because circumstances necessarily look promising, but because we believe in his love for us.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.

17 July 2019 - the childlike

Today's Readings

(Audio)

you have revealed them to the childlike

The childlike are those who learn to call God Our Father from his child Jesus. We are made more and more into obedient sons and daughters, in the image of Jesus, full of trust and love. We are called to become like little children not just generally but specifically of the Father in heaven.

God said, "Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.

We strip away our pretenses in order to draw near to God. We let the images we present to the world drop. Like children we are more or less unconcerned with how others see us. We do, however, insist on the goodness of our Father and our oldest brother Jesus in the face of any criticism or insults they receive. We are unafraid to be seen as foolish for their sakes.

As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
though on fire, was not consumed.

The Son reveals the Father to us. He does so by sending the Holy Spirit, the flame of God's love, to make us cry "Abba! Father!" We ourselves become set on fire with the same fire that burns but does not consume the burning bush of Moses.

We are not consumed in our essence, the core of our God given identity. Yet "God is a consuming fire" (see Hebrews 12:29). He will indeed consume all within us that is not of him. 

each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done (see First Corinthians 3:13)

All that does not bear fruit is pruned (see John 15:2).

We are made more and more fully what we are meant to be with all the excess stripped away by the loving action of God.

The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of  Israel. 

16 July 2019 - done in your midst

Today's Readings

(Audio)

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

Jesus tells us that to whom much has been given much will be expected (see Luke 12:48). We who have known the mighty transformative power of the grace and love of Christ are thereby obligated to live for his kingdom.

and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (see Second Corinthians 5:15).

So has Jesus made a difference in our hearts? Are our lives different because we know him? If so, are they just different for us or are we returning the love Jesus gives us in worship and in love of neighbor? He loves, including performing mighty deeds, to provoke our own love. He warms cold hearts of stone with the fire of his own love not simply so that those hearts will be comfortable but so that they themselves will catch fire with his own love.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (see Matthew 3:11).

I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! (see Luke 12:49).

We are drawn up for the waters that were meant to destroy us. In baptism we receive spiritually what was for Moses a mere physical salvation.

"I drew him out of the water."

Mary is our mother who nurses us spiritually after we are drawn from the water. Like Moses we are meant to be zealous against the forces of spiritual darkness in Egypt and to long for justice and unity to prevail amongst the spiritual Israel of God's Church.

But Moses fled from him and stayed in the land of Midian.

The temptation is to run for a destiny to lofty and exalted for any mere man or woman. Yet if it is a destiny to which we are called by God there then let us go forth by his strength to share his love with all those who are oppressed.

See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!

15 July 2019 - freedom without compromise

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel
and reduced them to cruel slavery,
making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick
and all kinds of field work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.

Life can be very difficult. We often feel like slaves to our circumstances. We see circumstances reduce the perceived dignity of many well beyond that of slaves. The ruler of this world, of whom Pharaoh is an image, wants to stop our increase. He wants to prevent others from being added to the kingdom of God. He wants to prevent those who are in it from bearing fruit.

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

God is the one who delivers us from the kingdom of darkness and transfers us into the kingdom of his beloved Son (see Colossians 1:13). The trouble is that we still have Egypt in our hearts. Even though this world is no paradise we have selective memories.

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic (see Numbers 11:5).

There can be no compromise with the kingdom of darkness, no compromise with the spiritual Egypt of sin.

Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.

What comforts we gained by dwelling in Egypt must be abandoned. And if we have to choose between remaining in sin and even our own family we must choose Christ. If we have to choose between remaining in sin and our own lives we must choose Christ.

Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

In this world, prophets and righteous men must receive what favor we can offer them precisely because the world's default orientation is against them to oppress them. Laborers deserve their pay, especially those who labor for our sakes. So let us offer prayers and whatever other assistance is appropriate to those who are at work building the kingdom of light.

And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.

14 July 2019 - who then is my neighbor

Today's Readings

(Audio)

For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.

Our trouble with the commandments is not that they enjoin on us anything so complex or difficult that we would have to travel the world to figure them out. The problem is rather with ourselves. We see what the commandments ask and cross the road to the other side.

A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.

We know we are supposed to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, with all our being, with all our strength, and with all our mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. But when it comes time to do it we at least occasionally choose to avoid it. We imagine ourselves busy with priestly business. We sanctify our choice with all sorts of religious sentiment. Our reasons for refusal are complex and myriad. But the reasons to follow the commandments are simply and straightforward.

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.

Straightforward is easy to figure out but it can be a challenge to do, especially if entails such sacrifices as are made by the good Samaritan. Yet the Samaritan himself is a figure of the mercy Jesus himself has shown to us. Jesus in turn gives us the power to show that mercy to others. He gives us the oil of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the wine of his own precious blood. In baptism and reconciliation he cleanses and bandages our wounds. He carries us and indeed the whole world on his own back in the form of the cross. He himself pays the cost of our care and our recovery in the inn of his Church. We are not only strengthened by this example but we are empowered by the same Spirit. We know that we out to act with mercy. We have the grace to do it.

Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

The word is near us, already in our mouths, and in our hearts. We have only to carry it out. This is because all things are created through and for Christ Jesus himself. There is nothing which is excluded from his preeminence and therefore nothing exempt from the need to share in his reconciliation. He is so near precisely because everything that exists does so precisely so that Jesus might be its LORD. If we listen, we can hear the very creation proclaiming the glory of God.

the ordinances of the LORD are true,
 all of them just.
They are more precious than gold,
 than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
 or honey from the comb.

13 July 2019 - more than many sparrows

Today's Readings

(Audio)

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.

Almost everything we fear is related to these bodies of ours which are passing away. We fear the different ways we can experience pain, mental, emotional, and physical, all of which are nonetheless, byproducts of bodies under the dominion of death.

Our fear is not often what it should truly be. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (see Proverbs 9:10). It is not meant to be a servile fear. Rather it is the fear of a lover who is so enraptured with the beloved that the very thought of displeasing him or her is unbearable.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (see Hebrews 2:14-15).

We don't allow ourselves to see our fears and anxieties for what they are. We don't want to realize they are the fear of death. We want them to be something greater and more important actually deserving of the emotional investment we make in them. We are trapped and on some level wish to remain so.

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Jesus wants us to see our fears for what they are so that he can deliver us. He does not want us to be bound to bodies that are passing away as captains going down with sinking ships. Our bodies will pass away. So will all the goods of this world which we try to protect. Jesus wants our spirits free to care about the kingdom and to seek it first.

We tend to be much like Joseph's brothers, always afraid, because we don't trust.

"Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us
and now plans to pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!"

But the brothers fear is misplaced. Joseph seeks God first and so he himself is able to rise above the extreme difficulties of his life to forgive his brothers, even, apparently, to love them.

When they spoke these words to him, Joseph broke into tears.

How much more ought we to trust in God than these brothers ought to trust in Joseph. God himself is the one who makes all things work together for the good of those who love him, those who are called according to his purpose.

Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.

12 July 2019 - given words to speak

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.

We tend to worry about what we are going to say and how we are to speak long before our life is on the line. When we want to convince someone of something, get or point across, avoid hurting someone's feelings, and for many other reasons we rehearse again and again in our minds the words we will use, the possible paths a conversation may take, trying to ensure we have the perfect answer for every possible scenario. Nor indeed does it seem to the point to go into a job interview with no preparation, simply trusting in the Spirit. Unless, of course, God asks us to do so.

There are many situations God gives us just so that we can learn to trust him to guide our conversations. These aren't necessarily situations where we want to relinquish that control or where it comes easy for us to do so. We need to learn to be faithful in these smaller matters if we really want to be faithful in dire circumstances like Matthew describes.

But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.

God is training us to be his witnesses. He is giving us little lessons now so that we can endure to the end when the lessons get bigger. We need to learn to listen so that we can be aware when God is speaking to us. He may ask us to do things which don't make sense to us at first glance.

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt,
for there I will make you a great nation.

Egypt? In both the literal and metaphorical sense it doesn't seem like this would lead to Jacob becoming a great nation. Yet Egypt has a definitive role in the life of the people of Israel. It is not something that one would have guessed at or figured out easily for oneself. But God was able to bring good even from Egypt, even after the new Pharaoh no longer knew of Joseph. God's plan was at work. He wanted to show the children of Israel that he was stronger than the Gods of Egypt or the plans of Egypt's Pharaoh to keep his people enslaved. He wanted to bring them to a new level of trust and total dependence on him. 

God may also call us into danger zones for the sake of his name. We must never recklessly seek them. But when we are called we know that we will have the right words to speak and that the whole journey will redound to God's glory.

And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

11 July 2019 - accept no substitutes

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.

We are called to rely on the LORD. He tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and everything that we need will be provided for us. Food, drink, clothing, and shelter are basic needs. They are a deep source of anxiety for pagans. They are for many Christians as well but they should not be. Our Father knows that we need these things.

If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.

If we are worried and anxious about the same things and to the same degree as the pagans we will be too preoccupied with those things to share our peace with worthy houses. Then we will grip tightly what worldly peace we can find, cling to that, and have nothing distinctive to offer the world.

Circumstances can never yield the peace to which we are called. Good circumstances still yield flimsy peace, always at least a little anxious about the future. We are called to trust in God, knowing that he can make any circumstances, good or bad, work together for his glory.

But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.

Joseph was able to trust in God despite his circumstances. When the time came, he was able to forgive his brothers who sold him into slavery. His brothers seemed to have one plan. But he knew that God had a higher one.

Let us learn to trust in God more and more. For most of us, our circumstances are fine. We aren't dealing with overwhelming anxiety to the point that it cripples us. In this sense, we are lukewarm. We are putting up with what we consider good enough when there is so much more that the LORD wants for us. Let us no longer put up with the substitutes the world offers for the peace of Christ, that surpasses all understanding.

He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.

10 July 2019 - mercy's authority

Today's Readings

(Audio)

But turning away from them, he wept.

Joseph has a heart of mercy for his brothers even though they tried to kill him. Even though he conceals his true identity from the them it is not out of malice. Even though he allows them to feel contrition for what they've done..

We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us,
yet we paid no heed;
that is why this anguish has now come upon us.

...he only does so in order that when they are able to meet and recognize one another fully the past will have been fully dealt with and can be put behind them. He wants them to have a reunion without regret.

Joseph receives his wisdom from God. That is why he is delivered from death and preserved in spite of famine. God foiled the designs of Joseph's brothers. Indeed, all sorts of apparently negative circumstances were made to work together for Joseph's good. He is gradually given more and more authority in his various stations until he is second only to the Pharaoh.

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority

The disciples have an even greater sort of authority than Joseph. And not only them, but we too share in the authority of Jesus himself. We too are made priest, prophet, and king in our baptism. We are anointed with the same Spirit that anoints Jesus, the Spirit  of power, love, and of a sound mind (see Second Timothy 1:7). Jesus gives us access to his own words which are living and active and full to overflowing with his power.

Like Joseph, we are called to rebuild families. Like the disciples, we are called to seek the lost sheep. We are called to go forth and proclaim the Kingdom. We ourselves are the living stones from which it is built.

Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

9 July 2019 - wrestling with God

Today's Readings

(Audio)

But Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you bless me."

This is an acceptable attitude for Christians. When we believe something is a genuine blessing we are called to persist in seeking it. Jesus tells us to knock and keep knocking, to ask and keep asking (see Matthew 7:7). His parables extol the woman who kept asking the unjust judge until her case was decided favorably as well as the man who knocks at the door in the night until the neighbor is willing to answer. We remember these things. We rightly treat them as invitations to continue to pray. But do we realize that they are calling us to more than merely not giving up? They are calling us to an attitude of actively seeking, one which isn't necessarily easy and might even cause us pain.

Jacob limped along because of his hip.

Although pain and struggle are often involved we must still wrestle for our blessings.

"You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel,
because you have contended with divine and human beings
and have prevailed."

If we are willing to persist and to wrestle with the angel we can discover our true name and true purpose. If we merely let the angel depart we may miss the blessing, at least until our next opportunity. This attitude is meant to strengthen not only our relationship with God but our relationship with society. We are called to hunger and thirst for justice. This is no mere metaphor. Rather, we are called to seek the good as wrestlers seeking to win or as those who race seeking the prize. 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it (see First Corinthians 9:24).

Let's be realistic. We don't win against angels unless they let us win. We can't make changes in society without God's help. But we have a coach who is pairing us against the opponents we need in order to help us to grow.

Our motivation should not be pride or self-aggrandizement. Rather, compassion should drive us on.

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.

Indeed, the blessings will mostly be for others rather than for ourselves. But they are assuredly even more worth the fight.

Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.