30 September 2021 - the strength of rejoicing

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“Today is holy to the LORD your God.

Do not be sad, and do not weep”–

for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.

The walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt and the exiles had returned. They themselves were the ones that gathered and asked to hear the book of the law of Moses read to them. Although Ezra read continuously from daybreak until midday it wasn't this that made the people said, for "all the people listened attentively to the book of the law." They were drinking it in, soaking in and absorbing it. Yet weep they did. In the book they heard wisdom that could have governed their lives and saved them from many lessons learned the hard way. They recognized all of the missed opportunities in their own lives that the wisdom of the law would have made available to them. They were beginning to lose themselves in the past, in regret, imagining what could have been. 

He said further:  “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks,

and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared;

for today is holy to our LORD.

The rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, the return of the exiles, the proclamation of the law, was meant to be a new beginning, not merely a reflection on all that had gone wrong in a misspent past. In order to break away from being consumed with regret and with guilt they had to be intentional. This new beginning could be a genuine time of joy and renewal. The returned people could learn how to live well in the sight of God. The walls of the city could be strengthened by the spiritual protection of God on those who kept his law. The emotions of the people drew them into the past in ways that were unhelpful. Their sadness had gone beyond mere conviction or contrition and was preventing them from receiving the word of God in the here and now, preventing them from being thankful for the good things he was doing in that moment for them.

Do not be saddened this day,

for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!

When sadness overwhelms us, when it is keeping us hostage to the past in ways that are unhelpful, rejoicing in the Lord can set us free. To us, in times of sadness, rejoicing seems to be too much of an irresponsible luxury. But it is genuine rejoicing in the Lord, more than newly built walls, that is meant to be our strength. Rejoicing is not merely escapism. It builds something practical, because everything that really lasts must be built, not merely in physical or societal structures, but in the foundations of our hearts.

The ordinances of the LORD that the people heard read to them were true, more precious than gold, and meant to give joy to the heart. Even so, the joy of the law pales in comparison to the joy that the message of the Kingdom is meant to impart.

Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,

eat what is set before you,

cure the sick in it and say to them,

‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’

Jesus gave instructions to those who would spread his message that they not rely on themselves, but to go instead with a profound trust in God, and in the power of the Gospel message itself. They did not need their own money, or sack or sandals, and the message was too important to greet anyone along the way. Their treasure was the Gospel. Their bread was, first and foremost, the word of God. Their feet were shod with readiness to proclaim the good news. 

The seventy-two were instructed that they were not to give in to discouragement when they encountered negative results or apparent failures. They too had to rely on rejoicing in the Lord and refuse to let the past cling to them or begin to define them.

Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,

go out into the streets and say,

‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet,

even that we shake off against you.’

The Kingdom of God is at hand for us, and rejoicing can be our strength as well. But we too must be intentional. We must choose to celebrate those things which truly matter with rich feasts. Like Saint Jerome we can learn to treasure the Scriptures by which we come to have the saving knowledge of Christ. We too must shake off our past, and even the fact that we are not perfect yet, and refuse to let anything but the word of God define us. Our own human limitations can give way to the Gospel, which is a promise without limit, because what is promised is the gift of God's of divine life.

They are more precious than gold,

    than a heap of purest gold;

Sweeter also than syrup

    or honey from the comb.

Maranatha! Singers - I Will Delight

Newsboys - Joy

29 September 2021 - angel armies

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Amen, amen, I say to you,

you will see heaven opened

and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

That is, Nathanael would witness what was in fact always happening on a spiritual level. The throne surrounding by fire, ministered to by myriads upon myriads, was the throne shared by Jesus himself with his Father.

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne (see Revelation 3:21).

Angels were everywhere in the life of Jesus. Jesus was the focal point around which the hosts of heaven were active. The archangel Gabriel himself appeared to both Zechariah and Mary to announce the forerunner of the Messiah and then the Messiah himself. The shepherds heard angels sing with joy over his birth. Their guidance to Joseph was instrumental in keeping the holy family safe. They appeared to give Jesus strength after his forty days in the desert and during his agony in the garden. They were on standby to come in and destroy those who crucified Jesus if he decided to simply give the word.

These heavenly powers were a hidden reality at work to accomplish the divine mission were centered around Jesus himself, but they continue to be at work to accomplish his mission in the world today.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (see Ephesians 6:12).

If our struggle is against these dark powers, these fallen angels, we have no hope of winning on our own. Our only hope is to join with the one who already conquered them, and to avail ourselves of the helpers who first ascended and descended on him. Christ himself is in us now, and his mission is ours. If Jesus himself chose not to accomplish his victory except through angels how much more should we then rely on them!

War broke out in heaven;

Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.

The dragon and its angels fought back,

but they did not prevail

and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

Even the great archangels stand ready and willing to assist us if we avail ourselves of their help. Gabriel can help us to hear and internalize the message of God, even as Mary herself did. He should not be overlooked when we consider what went into enabling Mary to make her perfect fiat. Had some other lower messenger brought the message it may have been that he would not be worthy to elicit such a perfect response. Gabriel can bring us the message of God in a way that engenders a profound and life altering trust. Raphael can arrange the events of our lives according to the plan of providence and heal us of the infirmities that would keep us from that plan. He can set for us divine appointments whereby we meet those whom we are meant to meet when we are meant to meet them. 

So Raphael was sent to heal both of them: Tobit, by removing the white films from his eyes, so that he might see God’s light with his eyes; and Sarah, daughter of Raguel, by giving her in marriage to Tobias son of Tobit, and by setting her free from the wicked demon Asmodeus (see Tobit 3:17).

We are encouraged to invoke even Michael himself, the prince of the hosts of heaven. This only seems like overkill until we remember the struggle that is taking place behind the scenes and what is at stake in that struggle. It is reasonable to bring ourselves to the attention of even the leader of the armies of heaven when our struggle is aligned with the mission of Jesus himself, whom all the hosts of heaven live to serve.

"Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither,"" he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come" (see Joshua 5:14-15).

The commander who said he was not on either side of the battle Joshua fought is however on our side to the degree that we ourselves first side with Jesus. There is no room for neutrality in the spiritual battle, and no place on the battlefield for bystanders. Let us pray for all the help we are meant to have and be thankful to know that is is given. We can have confidence that the victory that we see the angels accomplishing instrumentally is in fact already won in Christ.

In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Chris Tomlin - Whom Shall I Fear [God Of Angel Armies]

28 September 2021 - responding to opposition

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem

Jesus knew what his journey to Jerusalem meant and how it would end. He was resolutely determined to accomplish that mission. Isaiah prophesied about this moment, saying, "I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame" (See Isaiah 50:7). We can learn from this steadfast resolve, just as the Letter to the Hebrews recommends.

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame (see Hebrews 12:2).

The question that today's Gospel brings to us is how we respond when we have made such a decisive decision and we encounter an obstacle.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

No doubt Jesus would have delighted to welcome members of that village into his fold. He ought to have heard from them, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." But they would not welcome him, not just due to coincidence or inconvenience, but precisely because of his destination. They were against the very thing which he had made such a strong determination to do. The response of the disciples was like our own tends most frequently to be in situations like this.

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?”

When we have strong resolve and encounter push back we tend to respond by struggling against the opposition. Jesus taught a different way, saying that we ought simply to shake the dust from our feet and keep going (see Matthew 10:14). This morning we see that he himself practiced what he preached. Rather than pushing back against the negative force of opposition against him he simply let it slip off like Aikido or Tai Chi. 

For us, it often seems hard to simply redirect and keep going. Our egos are so fragile that can't bear to go on without acceptance or recognition. We feel as though if we leave the problem unsolved it will remain unsolved and probably somehow bring the whole world collapsing down with it. After all, Jesus seemed to be headed there. Could his plan even succeed by another route? We need to learn from Jesus that the key thing is the mission. Our firm resolution is not meant to tie us to this or that specific path, necessarily, but rather the destination in view. We are meant to be flexible so that Jesus can redirect us dynamically, like the Holy Spirit version of Waze. The disciples recorded in Acts were good at this sort of flexibility:

And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them (see Acts 17:7).

The one thing that really has the power to overcome any opposition we encounter is the mystery of the cross and resurrection of Jesus himself. It is this display of the love of God that is meant to draw all nations unto him (see John 12:32). Rather than getting lost in specific minutia, as if all depends on those specific details, we are free to chart our course toward that goal, toward Jerusalem, by whatever paths are open, through whatever cities will welcome us. We do better by those who oppose us to continue to the place where we die to ourselves and live by the power of God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. For from there we have a better hope of revealing God to them than we do by argument, opposition, or calling down fire.

It is the Paschal mystery that has the power to inspire the inhabitants of the Gentile nations to say, "Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD"; and, "I too will go to seek the LORD." 

Many peoples and strong nations shall come

to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem

and to implore the favor of the LORD.

This nations can only be gathered by the power of God. We must learn to remain committed to the goal without the need to rely on feelings of aggression or violence as a crutch to help us remain steadfast in the face of opposition. We must let the peace of Christ control our hearts so that we can have the freedom we need to follow Jesus where he is going. Without it we will doubtlessly get sidetracked on the way. We will remain outside like the elder brother of the prodigal son, rather than entering into the party.

They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:

    “This man was born there.”

And all shall sing, in their festive dance:

    “My home is within you.”

Lincoln Brewster - Surrender

27 September 2021 - to the childlike

Today's Readings

(Audio)

An argument arose among the disciples

about which of them was the greatest. 

With the predictions of the Passion the disciples came to understand that the Kingdom of Jesus was to take a very different shape than they had probably imagined at first. Had Jesus come to overthrow Rome and restore the monarchy immediately his disciples might have hoped for the power and wealth of Kingdom leaders in a literal and physical sense. The cross seemed to indicated this was not be. So, in lieu of material rewards, and in place of the imminent physical coming of the Kingdom, they began to shift their motivations for following the Messiah, looking for new reasons to pursue a difficult path. If they would not receive wealth and power they would now at least hope to for pride, and seek after the vanity of preeminence. 

Jesus realized the intention of their hearts

Jesus knew this current condition of their hearts. He knew that he had not called them to walk a way of comfort and ease, not promised rewards of the sort to which people were accustomed.  He knew that they would naturally struggle with the purity of their motivations. The true target on which their hearts would need to fix was more elusive than the short term benefits of the normal struggles and efforts in the world to which they were accustomed. For those, they did not need the theological virtue of hope. The rewards were already, as it were, right in front of them. But following Jesus did not promise anything immediately visible in return. Yet there was much in which they could hope, and even begin to taste. There was much on which they could fix their hearts, but it would only be evident to the eyes of faith. 

Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child

and placed it by his side and said to them,

“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,

and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

Children do not labor for pride, power, or wealth. The disciples were called to receive children even though they seemed to have nothing to offer, nothing of value in the eyes of the world. But in welcoming them the disciples welcomed more perfectly the one in whose image they were made. In welcoming children, who could offer nothing, they learned to welcome Jesus himself without the need for benefit to themselves. Hidden in the child was the value of every person, before a single act of merit was undertaken. And hidden in that value was the worth of the one who created them.

Had the disciples understood what Jesus meant they could have experienced greater freedom. They would not have felt the need to insist that someone stop casting out demons just because he was not part of their company. 

Jesus said to him, 

“Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Only a child could truly and without suspicion believe that everyone who was not against them was for them. The path to becoming childlike oneself was intimately bound up with learning to welcome children, and with welcoming others with that same level of acceptance and affirmation. Jesus was teaching them how to affirm, not what they could contribute by strength and effort, but the fundamental goodness of being which was already underlying all things. In welcoming that goodness, though, they were not merely welcoming some vague, ambiguous or subjective reality, but Jesus himself, in whom all being is sustained (see Colossians 1:17).

The great reward of learning to be childlike is the hope it makes possible in our hearts. Jaded adults can't know such hope, for to them, scarred by life in the world, it can only seem foolish. But children can be examples to us of those who still have an innate sense that the world is a gift of wonder of which they are not the origin. They can teach us, even the jaded among us, how to hope.

The city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

Even if this should seem impossible

in the eyes of the remnant of this people,

shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also,

says the LORD of hosts?

dc Talk - Mind's Eye

26 September 2021 - whoever is not against us

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,

and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."

The disciples had been given authority over unclean spirits. They came back rejoicing that the demons had been made subject to them. Yet Jesus told them to rejoice rather in the fact that their names were written in heaven (see Luke 10:20). We see now today part of the reason for that word of caution. It appears that they become too proud that the demons were subject to them specifically, and not to others. This pride prevented them from appreciating the goodness of the acts they witnessed, that is, of the exorcisms, the setting free of souls, if they did not originate from among their number. 

we saw someone driving out demons in your name

This exorcist was not one of the Twelve, not among those who were recorded to have received the power and authority of Jesus for that task. But whoever this individual was, he was operating in the the power of the name of Jesus. He was a follower of Jesus even if none of the Twelve could claim him as their own.

Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

The disciples were meant to take a more generous attitude toward anyone they found trying to cooperate with the mission of Jesus. Jesus wanted to demonstrate that his power would not always be limited to the hierarchy, nor to the normal appointed sacramental means of grace. He could, for instance, regenerate hearts by the baptism of desire and pour out his Spirit even on those not formally confirmed. We certainly see all the signs of this in those not in full communion with the Church in our own day. They speak powerfully and work mighty deeds in the name of Jesus. Rather than begrudging them the power we see working through them we are meant instead to see them as allies, and invite them into the fullness of our fellowship.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

To discern who is truly for Jesus we need to look at more than what they say about themselves, or even what miraculous deeds they perform. We need to be concerned first and foremost with what they are doing, whether or not they are pursuing the will of the Father in heaven.

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (see Matthew 7:22-23).

Words can be cheap. Signs and wonders, miracles and mighty deeds, even these on their own can be deceptive. We are not called to align ourselves with every apparent healing ministry claiming Jesus as Lord. But we are called to make space for everyone who seems to be genuinely doing good in the name of Jesus, not just in words, but according to his mind and mission. 

Do healings happen even in the audiences of televangelists who are only in it for the money? It seems likely that God would countenance the needs of some in the audience even in spite of the these preachers. Even such as these should not be resisted or opposed on the basis of mere suspicion. Rather, if it isn't certain that we and they share them same mission, we should give them space. But there will be other more genuine instances of the power of Christ manifesting outside of the usual channels. They will bear all the marks of anointing, of the authentic desire to lift up the name of Christ above all else. Such cases are to be celebrated, viewed as allies working toward the same goal in the same vineyard. Still, we should realize that those who are now outside of the formal structures, though they are allies, are meant to take their place together with us in the heart of the Church.

Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,

were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.

Eldad and Medad received the spirit even though they were not in the camp at the time. God was not restricted by the apparent normal channel through which this grace was to be given. Yet they were not to remain outside of the camp. They were meant to return and rejoin the others, and to continue on as part of the officially sanctioned leadership under Moses. The risk we are called to be on guard against today is refusing to welcome such people even when they are genuinely seeking the same thing as we are. Like Joshua or the disciples in today's readings we may be jealous, supposedly for the sake of our leader. But our leader is more generous than we are. His pride isn't hurt in the slightest by the inclusion of apparent outsiders. Rather, he delights to bring them in.

"Moses, my lord, stop them."

But Moses answered him,

"Are you jealous for my sake?

Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!

Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

Only with a generous heart can we truly desire what Moses desired. Moses prayed that all of the people of the LORD would be prophets. According to Joel, this did in fact turn out to be God's plan.

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy (see Joel 2:28).

At Pentecost the prophecy of Joel was fulfilled, which is why Paul could write to all of his hearers to "desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy" (see First Corinthians 14:1).

We desperately need prophetic voices in the world today. The rich today still withhold wages from their workers, storing up wealth without concern for others, just as when James wrote his epistle. It is too easy too easy to slip into such a lifestyle.  Without the prophetic voice to challenge us we all tend to prefer lesser goods to the greater. Without that voice we often persist in hidden faults.

Yet who can detect failings?

    Cleanse me from my unknown faults!

Without that voice we will be unwilling to make the sacrifice of hand, foot, and eye that may be needed to make a clean break with sin. Worse still, we may lead little ones down this same path by way of our example. Would that the Lord would raise up prophetic voices among us, voices that can cut not just to hand or foot, but right to the heart. It is these voices that are truly able to bring freedom from demonic influence. The Lord often will raise up such voices in unexpected places, perhaps in people who weren't in camp for the official ceremony. But when they are genuine in their desire to undermine sin and demonic influence for the sake of Jesus we can know for sure that they are allies, potential friends and brothers. May we find more friends like these!

Matt Maher - Hold Us Together

25 September 2021 - pay attention

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus said to his disciples,

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.

The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 

Jesus told his disciples to pay attention because he knew that otherwise they would miss the point he wanted to make. The more unfamiliar or difficult a teaching is the more attention it requires to get it. When we don't pay attention we may hear and realize that we do not understand. This is a lesser risk. But a greater risk is to internalize it in a distorted or incorrect fashion without realizing it, thinking we understand what is being taught. 

We can see how important these points were for Jesus that they emerged from a time "praying in solitude" when "the disciples were with him" as we read yesterday. Before he made he began to talk about his suffering he led them to reflect on his identity and, through Peter, to make answer about who he was. That he was the Christ of God should have helped to put them further into a posture of receptivity and listening. In today's gospel, already gathered in a place of quiet, already recollected and prayerful, Jesus commanded them to pay attention. It was as though everything was narrowing and heightening toward this very point of revelation.

When the disciples learned definitively that Jesus was the Christ of God they seem to have taken the idea and ran with it, adding their own implications and consequences nowhere suggested by Jesus himself. Rather than being made more open to listen to Jesus because of this confirmation of his authority they became less able. Just after realizing Jesus was not merely a prophet like Elijah or John the Baptist they thought they had discovered a different mold into which Jesus would fit. They correctly realized that they had found the Messiah. But they were not ready to learn what the life of the Messiah would really entail. They were preoccupied planning a quick march to victory. But Jesus himself had other plans.

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.

The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 

Jesus wanted his disciples to hold two ideas, that of his divine origin, and that of his mission as the suffering servant, together in a creative tension. He himself knew that the disciples wouldn't understand perfectly until the plan played out. But he knew that if they had both of these ideas his own suffering would be less able to unsettle them them or scatter them. They might not know how it would turn out, but they could see it was part of the plan of Jesus himself, and therefore under his control. If they could hold both of these ideas they could have some measure of peace even amidst the storm.

But they did not understand this saying;

its meaning was hidden from them

so that they should not understand it,

and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Peter, we know, bluntly contradicted the idea of a suffering Messiah. His paradigm did not allow for it. The other disciples sensed something fearful, but chose not to ask about the saying. Rather than this, trying to impose their own ideas, or trying not to think about it they were meant to listen with attention to the voice of Jesus, the voice with the authority of the Christ of God. This is a deep space of prayer, and it may be that there are few of us who are willing to pay attention at this point. It just seems to risky to keep listening, and we are afraid to ask Jesus to clarify. Even if there is to be suffering, if there is to be a cross, well, we still prefer that on our own terms. We prefer to plan it ourselves rather than asking Jesus, who knows all things, what his plans are and what they mean. 

When we don't let Jesus define himself we risk accepting a lesser substitute unable to offer us what we truly need: salvation. When we don't let him define his plan we end up struggling with our own plans which turn out to be cisterns that cannot hold water (see Jeremiah 2:13). There will be suffering no matter which path we choose. But only if we follow Jesus will the suffering be redeemed, given meaning, and brought, eventually into the fullness of resurrected life. If we turn away from his path in fear we risk missing the glory that is meant to be the destination.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!

See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.

The old walls of Jerusalem were no longer broad enough to define the people of God, which is now transnational in the form of the Catholic Church. The Lord himself is now "an encircling wall of fire" and "the glory in her midst." So too do we have protective walls and barriers around our souls which are too narrow for the fullness of life Jesus desires to give us. We too must let God replace our walls of fear with his "encircling wall of fire". Then we will be open to all the plans he has for us and will be truly able to embody his Kingdom on earth.

Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,

and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.

Newsboys - Lead Me to the Cross

24 September 2021 - category errors

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Who do the crowds say that I am?

The crowds didn't understand who Jesus was then and they don't now. They only see a limited set of preconceived categories into which he might fit. Today these categories are often things like 'moral teacher' or 'spiritual leader'. We try to say that Jesus was basically an early version of Marx or that he was saying the same thing as the Buddha. None of this is an exact fit, even though there are ways in which all of them are at least a little bit accurate. Herod was smart enough to realize that Jesus was different from any category with which he was familiar. But he was not humble enough to allow Jesus to reveal himself to him.

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”

He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

Peter allowed the revelation of identity of Jesus to be given to him from the Father by the Spirit. He did not insist on figuring Jesus out, on solving him like a mystery, or categorizing him like a new species. He didn't have an exist framework adequate to describe Jesus so he let Jesus himself supply the framework. 

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly

and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Even after receiving revelation that Jesus was the Son of God we know that Peter did not fully grasp the implications. He got a sufficient dose of the revelation to know that it was worth trusting in and following Jesus. But when it came to the cross and to suffering he balked, and fell back into his old paradigms. No wonder that he and the other disciples weren't yet permitted to tell the world about Jesus. Even they themselves only got him in fits and starts.

He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

Immediately after Peter found out who Jesus was he was rebuked as a Satan for being an obstacle to Jesus on the way to his cross. How much more, then would the world misconstrue him if they didn't begin with the Father's revelation as their starting place? What Peter had been given by the Father was enough that, over time, through failure and perseverance, he would eventually come to trust Jesus fully, with his whole life. Without that revelation Jesus tends to look as though he is opposed to human flourishing, against pleasures and pursuits that seem harmless to those who still relying on egocentric thinking and the limited resources of merely human intelligence.

To overcome our deeply entrenched ways of thinking we need what God promised through the prophet Haggai. We need our paradigms sufficiently disrupted so that we can welcome the new data about himself that God wants to provide.

One moment yet, a little while,

and I will shake the heavens and the earth,

the sea and the dry land.

I will shake all the nations,

and the treasures of all the nations will come in,

And I will fill this house with glory,

says the LORD of hosts.

This shaking was precisely the cross and the resurrection of Jesus himself. It was this that finally qualified the disciples to spread the word about who Jesus was, because their old ideas and been finally and irreversibly exploded. 

For us as Catholics, the Paschal mystery is not just a one time event in the past. It is something we live in the liturgical year, and even daily in the mass. We are called to enter in, to taste and see that we can believe what Jesus tells us. Suffering has been transformed, and now is made to serve us by helping to bring us to glory. Things are shaken so that the eternal can be revealed.

Greater will be the future glory of this house

than the former, says the LORD of hosts;

And in this place I will give you peace,

says the LORD of hosts!

MercyMe - Shake

23 September 2021 - why so curious?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

But Herod said, “John I beheaded.

Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”

And he kept trying to see him.

Curiosity about who Jesus is can be an invitation to faith. It is natural to notice that he does not conform to any pre-existing patterns of figures with whom we are familiar in the world. He breaks every mold in which we might try to place him. He shatters all of our old paradigms. He is too good and too wise to be merely a liar or a lunatic, but he is not merely a good man, wise teacher, or spiritual leader. He speaks with a prophetic voice but there is something about him that sets him apart from all the prophets who came before him. The invitation we receive is to interpret Jesus on his own terms. His heavenly Father, through his Spirit, provides the interpretive key to make sense of his identity. 

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven" (see Matthew 16:17).

Curiosity is only an invitation and can't get us all the way to revelation by itself. If it only pushes us toward understanding for the sake of entertainment as if we were enjoying researching a new UFO sighting he won't countenance us by performing or playing along. If it is only for the sake of reassuring ourselves that our own understanding of the world is exhaustively complete that too will come up short. These motives will short circuit before arriving at the truth. Only if the motivation genuinely moves us outside of ourselves and causes us to step back from our usual prejudices and preconceptions can it bring us to a place where the Spirit can speak. In a sense, there is a conspiracy, one put in place by the devil himself, keeping us from knowing Jesus. But we ourselves, to one degree or another, are co-conspirators. We prefer to enjoy the question remaining unanswered rather the risk the reality of the revelation.

And he kept trying to see him.

Jesus wants to reveal himself to us. But the purpose of this revelation is not for our entertainment. Neither is it so that we can full so confident of our complete understanding of the world that we are not threatened by the unknown. Jesus, as God, always remains more unknown than known. He is never going to be made entirely safe even when we realize who he is. In fact, that will inspire greater fear. But it will be holy fear, awe, in the presence of the Word made flesh. It is difficult to desire that fear before one has it. But it is hard to imagine life without it once it is given as a gift.

The basic posture to receive revelation is one of humility, the posture of the child more than that of the king. Since Jesus still has more to teach us about who he is it is worth praying for a greater spirit of humility for ourselves. Rather than seeking the confidence of already knowing all we need, we should seek the confidence of knowing the one who knows, trusting he will show us what we need to see when we need to see it.

Our own earthly wisdom tends toward the practical and toward things which have the most immediate benefit. We sow, eat, drink, and clothe ourselves first. We earn wages and try to solve problems with structural changes. We only give God the time and effort we have leftover. Because of this, only a few leftover things are fully enveloped in his blessings. Instead, God should be the beginning and the end of our efforts. Our practical, human efforts ought to be done with a view to the house of the Lord as the center point, that they might all share in his providence and blessing.

Go up into the hill country;

bring timber, and build the house

That I may take pleasure in it

and receive my glory, says the LORD.

The Lord takes delight in us. We are meant, in return, to find true delight in him. In the end, nothing else will satisfy us.

Let the faithful exult in glory;

    let them sing for joy upon their couches;

Let the high praises of God be in their throats.

    This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.

Phillips, Craig & Dean - Revelation Song

22 September 2021 - power and authority

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority

over all demons and to cure diseases,

and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God

and to heal the sick.

Jesus did not give them just any power, but the power that is associated with the authority of the kingdom of God, authority which comes from the King himself. This is what the centurion recognized about Jesus, sensing a parallel to his own earthly authority.

For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (see Matthew 8:9).

The power that Jesus gave the Twelve was a share in his own reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Their own words, which by themselves would have been powerless, by the additional weight of the King's own authority, had power.

We too are given a share in the reign of Jesus Christ. By virtue of our baptism we are all made priests, prophets, and kings. While the performance of full blown exorcisms are restricted to ordained clergy it is nevertheless true that when we don't avail ourselves of the authority we have been given we make ourselves pushovers for the dark powers unnecessarily. We become easy targets when we could instead use a word of faith to drive the demons away before the ever begin to get a foothold in our souls. We can, by faith, command spirits of depression, anger, sin, and anything contrary to the kingdom to flee from us and be bound by the cross of Jesus himself, defeated.

Why do we not avail ourselves of the gifts we have been given? It is often because we trust in our own power too much. We are too busy about what we might do and how we might solve our own problems to bother with the power that also brings with it the authority of God himself. This is a recipe for frustration. Or perhaps we feel a lack of faith that we could make use of the authority of Jesus even if we remembered to do so. If the reason we don't avail ourselves of the gifts of Jesus is a lack of faith, this is often because we don't take those small steps of trusting him and walking with him on the way. There are steps we should take before we need to rely on that same faith in bigger and less familiar ways. We are meant to learn he is faithful in little things and so come to trust him more and more. Jesus teaches us that our journey as disciples means learning to trust him rather than ourselves so that we will be free to use his authority when the time comes.

He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,

neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,

and let no one take a second tunic.

Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.

And as for those who do not welcome you,

when you leave that town,

shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”

It is by the authority of Jesus that we are able to be confident even when we have not stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, nor a second tunic. It is his authority that gives us confidence to go for the sake of mission to houses that may or may not welcome us. It is his authority that keeps our hearts from being damaged or broken by rejection, which we will definitely experience from time to time as his disciples.

When we insist on trusting in ourselves too much for too long the Lord will often do us the favor of disabusing us of our illusions of control, just as he did for Israel.

From the time of our fathers even to this day

great has been our guilt,

and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,

we and our kings and our priests,

to the will of the kings of foreign lands,

to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,

as is the case today.

Fortunately for us, even this exile from our normal loci of control is only so that we can be brought back joyfully to the place were true authority and power are found. With the nighttime there are tears, but with the dawn, rejoicing (see Psalm 30:5). Notice in the reading from Ezra how even the authority of earthly kingdoms is guided by providence, subject to God's higher authority, and used to bring his sons and daughters to glory.

For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;

rather, he has turned the good will

of the kings of Persia toward us.

Thus he has given us new life

to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,

and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem.”

Hillsong Worship - This Kingdom

21 September 2021 - call and response

Today's Readings

(Audio)

As Jesus passed by,

he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.

He said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus knew who Matthew was. Not only did he have a past as a sinner he was still sitting at the customs post. It wasn't as though Matthew had repented and made himself ready to be called. This was obvious to Matthew and obvious to Jesus. But Jesus knew Matthew even better than Matthew knew himself. Prior to the call of Jesus the idea of Matthew leaving his current way of life, much less embracing the life of a disciple, would not have been on his radar. However, the call by Jesus created this new possibility, this new hope within the mind and heart of Matthew. What he had been he need not remain. His whole world up to that point need not define his future.

And he got up and followed him.

The Pharisees were unwilling to entertain the idea that a holy man would welcome sinners. They probably doubted that someone like Matthew could ever change. Even if he could, they thought, that would need to come first. If he wanted to become holy, change his life, or draw near to God, he would need, they thought, to clean up his life, to use his own strength, to perfect himself in the same way that the Pharisees imagined they themselves had done. But Matthew, as a sinner, was more honest. He knew that he could not save himself. It was only in the calling of Jesus that he was able to entertain the idea of hope for a better future. A new paradigm was revealed to him at the moment. This is why the word used to state that he rose and followed Jesus was the same word that later ultimately described the resurrection of Jesus himself. Matthew experienced something very much akin to a resurrection to new life in the call of Jesus and in his response.

Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.

We still tend to imagine that we have to achieve saintliness by our own efforts and for that reason believe it to be impossible. We content ourselves with mediocrity and leave true holiness to the chosen few. But the point of Matthew's calling is that it is not all about us. It is available for anyone humble enough to entertain the possibility that Jesus is who he says he is and can do in us what he promises. It is available to all who are humble enough to view themselves as sick and Jesus as the divine physician. If Jesus could use Matthew he can use anyone, as Matthew would be the first to testify.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,

others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,

The gifts come from Jesus himself, our part is to respond. The unity of the Spirit is a gift we are offered freely. Let us chose to live in a manner worthy of our call, just as Matthew did, and treasure that gift.

David Ruis - I Will Worship

20 September 2021 - the light within

Today's Readings

(Audio)

No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel

or sets it under a bed;

rather, he places it on a lampstand

so that those who enter may see the light.

It is the Gospel itself that is the shining light which we must not conceal. Rather thank blocking the light we ourselves can act more as lampshades, translucent, and attenuating the light we ourselves first receive. If we try to insist on making ourselves center point or the main display piece we only succeed in dimming the light, causing others who were meant to walk by it to stumble. Instead, we can become less and less focused on ourselves and in this way become the lights to the world that we are called to be.

For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,

and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.

What was the point of initial hiddenness of the Gospel message? There is a complex answer to that question, but part of it was that the initial hidden stages were a period of preparation before the light could fully shine. The disciples were being filled, as it were, with spiritual oil, so that they could burn as brightly and for as long as their individual callings would require. Even after going out into the world healing and driving out demons they always remembered to return to their hidden source in Christ to be filled anew. This sort of balance between a hidden infilling that comes from a life of prayer and an active life that reveals him to the world is very much the nature of life in the Church. We may specialize more in one or the other, but even the very hidden life of cloistered orders like Carmelites still contributes to making the genuine light of the Gospel visible. Like them, we may specialize more in the hidden part or in the active part, but there is a way in which we all participate in both.

The more we invest in the central reality of the Gospel light we have been given the more that investment will pay dividends for us and the world. If we neglect it we risk losing it.

Take care, then, how you hear.

To anyone who has, more will be given,

and from the one who has not,

even what he seems to have will be taken away.

We may not feel equipped to be a part of building God's Kingdom on earth, or to reveal his presence to the world. But to do so is precisely the reason why the light has been entrusted to us.

Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,

let him go up, and may his God be with him!

The blueprints have already been made, and the materials provided. All we need to do is to choose to cooperate. We can choose to let his light shine, to join in his building project rather than sabotaging the grand project with our our problematic designs. Jesus will indeed work with our unique giftedness he uses us to build the Kingdom. For our part, we need to get out of his way, and let him be the origin, to let him be the light that shines, uniquely, prismatically, through our lives,

TobyMac - Lights Shine Bright 

19 September 2021 - GOAT busting

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men

and they will kill him,

and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” 

It may seem natural to respond to the unknown, to an apparent threat to oneself, with defensiveness. We are afraid to get to the heart of the matter and so attend rather to what we can do for ourselves, just as the disciples did when Jesus mentioned the cross.

“What were you arguing about on the way?” 

But they remained silent.

They had been discussing among themselves on the way

who was the greatest. 

The disciples themselves seemed to recognize that there was something deeply wrong with their response to hearing about the imminent death of their friend and Lord. They did not try to justify what they had been discussing but remained silent instead. This may have been a natural or normal response for fallen creatures, but they were aware that it was nevertheless something not befitting their call.

Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,

there is disorder and every foul practice. 

Their inner turmoil at the suggestion of the cross spilled over into a conflict among them. This was able to occur because their passions were wrongly ordered toward selfishness. Such conflicts as this one begin in the heart and, if unchecked, spill over to others, and become the basis even of violence and war.

Jesus demonstrated to the disciples that their desires were not directed as they should be. The prestige of leadership, the pride associated with being a leader: neither of these were to be reasons for accepting him. It was to be the same for those who would continue his mission in the world.

“If anyone wishes to be first,

he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 

Jesus gave them a new paradigm, diametrically opposed to the desire for prestige, fame, or greatness.

Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,

and putting his arms around it, he said to them,

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;

and whoever receives me,

receives not me but the One who sent me.”

A child is not received on the basis of her accomplishments. This is the icon of leadership in the Church. Much of the work of leadership is precisely the work of the cross which does not often immediately appear as an achievement. Earthly glory must be eschewed if we are to faithfully follow Jesus. Children were extremely marginal at the time of Jesus, tolerated, but not celebrated in the way they would later be within Christendom. Jesus himself, as he told his disciples, was more like the child he put before them than a great Pharisee or Caesar. He himself was a meek, humble, and obedient child of his heavenly Father. He never insisted on being recognized for anything that was merely his own, but rather on the basis of what he had received from his Father.

As an icon, the child is an antidote to the potential pitfall of cults of personality forming around Church leaders, missionaries, evangelists, or anyone else. To be a model leader in this new paradigm of Jesus one must be so completely dependent on another, on the Triune God, so as to have nothing in which to boast oneself. This sort of leadership frees leaders to do the ongoing work of carrying the cross throughout history, following Jesus who was free to carry his own cross precisely because he entrusted his entire life to his Father.

We are asked to desire and pray for leaders who are more like children than the proud conquerors of antiquity. Further, we are called to become like little children ourselves. It is precisely in this: our confidence in and gratitude for the fact that everything in which our good consists, our very being and our salvation, is from another. Marvelously, wondrously, we are embraced by that love before we earn or accomplish anything. It is only from this perspective that we can be free from the worldly fear, fear such as the disciples demonstrated by their dispute. Free from worldly fear we can have instead the fear of God, which is the beginning of the wisdom from above,  the only true wisdom.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,

then peaceable, gentle, compliant,

full of mercy and good fruits,

without inconstancy or insincerity. 

Children do not in reality display this wisdom consistently. But at their best, grounded in the love of family, they do embody it. We can as well. The Father's love can become the source and ground of our own confidence, our own hope.  This can so take hold of us that our very passions will come be reordered, little by little, so that we begin to ask for and desire that which matters most: precisely the Father's will.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace

for those who cultivate peace.

We are called to begin from a place of peace rather than the dark place of desperation in which we find ourselves when everything seems to depend on us. This is why peace, true peace, can not come in the way that the world promises it, but only as a gift, as a fruit of the Father's love poured out in his Holy Spirit. Any other starting place renders us unable to embrace the cross, and may well end in bickering, infighting, or even war. We will risk becoming like the wicked described in the reading from wisdom. The very idea that some other, non-egocentric perspective might exist will then represent for us a challenge to be violently opposed.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death;

for according to his own words, God will take care of him.

God will indeed take care of his children, but not in the way those with worldly passions desire. He has something better in store for us than such limited perspectives can even imagine. It is for this very reason that the cross is not optional. In our embrace of the cross our trust of the one from whom we receive all that we have and all that we are is perfected. This, especially is not accomplished by our own strength, but based on the grace that sustains us, rooted and grounded in God's love for us.

Behold, God is my helper;

    the Lord sustains my life.

Freely will I offer you sacrifice;

    I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.

dc Talk - Mind's Eye

Matt Maher - Run To The Father

18 September 2021 - deepening our roots

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God

has been granted to you;

but to the rest, they are made known through parables

so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.

Jesus presented the Kingdom of God in such a way that whether or not his message made sense was based, not on great cleverness of interpretation, but rather on the hearer's relationship with him. On the surface all of the parables tend to appear superficial or even superfluous. We might be tempted, by our initial understanding of them, to think that if that was all he was attempting to teach, well then, why not just state it directly? But the apparent simplicity of the parables belies their depth. They are in this sense similar to Jesus himself. His appearance as a simple man from Nazareth was not the whole story, which could only be had from revelation given by the Spirit.

The parable of the sower still has wisdom for us, even we who have heard it so many times through the years. Let's consider some of the threats the sown seeds face and consider how we might keep our own spiritual lives from being at risk.

the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts

When we pass over the parables or their explanations as things we have already heard we might miss their more shocking aspects. Jesus taught the devil was actively working to sabotage potential believers to prevent them from receiving the seed. 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (see Ephesians 6:12).

Already at the beginning of the explanation of the parable we begin to get a sense of a bigger picture and greater stakes then we might previously have guessed. There is more to the picture than ourselves and our free agency to respond to the word. We do not enter into a neutral zone where we can afford not to be wary. We find ourselves in the midst of a battle. Those who, not realizing they are in a battle, stand tall above the trenches are not courageous, but foolish. Seed on the path is at risk, not merely because the growing environment is bad, but because the enemy is actively on the watch to claim such seed for himself.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,

and the birds of the sky ate it up.

The hardness of the path represents the hardness of hearts. But they are hard precisely because they have been trampled, and this often without blatant fault or culpability. The world has marched over this soil so often that it has become rock solid. It has beaten down these hearts so much that they are less and less able to open themselves upward in hope. This is the work of the enemy, sabotaging in advance the ability of individuals to respond to the word of God. It is all too easy for him to steal these seeds and prevent them from ever taking root.

How might our approach to the hardness of the path change if we realize that there is an active threat against seeds sown thereupon? We would be much more on guard against hardness and cynicism, more aware of when we see symptoms of such hardness. We would then be strategic when we see seeds sitting on the surface. We would be less likely to leave a single seed unsheltered. Without realizing this we might simply be content to wait, hoping that the passage of time would give the seed a chance to work its way down. Knowing the active opposite we face we would be more likely to active dig, to expend effort to shelter the seed deeply within our hearts and with those of others.

Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,

receive the word with joy, but they have no root;

they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.

It is a cautionary tale that we can be at one moment joyful in receiving the word of God and yet later fall away. Our zeal at any moment is no guarantee of our predestination or election. Zacchaeus was said to have heard the invitation of Jesus and "received him joyfully" (see Luke 19:6). But a more convincing sign was how his life was changed. He immediately pulled up the roots in his previous life and began to put them down into the Kingdom

Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold (see Luke 19:8)

This does not mean that putting down roots is merely about external works, which on their are own are lifeless and inefficacious. But what it does mean is that the seed itself, when it is rooted in the living water of the Holy Spirit, will not just make a brief push above the surface of the soil. That is a temptation: to think that the flower, the beauty apparent to others, the joy of the moment, is the whole point. Rather, there must be more. There were be of necessity much happening beneath, the deepening of a spiritual life capable of bearing real fruit over the long term.

As for the seed that fell among thorns,

they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,

they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, 

and they fail to produce mature fruit.

The seed choked by the thorns was not entirely killed, not prevented from growing at all or stolen entirely. The problem was the lack of mature fruit. It was still somewhat alive but not fulfilling its purpose. While we may have something of the hard path and something of the lack of root within our own hearts to worry about it is this being choked by thorns that perhaps concern us most. Our spiritual lives might not be in immediate danger of destruction in a way that would be obvious and evident. But if we are not bearing fruit, mature fruit, there is a sense in which this amounts to a real and potentially equally significant problem. We have been given the Holy Spirit who is able to bear fruit in us. But if we give too much space to the anxieties of the world, to riches, or to pleasures of life as our ultimate concern, it is still possible to, having begun in the Spirit, nevertheless end in the flesh (see Galatians 3:3). Jesus did tell us, after all, that it was by their fruits that trees would be known (see Matthew 7:16). So if we are without mature fruit we will not be held inculpable, not when the power to bear the fruit is given us as a gift. We should not, therefore, judge our engagement with the world on the basis of whether it causes us to fall away entirely, but rather, the degree to which it is choking out our ability to bear fruit.

But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,

they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,

embrace it with a generous and good heart,

and bear fruit through perseverance.

Rather than hard hearts, we need ones which are generous. Rather than spiritual lives designed for a mere moment we need perseverance. There is an abundance of seed. The sower himself will help us to cultivate the seed no matter the initial conditions of the soil. Hard hearts can once more be made tender. Shallow roots can grow. We can find freedom from the suffocating pressures of life in this world. We are called to embrace the seed with good hearts, but we do so remembering that this heart is itself a gift from God.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (see Ezekiel 36:26).

The reason we are able to care so deeply for the seed is because we have some dim sense of what the plant will look in full bloom, some sense of the taste of the goodness of the fruit.

until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ

that the blessed and only ruler

will make manifest at the proper time,

the King of kings and Lord of lords,

who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,

and whom no human being has seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

John B. Miller - Speak Lord I'm Listening