31 January 2024 - Where did this man get all this?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,

and many who heard him were astonished.

In other places where people weren't familiar with Jesus they were astonished in a positive sense because of the authority with which he taught and the way his words had power even over unclean spirits. But in Nazareth where they thought they knew him the astonishment was of a different sort. They had watched Jesus grow up and knew his family. They thought that this new ministry came so out of the blue that there was no explanation for it except that it was fabricated for effect. Jesus had left their town and become popular in the surrounding regions. But to the people of Nazareth he was just one of them, no better than them, and this seemed to lead to jealousy. The more he began to stand out from among them the less they were interested to hear what he had to say.

They said, “Where did this man get all this?

What kind of wisdom has been given him?

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!

They heard the wisdom of Jesus spoken to them. And they were at least aware of the reports of mighty deeds wrought by his hands. But rather than hoping that those mighty deeds be performed among them they closed their hearts to both his teaching and his power. They weren't ready for Jesus to be anyone other than the person they had all known from before "the carpenter, the son of Mary". Rather than returning to Nazareth to become a hometown hero Jesus was like someone who left a small town to be educated and then achieve success in a big city who returned home only to find he had alienated those who knew him previously. But with Jesus this reaction was intensified. Because what they rejected was not merely education and success over and against poverty and common sense wisdom. They rejected the wisdom and the power of God over and against the status quo.

Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

and among his own kin and in his own house.”

In his life on earth Jesus' native place was in Nazareth. But now it within his Church. And so the risk is that we become overly familiar with our own conceptions of who Jesus was in the past to the extent that we no longer even entertain the possibility of who he wants to be now. In the lives of strangers to the faith who experience his presence for the first time we see Jesus honored, and the full possibilities of faith in him unleashed. But in our own lives we tend to become so accustomed to him that he is not able to perform many mighty deeds. Our faith, it seems, is often not much better than that of the people of Nazareth. Let it not be said that Jesus was amazed at our lack of faith. Let us remain open as he brings his wisdom to bear on our lives and to remain hopeful for the mighty deeds he still desires to perform in our midst.

"Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba

and register the people, that I may know their number."

It's possible that we've fallen into the habbit of relying on the total resources at our disposal rather than on God and his providence. It's not bad to do a census unless the purpose of that census is to ensure that we don't need to depend on God, or so that we can show off to our neighbors. Either motivation will have us engaged on such worldly terms that we won't have room for faith. So if this has described us let us repent as David repented so that the Lord is again free to reign in us.

Lincoln Brewster - More Than Amazing

30 January 2024 - dealing with delays

Today's Readings

(Audio)

One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.

Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,

"My daughter is at the point of death.

Please, come lay your hands on her

that she may get well and live."

The synagogue official was moved by his desperate love for his daughter to put his faith in Jesus. Jesus had gained the reputation for being a healer. For Jairus this reputation now became a matter of life or death for his daughter. Jesus was no longer just a passing spectacle or curiosity but someone on whom Jairus had no alternative but to to trust. In good times, when things are easy, we like to imagine that we're trusting Jesus. But it is when situations became dire that the genuineness of our faith is tested. When our own lives our shaken, is our instinct to trust in Jesus no matter what?

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.

Normally we'd be happy to see another individual healed. But if, like Jairus, our daughter was dying, and every moment mattered, would we easily tolerate an interruption? Or would we instead become envious, wishing that whatever good happened in the meantime had not happened so that we could attain our own desire? Jairus, however, apparently waited without wavering. Even when, in the ultimate test of his faith in Jesus, he was told that his daughter had died, he did not protest about how things might have gone differently if only Jesus hadn't stopped along the way. Instead, Jesus invited him to continue to trust him as he had at first and he responded with faith.

Disregarding the message that was reported,

Jesus said to the synagogue official,

"Do not be afraid; just have faith."

Jairus must have been able to correctly interpret the healing of the hemorrhaging woman as a sign that increased his own faith in the power of Jesus. Rather than seeing himself as left out or forgotten he must have been able to be happy to see her healed even while his own situation remained at the breaking point. And even after things had progressed beyond human hope he did not appear to blame the woman or to blame Jesus. 

So he went in and said to them,

"Why this commotion and weeping?

The child is not dead but asleep."

The faith of Jairus was rewarded because to Jesus even death was no more permanent than sleep. He was able to wake this child from death as a parent might wake a child from slumber to welcome the light of a new day. And now the delay that he seemed so costly bore the abundant fruit of an even greater revelation of the power of Jesus, leading Jairus to even greater faith. It reminds us of the delay of Jesus in coming to Lazarus. 

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (see John 11:14-15).

Just to touch Jesus in faith was enough to save a woman who had suffered with no relief for twelve years. At his world, a child of twelve who had died was brought back to life. We are meant to see that there is no limit to the power of Jesus. But we are also meant to appreciate that he doesn't necessarily visit us on the schedule we would set for him. Delay can lead us to doubt. But we are meant to persevere instead. If we do we too will be rewarded with a revelation that will strengthen our faith.

Ike Ndolo - Awake, O Sleeper

29 January 2024 - swine of the times

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,

to the territory of the Gerasenes.

Jesus entered Gentile territory for the first time in his mission. There he encountered a place where death and impurity had an even greater foothold than in Jewish territories, represented by tombs and herds of swine. But Jesus entered into regions of darkness of death in order to bring light, life, and salvation. 

at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.

The man had been dwelling among the tombs,

Do we not recognize that many in our own day are still dwelling among the tombs? It is considered normal to indulge in death directed desires, spending our spiritual inheritance on things which cannot last, motivated ultimately by a desperate fear of death. In our society anything is permitted, more or less, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Similarly, the only goal of the people in the territory of the Gerasenes was to restrain the possessed man. After all, there was nothing they could do to address the deeper underlying issue of his soul.

In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,

but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,

and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

They would have preferred to silence him since his condition was frightening. But failing that they resorted to avoiding him, leaving him to his tendency toward self-harm, rather than put themselves at risk. They weren't strong enough to bind the strong man, the devil, who was, in truth, the one holding this possessed man in his power. 

In our own society we are surrounded by people pursuing paths that harm themselves, but are often told to mind our own business. Perhaps this strategy of nonintervention stems from a learned helpless resulting from our lack of strength our ability to do much to help. But Jesus refused to ignore the condition of this man among the tombs. He desired to bring him back from the bleak half-light of a life dominated by death and to restore him to his right mind. And he was strong enough to bind the forces of the devil and accomplish that goal.

"Send us into the swine. Let us enter them."

And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.

The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,

where they were drowned.

By the word of Jesus the man was set free. But the restoration of light and holiness was not without economic cost to the surrounding area. No doubt this bothered the people who came to see what had happened. But it seemed that what caused them even greater fear was seeing the formerly possessed man in his right mind. They were unsettled by the disruption of the status quo, afraid of what else Jesus might upset if he remained among them.

As they approached Jesus,

they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion,

sitting there clothed and in his right mind.

And they were seized with fear.

Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened

to the possessed man and to the swine.

Then they began to beg him to leave their district.

The formerly possessed man thought he had the vocation to be a disciple who followed Jesus directly. But instead Jesus told him that he was meant to return to the his family and his home and to proclaim all that the Lord had done for him. By remaining with them he was to help the people in that region to understand the true value in what Jesus had done, so that their initial repulsion and request for him to leave might be replaced by a longing that he would return and manifest more of his healing power.

But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,

"Go home to your family and announce to them

all that the Lord in his pity has done for you."

Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis

what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

Our lives too can be evidence of the goodness of Jesus, proof of his love, demonstrated by what he has done for us. We live in what often seems to be the modern equivalent of Gentile territory marked by life among the tombs. Many around us are afraid of what might happen if Jesus gets too close. But simply by living lives as Christians among them we can give witness to what happens when Jesus draws near, which is always more than we can ask or imagine.

Hillsong Worship - Stronger

28 January 2024 - driving back the darkness

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The people were astonished at his teaching,

for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

The people were used to others who had to reference the authority of tradition in everything. The expertise of these others was built on what still others had said because anything original would be extraneous. They didn't have the authority to add or subtract from God's revelation. They were eager to avoid the Lord's command that a prophet not presume to speak in his name an oracle that he had not commanded. No doubt they were quick to provide the citations for the points they made, noting, for example what Moses said about a variety of topics.

Jesus was different. He was the prophet like Moses whom God promise to raise from among his kin. Because his mouth would be filled with God's own words it was appropriate to listen to him in whatever he said, not only when he was quoting a figure from history. But Jesus was greater even than Moses. Moses received the law from angels (see Acts 7:53) and conveyed it to the people. But Jesus had God's own words in his mouth. Even Moses deferred to the words he had received. But the words of Jesus were more his own than were those of Moses, because he himself was the word of God. But his incarnation served to make that word understandable and sympathetic. No longer a voice of thunder or a great fire such as the people at Horeb begged never to hear or sea again, but instead, a Jewish rabbi with a face like our own and a voice filled with compassion spoke God's words directly and without mediation. He was the word of God, but also a "from among their kin". The people were used to authority being constrained to static written texts. But now they were face to face with the same person who spoke in those sacred writings. It was shocking to say the least. Only such a voice could refer to the writings of Moses by saying, "You have heard it said" and then continuing, "But I say to you", as he did in the Sermon on the Mount.

The authority in the voice of Jesus was different from presumptuous and prideful individuals who assume that what they say is true. There was a reason that the teaching structure of Israel leaned heavily on Scripture and Tradition, and that those facets gave it solidity and trustworthiness. There must have been something so compelling about the very person of Jesus and of the content of his words, a credibility arising from the fact that whatever the voice of truth said would of necessity by true, that inspired the people to be drawn to rather than repulsed by his way of teaching.

Jesus rebuked him and said,

"Quiet! Come out of him!"

The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

It was not only in his teaching that Jesus demonstrated his authority. It was also consistent with the works he performed. He spoke. Things happened. We understand that Jesus was not the only one in that time who attempted exorcisms. But Jesus did not need a long litany of prayers. Nor even, if we look at this text, a prayer at all. He commanded and the demons fled at the sound of his voice.

The rebuke of Jesus was the same rebuke that drove back the waters of chaos at the beginning of creation (see Psalm 104:7). It was the same rebuke by which the Red Sea was dried up, allowing the people to pass through, and saving them from their Egyptian pursuers (see Psalm 106:9). With this same authority Jesus would later rebuke a storm on the Sea of Galilee (see Mark 4:39). Why all this rebuking, and not a more neutral language? It's because the demon who feared that Jesus had come to destroy him was right on the money.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (see First John 3:8).

What does all of this mean for us? Is this just meant to get us excited and inspire us to cheer from the sidelines? Excitement and cheering is certainly valid, but there is more. The psalmist captures what this entails when he says that "[i]f today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts". For the voice of Jesus is not relegated to the past in the way that the voice of Moses was. The Holy Spirit continues to bring his words to us, in a vibrantly living and dynamic fashion. The authority of these words means that we do well to listen. And when we bring our lives under the auspices of this authority we too partake of it in a smaller way. We too begin to learn rebuke the chaos in our lives and in the world in order that order, light, and beauty, may supplant them. This is only possible with "adherence to the Lord without distraction" which is no easier than it sounds. It is the practice of a lifetime. But it begins in the moment, every moment, when the Lord speaks, and we offer him hearts of flesh, ready to listen.

Randy Rothwell - For This Purpose

27 January 2024 - asleep in the boat

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Let us cross to the other side."

Sometimes following Jesus not only does not avoid the storms of life but leads to them. He asks us to cross to the other side of the sea of life, which, much like Galilee, is prone to sudden and unpredictable storms. He calls us out from the apparent safety of the shore because only by traversing the waters will we reach our destination. 

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,

so that it was already filling up.

We tend to blame the one who gave us the directions to get in the boat in the first place, as though he gave them specifically to antagonize or even to destroy us. When we go to him in our boat and he seems asleep we become even more upset, more convinced of his indifference. 

Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.

They woke him and said to him,

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

But if Jesus were really out to get us by sending us headlong into a storm would he really be with us in our boat? He was present with the disciples, sharing their fate, but not their fear. His sleep, which they mistook for indifference, had its source in the deep peace he had within his soul. How else could one rest amidst such chaos? The very thing that made his disciples doubt him ought to have given them comfort. They could have said, 'If he is sleeping, there is nothing to worry about'. But instead they conveyed the lack of trust that has afflicted the human race since Adam "let his trust in his Creator die in his heart" (see CCC 397), and said what we so often echo, "do you not care"? The Lord seemed inactivate, even insensible to the difficulties of steering a ship, or even staying afloat in a fearsome storm. Instead of asking him for help, they accused him. They blamed him for leading them to that point but failed to trust that he could deliver them from it. If it seemed to them necessary to wake Jesus they might simply have done so with a confident faith and asked him, 'Save us, for we are perishing'. After all, what Jesus criticized was not that they cut short his nap, but rather their fear and their lack of faith.

Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified?

Do you not yet have faith?"

It is often fear and lack of faith that motivates our response to the storms of life. This sense of desperation deprives us of our rational agency and especially of our connection to the peace of Christ leading us to take actions which are not only unhelpful but potentially dangerous. Yet Jesus uses even such circumstances as these to reveal himself to us. 

They were filled with great awe and said to one another,

"Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"

After seeing Jesus reveal his divine authority over the storm we ought to trust him more the next time he decides to sleep in our boat. If we must wake him, let us do so calmly, and with faith. And if he perhaps decides to sleep a little longer than we would prefer, and if we must endure more of the storm, let us learn from the attitude of Therese of Lisieux:

Jesus was sleeping as usual in my little boat; ah! I see very well how rarely souls allow Him to sleep peacefully within them. Jesus is so fatigued with always having to take the initiative and to attend to others that He hastens to take advantage of the repose I offer to Him. He will undoubtedly awaken before my great eternal retreat, but instead of being troubled about it, this only gives me extreme pleasure.

- Story of a Soul, Chapter 8 - Therese of Lisieux

Casting Crowns - Praise You In This Storm

 

26 January 2024 - starting small

Today's Readings

(Audio)

This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;

it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land

and would sleep and rise night and day

and the seed would sprout and grow,

he knows not how.

This is the imperishable seed, the living and abiding word of God about which Peter wrote (see First Peter 1:23). The farmer might, hopefully, prudently water and fertilize the ground, but ultimate the seed grows "[o]f its own accord", by a power contained within itself. This means that we ultimately play a secondary role in bringing about the harvest of the Kingdom in others and even in ourselves. Paul understood this, writing, "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (see First Corinthians 3:7).

The fact that this seed has the power to grow and bear fruit can give us confidence even with nothing is happening visibly on the surface of our lives. We may "sleep and rise night and day" going about our lives, doing our best to encourage the seed, and for long periods of time see no results, or even any indication that things are different from soil without any seed at all. By simply remembering that the supernatural seed is present we can remain hopeful during seasons of our lives when evidence of progress seems elusive. Yes, we will want to keep watering, and keep fertilizing, but not because we think that these efforts will magically make a plant spring up from the soil. Rather, we will be sure that the seed is present and making good use of whatever we do to cooperate in preparing for it to grow.

It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,

is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.

The Kingdom begins in our lives at such a small scale that it seems that it couldn't make a difference in us, let alone the world around us. But from small beginnings this seed is capable of disproportionately large results. It has humble beginnings, like a child in a manager in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but eventual worldwide ramifications. Its smallness and hiddenness at the beginning leads us to doubt its potential. To trust a seed this small we need humility and faith. Because, just as the Kingdom in Jesus' own live seemed too little in the face of his opposition, but ultimately conquered the world, so too can the Kingdom conquer in our lives and in our own world today. But never right at the beginning or all at once. Its beginnings are small and the process of growth all but invisible. But eventually the results are so great that the world can't help but take notice.

But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants

and puts forth large branches,

so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.

As a Church we are meant to become this massive plant that is capable of sheltering all of the world within its branches and beneath its shade. But we must allow the planted seed to have its time and to grow according to its own schedule. Sometimes this is even a generational thing, as with Timothy.

as I recall your sincere faith

that first lived in your grandmother Lois

and in your mother Eunice

and that I am confident lives also in you.

But that the seed might take so long to reveal its full potential did not cause Paul to remain idle or make him suggest that Timothy simply sit on his hands until something happened. Rather, Paul encouraged Timothy to put the gift he already had to good use. And this is an important reminder and invitation for us as well.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame

the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice

but rather of power and love and self-control.

Newsboys - Secret Kingdom

25 January 2024 - seeing the light

Today's Readings

(Audio)

At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law

and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

I persecuted this Way to death,

binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.

Today we celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul. In his writings he constantly emphasized the primacy of grace over human effort or the law. We can see why this was so important to him and how he began to learn it from what we read about his own conversion. Before this conversion experience he had credentials, having been training "[a]t the feet of Gamaliel". He had zeal for God. But these facts not only did not lead him to support the early Christian movement but instead made him its most fierce opponent.

On that journey as I drew near to Damascus,

about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.

We see again and again in Scriptures the surprising ways in which grace can break through unexpectedly into a human life. Another prominent example was the calling of Matthew by Jesus. In both cases the conversion was not really a result of individual preparation or the logical culmination of what they were actively seeking. Instead, grace broke in, unannounced and unexpected. This should give us a great deal of hope for those who currently seem distant from the Lord. It may well be that he is waiting for just the right moment to knock them down and shine his glorious light on them.

I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me,

'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'

I replied, 'Who are you, sir?'

And he said to me,

'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.'

Saul thought he was persecuting a misguided Jewish sect. But it turned out he was persecuting Jesus himself, and that in persecuting any member of the body he was persecuting the body as a whole. No wonder, then, that the importance of the unity in diversity of the body of Christ became a favorite theme of his. During his conversion he began to learn that Jesus was not merely a figure of historical interest, but one still alive and active in the world, and in particular, through the members of his body. Jesus was more than a deceased prophet whom one might honor. He was the living Lord who could command.

The Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus,

and there you will be told about everything

appointed for you to do.'

An interesting aspect of the conversion of Saint Paul is how nothing from his previous life was apparently wasted. Even things which he would come to view is egregiously offensive sins, even that he persecuted the Church of God, only served to make him a a more convincing and persuasive witness. That he had faults but was overwhelmed by grace made him the perfect individual to testify about that grace to the world.

But Ananias replied,

"Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,

what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests

to imprison all who call upon your name."

Like Ananias we are often quick to tell the Lord why his plans are unworkable or dangerous. We'd happily substitute any safer alternatives we can construct. But sometimes the Lord wants us to take a risk to be a part of his plan for other people. It wasn't that Ananias needed to be convincing or persuasive. All that was needed from him was presence and compassion. But without him helping to open the eyes of Paul and guiding him to receive the Holy Spirit who knows how his conversion might have ended. Let us trust the Lord when he shows us how to cooperate with his plans. And let us never doubt that his grace might reach even the most hardened of sinners.

We are all meant, each in our own way, to a part of the same mission for which Paul was was a chosen instrument of the Lord. Paul himself would remind us that "In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ" (see Ephesians 1:11-14).

DC Talk - In The Light

24 January 2024 - sow important

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Hear this! A sower went out to sow.

The seed sown by the sower is precious. Peter wrote, "you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (see First Peter 1:22-24). John also liked the analogy of seed, writing, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God" (see First John 3:9). They seem to agree with the parable of Jesus in that potential pitfalls of growth are not inherent in the seed itself but arise from the conditions of soil and growth that surround it. The seed itself is basically invincible. But if we want it to grow and bear fruit we will need to provide the appropriate environment.

These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.

As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once

and takes away the word sown in them.

A superficial encounter with the word of God is not sufficient to plant it deeply within our hearts where it can transform us. If we receive the word carelessly, with little attention, content to hear only brief snippets or soundbites, it will not be hard for Satan to steal it away from us. This he does by a variety of means including sowing doubt in its veracity, or in leading us to questioning its goodness or its fairness, or simply by making us to forget.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,

when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.

But they have no roots; they last only for a time.

Even if the word penetrates a little deeper than the path it might still encounter soil that is not conducive to growth. It might still encounter the hardness present in our hearts and find in them an obstacle to spreading its roots more deeply within us. Tribulation and persecution can become means whereby the rocks in our soil are destroyed and roots can grow. But it depends on how we respond at such times. We can cling to the word or we can prefer the comfort of leaving the soil of our hearts as is. The roots of the word can crumble to dust even the hardest of rocky soil, but only if we desire it, and don't give up when it no longer feels easy.

Those sown among thorns are another sort.

They are the people who hear the word,

but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,

and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,

and it bears no fruit.

The word wants to grow using the vital energy of the soil of our lives. But that soil is readily exhausted when spent in other ways, whether on anxiety, the lure of riches, or cravings. These things are dangerous not just because they choke the word but because the resulting symptom isn't lack of life or even necessarily lack of growth but rather lack of fruit. For those of us who have been Christians for a while this seems to be the greatest risk we face. The seed hasn't been stolen. We haven't turned aside because of persecution of trial. But how is our fruit? Is it possible that we are leaking at least some of our vital energy to causes less deserving than the word of God?

But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it

and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.

Jesus does not rely on possible negative outcomes for the seed in order to persuade his hearers. He reminds us of the great good that accrues when the seed grows as it is meant to grow. He promises not just some fruit, but an abundance. Whatever else we might think to do with our soil, there is nothing so good and fulfilling as to bear this fruit that we are meant to bear. This is part of what Jesus meant when he promised, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (see John 10:10).

The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.

And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,

I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,

and I will make his Kingdom firm.

The seed will do what it is meant to do if we receive it in the correct way and give it the space it needs. It isn't so much about our efforts as it is about getting ourselves out of the way so that the seed may grow. It isn't we who architect and design the growing plant. God himself is the gardener, the source of grace and growth. David thought his task was to do something for God, to build a house for him. But in the end it turned out that God was the one who would build the house for the heir of David. So too with us. Even our good plans, if stubbornly held, can get in the way of the grace of growth. Let us hear the Lord and give the seed the space and soil it needs.

John B. Miller - Speak Lord I'm Listening (by Gary Ault)

23 January 2024 - dancing with abandon

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Who are my mother and my brothers?"

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,

"Here are my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of God

is my brother and sister and mother."

Jesus would ask his followers to love him more than their own blood relations. But we can see that he, in some way, reciprocated this love, prioritizing his relationship with his disciples and the building of the Kingdom above the natural obligations stemming from natural kinship. To us this probably has the feeling of a slight to the mother of Jesus. And it is probably a real part of the sword that Simeon said would pierce her heart. She was not just a porcelain figure but had the real and genuine emotions of a woman and a mother, one who would have delighted to share a normal life with her son. But we know that Mary was like Jesus in that she was entirely committed to God's plan. And to that end she wanted what her son wanted more than what her natural desires might have preferred. We can be confident that once she knew that it was what Jesus wanted she would have given her wholehearted assent. And knowing that she was on board would certainly have made it easier for Jesus to issue this invitation to others. Mary's humility thus opened the way for us to share her own close connection to her son. Not that she was left out or excluded on account of that. For she was the only person aside from Jesus to ever perfectly carry out the will of God in her life. She was the only one who was fully and completely a spiritual mother to Jesus, in addition to her role in giving him birth. 

"Here are my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of God

is my brother and sister and mother."

Jesus was forming a new kind of family around himself, one united by faithful obedience to his Father. He did not, we note, offer that anyone could be his Father, for there was no other who could claim that title but his Father in heaven. Yet the level of intimacy Jesus offered was no small thing. It was more, not less, than natural human relationships. And Mary wanted us to share in it as well. 

Mary delights that Jesus offered that we might, however imperfectly, share her role. She will show us how it is done, by the example of her own humility which always and in everything magnifies the Lord. Therefore she becomes our own mother as well, as we learn from her how to bring Jesus to birth in our lives and in our world.

Then David, girt with a linen apron,

came dancing before the LORD with abandon,

as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD

with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.

If David could dance with abandon before an ark that was only a symbol of Mary, the true ark of the new covenant, then how much joy ought we to have in her presence? We too become arks, in a lesser way, when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist. And so this is we can and should look to Mary to learn. Then we too can be a cause of joy for others, and an invitation to join the family of Jesus.

Damascus Worship featuring Seph Schlueter - Hail O Queen

22 January 2024 - wrong division

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,

"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and

"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

The scribes were looking to undermine the increasing popularity of Jesus. The trouble was that everything that he was doing seemed good and praiseworthy. In place of evil to malign or sin to criticize they instead chose to impugn his motives. We see such ad hominem attacks constantly in the the public square but to level such an attack at Jesus was something else again. Ostensibly the scribes saw themselves as working for good, but they were at best divided, ultimately, if unconsciously, serving the devil by opposing Jesus.

"How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself,

that house will not be able to stand.

Jesus was the only one who was in no way divided against himself. Together with the Father and the Spirit he was always and only doing one thing. He was fully committed to goodness and love and held nothing back apart from that for selfish gains or prideful indulgence. Because of that the devil could find no foothold in him. On the other hand, the devil had no way to be some unified toward the end of evil as Jesus was toward the end of good. The devil was forced to pray on and corrupt legitimate goods to accomplish his plans. This meant that the posture which Jesus embraced was more real, more rooted in the reality of things, and therefore ultimately stronger.

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,

he cannot stand;

that is the end of him.

Satan would never act against his own self-interest and willingly bring about good works as the scribes suggested. They fell under the criticism of Isaiah, who said "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter" (see Isaiah 5:20). Jesus reinforced this idea when he said that, "A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit" (See Matthew 7:18). Although Satan was forced to pray on the good he could not actually produce it. Although even his appearance might be misleading, he would still be known by his rotten fruit. 

But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property

unless he first ties up the strong man.

Then he can plunder his house.  

Jesus, because of his singlehearted obedience to the Father and adherence to the good, had a strength that was greater than anything in the world could match. He didn't fight on the same terms of worldly strength, but rather revealed that love was a power that all of the strength in the world could not match. By the power of love, perfectly expressed by dying on the cross for us, he bound the devil once and for all and rescued mankind who had until then been his captives.

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit

will never have forgiveness,

but is guilty of an everlasting sin.

If we persist in maligning the good and remaining divided within ourselves we risk committing the everlasting sin of which Jesus spoke. It was everlasting, not because mercy was ever impossible, but because the condition of mind required to commit it became increasingly hard to turn from, making repentance less and less likely. So let us instead be like Jesus, and be straightforward about calling evil as evil and good as good. Let us strive more and more about the one thing Jesus was about: love, expressed toward both God and neighbor.

Jars Of Clay - Two Hands

Hillsong - The Power Of Your Love

21 January 2024 - gone fishing

Today's Readings

(Audio)

This is the time of fulfillment.

Beforehand was the time when the promises of the covenant were given. The Lord had promised to Abraham that he would multiply his seed so that, through him, all nations would be blessed. He promised that a royal heir would sit on the throne of David forever. Earlier still he had promised to put enmity between mankind of the serpent, and that the serpent's head would finally be crushed. Now was the time when the fulfillment of these promises would begin. Jesus was explicit about some of what was being fulfilled in his brief sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

...

And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (see Luke 4:18-19,21).

Many of the promises of God pertained to the promised land of Israel. And although a few tribes remained on the land itself, the majority had been scattered. Those that remained did not enjoy self-rule but were under the thumb of one foreign empire after another until the Roman occupation in the time of Jesus. The fulfillment of which Jesus spoke would also reveal the true meaning of the promised land. It would begin in the hearts of believers who had experienced the power of the resurrection of Jesus in their own lives and are therefore Paul could write that whoever is in Christ "is a new creation" (see Second Corinthians 5:17). The terrain of the new promised land was therefore to be found in the hearts of the faithful. But the world itself would one day share in this promised transformation. We read that even now it is experiencing "labor pains", longing for that day (see Romans 8:22).

Jesus said to them,

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

But the promised land would still be lacking if those who had been exiled remained scattered throughout the world. Therefore Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (see Luke 19:10). He would bring about the unification of all peoples in himself. Their memories of being delivered from Egypt would be replaced by a new and more perfect exodus in which the people would say: "‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers" (see Jeremiah 16:15). To accomplish this, the Lord had promised, "Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them" (see Jeremiah 16:16), a promised now fulfilled in the calling of Peter and the others to become fishers of men. As Jesus would later teach, "the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind" (see Matthew 13:47).

In order to respond to the inbreaking of the Kingdom into history, into time and space, Jesus called those who heard him to repent and to believe. Basically, this meant that in order to receive the fulfillment of the promises it would first be necessary to believe in that fulfillment, to have a mind made new, restored and reoriented by the person of Jesus himself, and to live in accord with that reality. A small glimpse of what it would mean to live in accord with that reality is given to us by Paul who demonstrates that one consequence of it is that we don't entirely lose ourselves in anything, however good it might be, in this world, but that we remember that we are citizens of heaven (see Philippians 3:20)

those using the world as not using it fully.

For the world in its present form is passing away.

We too are meant to be a part of the fulfillment of the Kingdom, and to find our own fulfillment therein. Whether or not we are professional evangelists we are all called to become lures that draw others into the Kingdom by our words and by how we live our lives. We can do this only when we aren't so lost in the good but temporary things of the world that we forget about what matters most. To that end we must repent, and begin to live lives directed by minds renewed in Christ, and to live as footholds of the inbreaking Kingdom in our world.

Newsboys - Fishers Of Men

Passion featuring Kristian Stanfill - Heart Abandoned

20 January 2024 - too crowded?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Again the crowd gathered,

making it impossible for them even to eat.

It was as though something like a circus, a party, or a mob, had sprung up around Jesus. Those who saw only the chaos had a hard time understanding what it was all about. It was easier to see how such a crowd was disruptive and dangerous. The reason for it could not be understood apart from Jesus himself. And so, from that remove, people were inclined to say, "He is out of his mind" or to go further still and say, "He is possessed by Beelzebul".

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,

for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

The people were suggesting that Jesus was out of his mind so relatives of Jesus, who felt that he was their responsibility, stepped in to try to take matters into their own hands. Jesus, it seemed to them, was not managing his popularity well. Of course it wasn't as though Jesus was actively courting popularity on this scale. He was in fact discouraging those whom he cured to even speak about it. But it was nevertheless not possible that the breaking in of the Kingdom of God and the beginning of the restoration of a fallen world would not be met with some fanfare and enthusiasm. It wasn't the goal. But it was a side effect that Jesus knew he would need to accept as he went about his mission. Being misunderstood and even opposed was just one logical eventuality of this fact.

We remember the places where Jesus tells that we must be willing to put our relationship with him even above that of our own family (see Matthew 10:37) We find reassurance in the fact that Jesus practices what he preaches. There is a lot the happens in the wake of the Kingdom of God that can lead to an obscuring of the person of Jesus and the misunderstanding of his message. Crowds are an inevitable but often problematic phenomenon. Nevertheless, we need to remain near Jesus no matter what others think about it. It is often the case that the followers of Jesus will share in his lot, share in the misunderstandings that he faced, and even the willful misrepresentation and insults that were often hurled at him. A temptation we will face is like that to which his relatives succumbed. We may attempt to try to take over the PR campaign to make it more presentable in the eyes of the world, to take off the hard edges, and hide the unpresentable parts. But there is no way to conform the Kingdom to the world without losing what makes it essentially unique, important, and powerful.

The world would prefer a Kingdom where it never needed to interact with those on the peripheries, the sick and the possessed, or with sinners and tax collectors. But the Kingdom seeks out such people in order that they might be transformed and healed. There is no way to tame the atmosphere of such a Kingdom when that is what is meant to happen inside. It is inevitable that some chaos and a lot of celebration will surround it. So we should make our peace with that and trust that Jesus knows what he is about. If we are maligned for it along with him that is a cause for rejoicing, not reevaluation.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven (see Matthew 5:11)

DC Talk - Jesus Freak

19 January 2024 - living letters

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted

and they came to him.

Just as Moses went up a mountain to receive the law from God Jesus went up a mountain to set apart those whom he would use to convey the new law written, not on stone tablets, but on the heart. The disciples were thus intended to become living witnesses to the new law of grace. This reminds us of something Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (see Second Corinthians 3:2-3).

Jesus appointed Twelve, just as Solomon governors over all of Israel (see First Kings 4:7) signifying that they were in some way to become rulers in the Kingdom which Jesus would establish. Jesus himself told them, "you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (see Matthew 19:28). This was something more than the general call to follow Jesus that was open to all. They were Apostles, his authorized representatives, about whom he could say, "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (see Luke 10:16). There are a variety of reasons why we know that this structure was not intended only for the early church but would also persist in the successors of the Apostles, our bishops. Perhaps the most significant indication of this was the way that the disciples knew they must appoint someone to take the office of Judas, who had by then killed himself.

For it is written in the Book of Psalms:

‘Let his encampment become desolate,

and may no one dwell in it.’

And:

‘May another take his office (see Acts 1:20).

There was more to becoming an Apostle than simply being chosen. In order to be effective they would need to prioritize relationship with Jesus himself. He appointed them "that they might be with him" first and foremost, and only then be sent forth. It was from Jesus himself that they would learn to preach. From him they would receive a measure of his own authority over demons which they would understand how to use because they had witnessed him do so first. They were to go and do what they had first seen their master do. At the end of Mark we read that this is precisely what they continued to do after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs (see Mark 16:20).

Though we are not Apostles (and most likely no bishops will ever come across this blog) we still share in some measure the call to proclaim the good news. We are not exorcists, but we have still been given a measure of the authority of Jesus, the power to live the new life of the Spirit rather than succumbing to the sinful inclinations of the old self. But to fulfill this call and put this authority to good use we too must begin with the basics, just as the Twelve did. We must "be with him", with Jesus himself. 

By spending time with Jesus he will gradually and increasingly give us a heart like that of David, who bore hardships in humility rather than lashing out and trying to solve them through misguided human effort or violence. It may for a time be difficult to leave Saul alive and to live under his volatile reign. But if we persist in fidelity to the Lord he himself will bring about our eventual victory.

May the LORD reward you generously for what you have done this day.

And now, I know that you shall surely be king

and that sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession.

Newsboys - The Mission

18 January 2024 - just a touch

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.

It was as though Jesus was purposefully elusive of crowds that had only a superficial understanding of his identity. The scribes and Pharisees saw him only through a critical lens and most others saw him only as a dispenser of miracles. Jesus no doubt wanted to strengthen his disciples against both misrepresentations of who he was, and to show them how to avoid the intoxication of popularity by his example. It also demonstrated that Jesus, in addition to divine power, had the need for rest, peace, and silence. But it was a need he was not often permitted to satisfy.

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

Hearing what he was doing,

a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,

from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,

and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.

The whole world seemed to have followed Jesus and his disciples, thwarting his attempts at solitude. But although this wasn't Plan A, there was something better about a crowd that actively sought out Jesus than one composed of mere spectators. They still didn't really understand or care to understand the person of Jesus. But it does seem that their faith in the power of Jesus only increased from earlier in the Gospel.

He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases

were pressing upon him to touch him.

These were people like the lady with the issue of blood that lasted for twelve years who sensed that even to touch Jesus would be enough to allow her to receive his healing power. When she did so, Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me" (see Luke 8:43-48). The idea that the very touch of Jesus had healing power was an idea that people only entertained because they had seen him in action. The fact that he withdrew only increased their longing for his touch. So too for us. Sometimes Jesus seems to withdraw, but it is only in order to increase our desire for that which he alone can give us.

He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd

The boat prepared by the disciples can be seen as a metaphor for the Church. The point was not to prevent the people from coming to Jesus and touching him. The point was to make him available to as many as possible without him being crushed. Similarly, the modern descendants of the disciples prevent all of the pitfalls that would arise in a situation with no mediation between Jesus and the crowds. The Church, like the boat, helps the message of Jesus to remain identifiable even alongside imposters that, like the unclean spirits, cry out "You are the Son of God", but only in order to sow confusion.

Saul has slain his thousands,

and David his ten thousands.

Envy was a primary factor in the downfall of, not only Saul, but Satan himself (see Wisdom 2:24). The Pharisees and scribes suffered from this sin, as did the demons that were hostile to Jesus at every turn. But does the sin of envy affect us? Is there some good that we would take from another, even if it caused them harm? Are there blessings which others have received that we can't bring ourselves to celebrate? Perhaps we are envious of those who seem to have received more or greater blessings than ourselves. We don't like to think of ourselves as envious. There really isn't an upside or a positive spin that we can easily apply. And yet, in some measure, we all tend to succumb because pride insists that we somehow deserve at least as much as anyone else. The right way to respond to temptations of envy is by thanksgiving and praise. This is what Jonathan tried to lead Saul to realize.

Let not your majesty sin against his servant David,

for he has committed no offense against you,

but has helped you very much by his deeds.

When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine,

and the LORD brought about a great victory

for all Israel through him,

you were glad to see it.

May the Lord help us to recognize all of the ways in which we have not been thankful for his gifts, and which we have begrudged his giving of those gifts to others. Just as it was for the crowds that pressed upon him so to for us is his healing touch enough to bring healing to our hearts.

Sonicflood - In The Secret

17 January 2024 - to save life rather than destroy it

Today's Readings

(Audio)

There was a man there who had a withered hand.

They watched Jesus closely

to see if he would cure him on the sabbath

so that they might accuse him.

They were already on the watch for an excuse to condemn Jesus. Although it was the sabbath they were beginning a plot to destroy life, that of Jesus specifically, rather than save it. When Jesus did what they suspected he would do and cured the man they only went further down the path which they had intended from the beginning, as "[t]he Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death".

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

He stretched it out and his hand was restored.

Jesus, by contrast, was always about the business of doing good and saving life. Even his enemies recognized this about him, realizing that he wouldn't be able to resist the sight of the man with the withered hand. No doubt he saw something of all humanity in this man. Adam had stretched out a wicked hand to seize that which was not rightfully his and ever since the power of humanity to achieve the end for which it was intended was withered. In some way it was a fitting punishment for the abuse of the divine gift. But that did not mean it did not grieve God's heart to leave us in such a state. Even if it was a necessary corrective for a time he always had plans to fully restore us. Jesus could not help but have sympathy for the way crippled individual.

"Come up here before us."

Then he said to the Pharisees,

"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,

to save life rather than to destroy it?"

In performing the healing in the sight of everyone Jesus was again about the business of salvation, not only for the crippled man, but for the Pharisees and the Herodians as well. Somewhere in their hearts they realized that the man with a withered hand was worthy of compassion, because they sensed they could use precisely that to trap Jesus. But they themselves hardened their hearts in order to avoid that response in themselves, preferring instead to use the man as a means to their desired end. Jesus was calling them out, asking them to recognize how they were working evil on the sabbath, hoping that they might recognize their own hardness of heart and repent. He need not have been so public in performing the healing in the sight of all and speaking about it to them. He knew that to do so risked provoking them further, as in fact it did. But he was genuinely angry at the injustice on display, and put that anger to the good use of motivating his work of saving the man, and of courageously hoping to even convict those who opposed him and convert them.

David answered him:

"You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar,

but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts,

the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted.

It often takes courage to fulfill the will of God in our lives. But like David we are meant to find this courage in the Lord rather than in ourselves. Then we will not shrink from the battlefield of our lives. Because our lives are indeed a battle. Paul reminds us that, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (see Ephesians 6:12).

Our spiritual warfare does not require any less courage for being spiritual. We are tempted to deprioritize it, to opt out, and attend to other seemingly more pressing obligations. But if we learn from the courageous example of David we will learn that no matter how great our opponents appear, the Lord is greater. Jesus himself will reveal the motivations of heart that are precious to him, and inspire us to manifest the courage necessary to pursue them, even using righteous anger when necessary, just as he did.

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,

who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.

Maranatha! Music - The Battle Belongs To The Lord

Paul Kyle - Born Into A Battle

16 January 2024 - all loss, no grain?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,

his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.

The disciples were on the road and in need of food because they were in service of the mission of the Kingdom. The sabbath rest was not opposed to this mission, but could rather only be fulfilled by its completion. Only Jesus could restore the right relationship of humanity with God that could allow them to enter the true promise of the sabbath. Only he could bring the peace promised by the choirs of angels at his birth which was the true meaning of sabbath rest.

At this the Pharisees said to him,

“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”

The Pharisees were constrained to a superficial, hypercritical, and overly literal interpretation of the texts of Scripture. They had, apparently, no regard for context or intent. Their primary concern was to consider a particular passage in terms of all the ways it might be transgressed and then to be on the watch for every minor infraction. They seemed to view the sabbath in terms of a series of negatives without consider what those prohibitions were meant to protect. We can be like this too. It becomes especially egregious when we only turn the lens of criticism on others without looking inward.

He said to them,

“Have you never read what David did

when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?

David too was on mission. He was meant to reign as king but was being pursued by Saul, just as Jesus was meant to reign as king, but was pursued by the Pharisees. David's mission was so important that it justified him being given the bread of offering which was normally reserved to priests. The Catholic Commentary of Sacred Scripture for Mark says it succinctly, "[t]hose who share in his divinely appointed mission are doing God’s work and therefore are granted a priestly dispensation from the sabbath regulations, just as David’s men had been granted a priestly privilege regarding the holy bread"¹. We can see from this statement that in virtue of his divine mission David had a priestly role, foreshadowing Jesus himself who would be perfectly priest, prophet, and king. 

Then he said to them,

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.

That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.

Jesus had a priestly privilege like David, but he was in fact someone greater even than David. David was permitted certain privileges for the sake of his kingdom. But Jesus was the one who perfectly understood the original intention behind the establishment of the sabbath, since he himself, with the Father, and the Spirit, established it. It was always meant to be ordered to relationship with himself. The sabbath was meant to be his gift of relationship and peace to man. Hence he and he alone could perfectly speak to what was permissible or not on the sabbath. And the sating of the hunger of disciples collaborating with him in his mission was, from that vantage point, perfectly fitting.

The Spirit rushed on David from the day he was anointed king. But there was never a time when Jesus was not filled with the Spirit. At his baptism this Spirit anointing was revealed to the world, but not begun. Therefore, since he was intended to be king from before the dawn of creation, let us give him our hearts, so that, in them too, his benevolent reign may triumph.

1. Healy, Mary. Gospel of Mark, The (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture) (p. 65). Baker Book Group - A. Kindle Edition. 

MercyMe - Greater