31 August 2024 - faithful in small matters

Today's Readings

(Audio)

A man going on a journey

called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.

In the man's absence he wanted to ensure that his possessions were still serving some purpose, bringing about about growth. Since he would not be around to act directly to this end he bestowed on his servants the dignity of acting as his representative. The talents they received were not ordinary wealth, but symbolic representations of the power of the master himself. He called each servant to participate in some measure in his own creative work.

To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–

to each according to his ability.

It might be easy to assume that he gave the one with more ability more to work with. And perhaps so. But he never said as much. It could also be that he gave the most to the one who needed the most leeway and room to work and gave the least to the one who ultimately could have made the most return with it.

Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,

and made another five.

Likewise, the one who received two made another two.

Those who received five and two talents didn't delve into introspection or comparison, so far as we know. They just set to work. Neither seemed to do especially better than the other. It was rather that each coin actually used was able to generate an additional coin, as though the master's power were present and effective when his talents were utilized.

We can see from the master's response to the two who made money that he didn't think that he himself was making profound distinctions between any of his servants. What he give them he considered to be "small matters". The gifts were thus more about demonstrating faith in small things so that they could in turn signal their readiness to attend to those that were more significant.

Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,

'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,

harvesting where you did not plant

and gathering where you did not scatter;

so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.

The servant who received one talent did not fail because he lacked sufficient resources. Rather, it was his perception of the hostility of the master that led to fear and inactivity.  Thinking the master was out to get him probably led him to regard his only receiving one talent as a preliminary judgment against him when there was no other evidence to indicate this was so. He thought, probably, that the master had low expectations of him and was looking to confirm that validity of these expectations by only offering one talent with which he might fail. In such a case the servant thought that by doing nothing he could at least rise above such and expectation. But the master was not operating in the expectation that the servant would fail. He knew that his money was capable of generating return if it was in any way put to use, even if it were simply put in the bank to accrue interest.

Fear makes us foolish, and false perceptions of our Lord and master prevent us from cooperating with him in the building of his Kingdom in the ways that he desires. We tend to look for excuses to be lazy and inactive, justifications for acting similarly to the wicked servant with our own talents. But we should instead be motivated by the great dignity that the Lord has bestowed on us by allowing us to share in his own work. He shares this work with us not as a way to accuse and ultimately punish us, but as a way to prepare us to share what he truly desires to share: his joy.

I will give you great responsibilities.

Come, share your master's joy.

The master's joy was synonymous with great responsibilities. And it was for this reason that only those faithful in small matters were equipped to share it. But this fidelity never required more of the individual than he was given by the master. The master really could harvest where he did not plant and gather where he did not scatter. This was not to be a cause for fear, but a reason to trust in his abundance in our lives.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

... 

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God (see Second Corinthians 9:8,10-11).

Leeland - Way Maker

30 August 2024 - five were foolish, five were wise

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins

who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

The foolish ones took lamps, but they did not have the foresight to bring oil with them. They would have been able to burn brightly for a brief moment. But they didn't consider what might happen if the bridegroom was long delayed. This might have seemed like trust in the bridegroom, as though he would ensure that everything would happen quickly and smoothly and easily. But it was actually a sort of presumption. The bridegroom might well have his own schedule and timing during which he attended to other important matters. It wasn't on him to consummate the celebration at anyone else's convenience. He would do so when the the resulting joy between the bride and the bridegroom would be the highest, and no sooner. Yet, even with celebrations, waiting can be tedious, and lead guests to grumble against their hosts. We can easily imagine why the foolish virgins acted as they did. But we should learn from them not to do so ourselves. We must not be seeds that sprout quickly and then whither for lack of root. We must not be torches that burn brightly for a moment before sputtering out into darkness.

Since the bridegroom was long delayed,

they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

The bridegroom seldom operates according to our schedule. He may take long enough that everyone falls asleep, both the wise and the foolish. This may mean that no one is well situated to make any last minute adjustments. All may instead need to rely on what they prepared in advance. 

What of us? Have we made up our own minds in advance to trust the bridegroom even when we experience what seem to us to be delays? Or does our enthusiasm and zeal end the moment when the bridegroom's plans deviate from our own? He is assuredly worthy the wait, worthy of resolving in advance to be prepared, no matter the hour of his coming.

At midnight, there was a cry,

'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

Once we hear that cry it will probably be too late to make any new preparations. We will have what we thought best to store in advance, what our desire to welcome the bridegroom motivated us to make ready. We will be able to shine brightly and illuminate his welcome or not on that basis. To be sure there is such a thing as a deathbed conversion. But the point is that a majority of individuals die on the basis of how they chose to live. And most will be ready to meet Jesus or not on that basis. It is not something that others can ultimately do for us if we ourselves vacate the responsibility. They are not cruel to withhold the fuel. They are instead so fixed in their desire to illuminate the face of the bridegroom that they can't do otherwise. The possibility that sharing would so diminish the light as to find no one ready is at that point an insurmountable concern. They can't simply transfer or multiple their own holiness to those who thought such precautions trivial until they became urgently necessary.

Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.

While the night lasts, and before sleep comes, let us make ourselves ready to meet the bridegroom. We need to seek the grace that the bridegroom longs for us to receive while there is yet time to seek it. We need to allow the desire to see his face to motivate us for the duration, and not just for a moment. Because seeing his face will be a joy far surpassing any of the difficulties of waiting or making preparations we experience.

Matt Maher - Alive Again

29 August 2024 - the voice of truth

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,

and kept him in custody.

There are no small number of Christians who relate to Jesus in the way Herod related to John. They know that he is righteous and holy, that he speaks the truth with the living voice of love. And yet they keep him in custody. They let him entertain them with his speech, because, like with Herod and John, when they hear him speak they are much perplexed yet they like to listen to him. They like to listen but they don't want to give him enough freedom to move in their lives in ways  that might be disruptive. They don't want him challenging relationships or habits of behavior that may need to change. They may well proceed for some time and seem relatively respectable, as though they were still the proper sovereign over their own lives as Herod seemed to retain his rule. 

Herodias' own daughter came in

and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.

The king said to the girl,

"Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."

The enemy has designs on our sovereignty over our lives. He wants to further snuff out the voice of truth to eliminate the risk that we may one day listen and be converted. He patiently prowls on the watch for someone to devour until an opportunity arises. He is on the watch for something that it is within his power to give us if we will only fall down and worship him. For Herod, it was the sensual delight of the dance of the daughter of Herodias that caused him to lose his rational self-control and give away the authority over himself.

He even swore many things to her,

"I will grant you whatever you ask of me,

even to half of my kingdom."

When Herod made promises as a reward for the dance he wasn't anticipating just how far those promises would lead him to fall. They were promises that were easy to make. But once he regretted them it seemed almost impossible to change his mind, as in fact he chose not to do.

The result of sin was that no one was happy. It is improbable that the daughter of Herodias felt great delight in receiving someone's head on a platter when just about any other gift might have been better. Herod was unhappy since he knew killing John was something he should not do. The disciples of John were obviously also deeply saddened and emotionally crushed. Probably even Herodias herself didn't experience the satisfaction or closure to which she hoped that the killing of John the Baptist would lead. Sin may promise pleasure and delight but it only leads to sadness and despair in the end.

Let's let the voice of truth out of prison before we too make any critical mistakes. The more this voice is locked down the easier it will seem to take further steps to silence it if there is ever a benefit for us to do so. Let us instead give Jesus free reign to be as disruptive as he himself desires to be in our lives. If there are relationships that he wants us to change, let us rely on him for help to do so. If there are ways in which he wants us to stop acting or new virtues he wants us to start practicing, let us receive from him the grace to do so. He does not take from us our sovereignty, but helps us to experience it in a new and deeper way. But he can only help us if we let him do so. If we try to lock him down and limit him, he won't force his way into our lives.

What is the extent of the grace Christ Jesus wants to bestow on us? It is no less than the grace for which Paul gave thanks in the lives of the Corinthians:

I give thanks to my God always on your account

for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,

that in him you were enriched in every way,

with all discourse and all knowledge,

as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,

so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift

as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will keep you firm to the end,

irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Newsboys - He Reigns

28 August 2024 - dead men's bones

Today's Readings

(Audio)

You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,

but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.

The scribes and Pharisees did not have the kind of hypocrisy common to well meaning beginners, but rather that of the dangerously corrupt. A beginner is sometimes embarrassed by his lack of progress and fears it might cause scandal to others. But he is actually still attempting to make progress is the area in which the problem subsists. But the scribes and the Pharisees were manufacturing an outward appearance to conceal a problematic interior which they had no desire to rectify. In fact, they had deluded themselves enough that they didn't believe anything needed to be fix. But at the same time they knew it wouldn't be good for their marketing if others were privy to their true intentions. 

Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,

but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

The hypocrisy of the corrupt is dangerous to a degree that the facade beginners sometimes show is not. Which is not to say we should ever accept being two-faced or disingenuous. But it becomes a much greater problem if it conceals something within us that we don't plan to work together with the Lord to change. If we are concealed unrepentant sin by presenting a good appearance to others we make it more likely that those hidden things will spread like an infection to those who our appearance draws to us. The more they buy the truth of our appearance the more likely they will be to lower their defenses and internalize even those things which we don't explicitly say or teach. This must have been one of the reasons that Paul not only taught, but insisted on acting as an example of his own teaching, even when he was free to do otherwise.

For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,

nor did we eat food received free from anyone.

On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,

so as not to burden any of you.

Not that we do not have the right.

Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,

so that you might imitate us.

If the scribes and the Pharisees were prototypical hypocrites then Paul was the archetypal anti-hypocrite. He worked diligently to ensure conformity between what he said and what he did. And he was willing to own up to his own failures and liabilities, going as far as to say, "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (see First Timothy 1:15). We get the sense that he wasn't just saying that to sound pious, much less because of some lack of self-esteem. He seemed genuinely aware that even he, Paul, was still far from what he could and was meant to become. This made him a trustworthy voice when he addressed hypocrisy in others.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy (see Galatians 2:11-13).

It would be easy to ignore such criticism from a Pharisee. But from someone like Paul, with such a high level of introspective awareness, who knew he was still a work in progress and acted accordingly, it was hard to dismiss.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You build the tombs of the prophets

and adorn the memorials of the righteous

The scribes and the Pharisees actually shared in the same motivation that led to the shedding of the blood of the prophets. This was the motivation that would cause them to conspire to seek the death of Jesus himself, whom the prophets had foretold. It was as though the scribes and the Pharisees were subconsciously aware of the violence in their hearts and desired to conceal it with these outward acts of devotion. It almost seemed like a case of, 'The lady doth protest too much, methinks' as if they said, 'Kill prophets? Who us? No, of course not. Look at the lovely tombs we built.' 

But it was not the scribes and the Pharisees alone who were guilty of condemning Jesus. Every person was in some way complicit. Every time we willing decide to sin we continue to share in this complicity. It is for this reason that we too, and not only people of a distant age, must be self-aware enough to notice when our acts of piety and devotion are really designed to deaden the voice of conscience calling us to conversion. External acts of piety can be great and meaningful. But we must keep watch to ensure our inner motivation is pure.

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it? (see Jeremiah 17:9)

Only Jesus can give us the grace to change our hearts and align our inner motivation with our externally visible actions. But he longs to give us this and every other grace if only we ask him for it.

May the Lord of peace himself

give you peace at all times and in every way.

The Lord be with all of you.

Elevation Worship - Graves Into Gardens

Songs In His Presence - Prayer Of Augustine

27 August 2024 - large and small, inside and out

Today's Readings

(Audio)

You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,

and have neglected the weightier things of the law:

judgment and mercy and fidelity.

A desire to get the details correct can be a very different thing in different people. In someone genuinely desiring to follow God and grow in holiness the motivation would probably stem from a desire to please God in all things. But in other people, people like these scribes Pharisees, it might come from the fact that the little things are easier to manage and less demanding than bigger principles like judgment and mercy and fidelity. In fact, the more precision a task requires, the more it would seem to us to be a matter that is properly speaking under our control. It is not something against which the heart is likely to put up much resistance. Our fallen nature is happy to believe itself to be in control.

Tithing is meant to give the first and best of what is ours to God. And expanding this awareness even into the less significant parts of our lives can be valuable. But if we lose ourselves in the little things so much that we forget the big ones we have lost our way. We may choose many little ways to show God our fidelity. But do these serve to distract us from the ways in which our lives should change in order to avoid judgment, from the ways in which we are called to greater and greater fidelity, or from ways in which God desires to show mercy to us and through us? 

But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.

Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

We tend to focus on what we can control. And we can't exert much control over our hearts. Hearts can only be changed by grace, which often requires waiting, patience, and surrender. When this is something we know we need we do ourselves a disservice by distracting ourselves. Better to fully inhabit the place of waiting and of need. Let us, however, continue to be faithful in the little things even while seeking a more total transformation.

You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,

but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.

The outside of the cup is what others can see. For this reason we are highly incentivized to clean it and keep it clean. We desire to be presentable even if this is more performance than substance. We desire to look like a cup one would love to use even while remaining one that might make others sick. We aren't really focused on the fact of the reason of our existence, as a cup is meant to give drink, but more on maintaining a pristine appearance, so we can remain happily on the shelf. But to clean that which is within requires help, to reach the places which we ourselves cannot easily touch. Since God himself desires to use us to give the thirsty to drink of his Spirit, we can be sure, also desires to thoroughly clean us, inside and out.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,

who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement

and good hope through his grace,

encourage your hearts and strengthen them

in every good deed and word.

Jars Of Clay - Two Hands

26 August 2024 - You lock the Kingdom

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.

You do not enter yourselves,

nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

As religious leaders with the authority of the seat of Moses, scribes and Pharisees ought to have done what they could to unlock the Kingdom of heaven before men. Yet their authority did not have that effect, and could not, because of their hypocrisy. They caused scandal by giving a bad example of lives ostensibly formed and directed by the law of God. If they were truly representatives of God as they claimed, what would that say about God himself? It would seem to have implied that God was distant, caught up in nitpicky details, and generally more concerned with ritual than mercy.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

You traverse sea and land to make one convert,

and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna

twice as much as yourselves.

The scribes and Pharisees appeared to make converts, not so that those converts would grow in the image of God, but rather in their image. Such converts could become so deeply lost by way of the teaching and example that they received that it would be even harder for them to get unstuck than it would be for the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees hadn't watched their own religious performance and assumed it to be normative. On some level they probably still understood the ways in which their interpretations of the law were motivated by their own convenience, rather than a desire for truth. But their disciples might infer that such novel interpretations as they saw demonstrated were the only ones possible.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,

‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’

We can see that they were guides blind to what truly mattered because they looked at things in a merely human way. Even foreigners might be impressed by the gold of the temple without understanding what made the temple sacred. But the temple was not sacred because of the gold. One could not make a temple to Artemis any more sacred by adding precious metals. It was rather because the temple was sacred that it was appropriate to pull out all the stops in building it, and using the best materials at hand.

And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’

You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,

or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

The altar, it would seem was perhaps just a stone slab, or something equally visually unimpressive. The scribes and Pharisees therefore said that the gifts places upon it had the greater value. But the value they saw was only the natural value such things possessed. They failed to see the value they gained in the eyes of God when they were placed before him as gifts. But this was possible because of the altar. And since the altar did this, not for one gift only, but for every gift offered, it should have been clear that it had the greater value.

One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;

one who swears by the temple swears by it

and by him who dwells in it;

one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God

and by him who is seated on it.

We are given the impression that the scribes and Pharisees made a lot of promises that they weren't really planning to keep. They wanted to be seen as trustworthy with no intention of honoring the trust placed in them. And this was the example they set, and the model their converts had to emulate. They prioritized the things of earth and the riches of this world over and against the things of God, and made pious excuses for doing so. They were not interested in the truth so much as enough appearance of the truth to prevent others for questioning their actions.

We are all representatives of the Kingdom of Jesus on earth, some of us in big and official ways, others in small and more hidden ways. But regardless of the scale of our ministry we are all called to act with integrity. We must avoid the tendency to only hear the word of God when it praises us or condemns others. We should learn to be more open to all of the ways in which the word of God values in others what we ourselves neglect or devalue in them. So too should we be attentive when the word of God offers us a critique of our own thoughts, words, and deeds. Just as with Jesus speaking against the Pharisees, such criticism is designed not to condemn but to heal, and to unlock the Kingdom for more and more people.

Elevation Worship - Here As In Heaven

25 August 2024 - unless it is granted

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,

"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,

he said to them, "Does this shock you?

It had been Judeans who had been arguing with Jesus throughout his discourse on the bread of life. But it they were not the only ones who had difficulty with it. Even from among his disciples many were shocked and found it difficult. Even they murmured like the Israelites had murmured against God and Moses during the Exodus. At that time, the desert had a looked to them look a death sentence. The people refused to place their trust in God to provide for them and chose instead to allow their circumstances to define the situation. It didn't matter that they had already seen so many miraculous things and mighty deeds in Egypt. The disciples of Jesus had similarly seen much that ought to have led them to faith. But when they hit the wall of a difficult teaching they fell back to the level of flesh and blood, limited human rationality, and did not choose to allow themselves to be led by the Spirit in the darkness of faith.

It is the spirit that gives life,

while the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.

Clearly Jesus had just been explaining that his own Spirit filled flesh availed much for salvation and eternal life. But flesh apart from that Spirit was too limited for the terrain where Jesus now desired to lead them. His words themselves were filled with this Spirit and were an invitation for those operating at the level of the flesh to receive the Spirit and come to understand, since this was the only way in which such words could be received.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual (see First Corinthians 2:13).

It was as though the disciples had been walking with an admixture of flesh and faith to this point and had now reached a boundary where they would need to go all in or be left behind. In a sense, he was now asking them to do metaphorically what Peter did when he walked on water. There was only one way that could be done without drowning.

But there are some of you who do not believe."

Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe

and the one who would betray him.

It was not that Jesus did not want them all to believe him, or as though he were writing them off as destined for damnation. But he would not force the unwilling to have faith. There was no getting beyond this in any other way. He implied that their coming to him had not been granted by the Father. But this was because it pleased the Father to bring to Jesus only those who would let themselves be drawn. Distinct from such people were these ones who murmured and created mental obstacles and barriers to the pull of divine love. Like anyone at any point in the journey of this life they were always free to turn away. But we can imagine sadness in the voice of Jesus as he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father".

That he was moved with sadness was even more evident when, looking at the Twelve, he said, "Do you also want to leave?". It was as though his heart was already preparing him for the time when all, even the Twelve, would abandon him, during the darkest hour of his greatest need (see Mark 14:50). But at this moment there was still some consolation for the heart of Jesus to be found in the answer Peter gave on behalf of the Twelve.

Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"

Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

We have come to believe

and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.

This was like the time when Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (see Matthew 16:16). Both times it was not something revealed by flesh and blood but by Jesus' Father in heaven. He had received the truth Jesus was teaching by the grace of the Spirit. Not, of course, that he had any real understanding of what it meant. But at that point he was at least certain enough that he knew the one in whom he believed enough to trust him even when he did not understand.

But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me (see Second Timothy 1:12).

The Lord longs to allow us to be drawn to him in such a way that he can lead us even when his plans go beyond what we can understand. As Augustine taught, we must first believe in order to understand. God has many gifts that he wants to give us that are in fact better than all we can ask our imagine (see Ephesians 3:20). So let us make a habit of trusting him, making it our determined purpose to say, like Joshua, "As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD".

Pat Barrett featuring Chris Tomlin - As For Me

Hillsong UNITED - Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

24 August 2024 - from Nazareth?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Philip found Nathanael and told him,

"We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,

and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

Philip did his best to exuberantly explain what he had come to believe about Jesus of Nazareth. He spoke with an infectious enthusiasm. But it seemed the Nathanael was resistant to what seemed to him to be excessive hype.

But Nathanael said to him,

"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

Many people had difficulty with Jesus because of what was known superficially about his human origins. Even in Nazareth itself they had said, "Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?" (see Matthew 13:55). So even the backwater of Nazareth itself seemed to have no use for this upstart rabbi. Others were certain that the fact that he was from Galilee was a strike against his claims since "no prophet arises from Galilee" (see John 7:52). They thought, "we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from" (see John 7:27). But of course this was all prejudice and presumption. It was the result of trying to approach Jesus merely on the hearsay of crowds or trying to apply to him their insufficient preexisting categories. They all desired not to have Jesus explained, but to explain him away. They wanted to find a convenient mental slot in which to put him so that they could disregard any potential challenge to the status quo. We know there are many such people in our own time who might at this point say, "Can anything good come from Christianity?", thinking that they already know what Christianity is and what it represents.

Philip said to him, "Come and see."

Philip continued, not with additional details or explanation, but with persistence. He implied that there was more to Jesus than Nathanael's summary explanation would admit. The limitations of a person from Nazareth were not the final word in the story about Jesus. 'There is more', Philip seemed to imply.

"Here is a true child of Israel.

There is no duplicity in him."

Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"

Although Nathanael only had a distant and prejudiced view of the identity of Jesus, Jesus knew Nathanael intimately. Nathanael was still resistant, no willing to succumb to mere flattery. What Jesus was saying was indeed what he desired to be in the depths of his heart. But no doubt even he doubted that he himself was or could be what Jesus described. 

Jesus answered and said to him,

"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."

Something about this statement of Jesus revealed to Nathanael that Jesus really did know and understand him more than would be possible for a normal human, from Nazareth or otherwise. Jesus had spoken something that was hidden in the depths of Nathanael's heart and Nathanael could not pretend it had been otherwise. He had perhaps been dreaming of the Messianic age when "they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken" (see Micah 4:4). He had been longing for that Messianic age, hoping that he himself could have some part in it. It was precisely the depth of desire that put him on the defensive when Philip came to him with news that sounded too good to be true. But there was now no denying that Jesus had seen into the depths of his soul. He had affirmed Nathanael in his hope for life in the Messianic age. There was now no turning back.

"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

In conclusion to this discourse Jesus hinted that what was to come would do even more to reveal his true identity and heavenly origin. He was Jesus from Nazareth, but also the word of God that became flesh and dwelt among us. He was the bridge uniting heaven and earth. Much more true of Jesus than it was of Jacob's dream of the ladder was what Jacob said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (see Genesis 28:17).

We can choose to place Jesus in preexisting categories and confine him by our limited old ways of thinking. Or we can choose to let him reveal himself to us, often by revealing us to ourselves. He desires to make himself known so that we too can share with him the fruits of the Messianic age. 

Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord

23 August 2024 - the greatest?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

Since Jesus was a rabbi asking him about the most important commandment in the law was equivalent to asking him to give a summary of his entire message. What was the one unifying theme that could connect a variety of apparently disparate teachings? In some way, the answer Jesus gave was not surprising. He did refer to technical details or obscure rituals. The commandment that God had given first among the ten given to Moses was, in the eyes of Jesus, also the greatest.

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,

with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Had Jesus stopped there everyone could have walked away comfortable and content. Of course he cited the Shema, a prayer so important it was worn in the phylacteries of Jewish attire. No surprise there. Everyone understood the central importance of loving God first. But not everyone had a clear sense of how that connected to other commandments, or to the practical concerns of daily life. The Pharisees often seemed to set love of God against other commandments and even to use it as an excuse to pursue what were actually their own ambitions and priorities. When it was inconvenient to love their neighbor they often claimed that it was out of love for God that they could not do so. But Jesus continued his answer to the Pharisees by claiming that it was actually impossible to divide love of God and love of neighbor in this way.

The second is like it:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

In what way was this second commandment like the first? They were both commandments about love, but was there more? It was also like the first because humanity was created in the image and likeness of God. Much more than our relationship to anything else in creation, our love of neighbor cannot help but reflect on our love of the God who created this neighbor as his own image. How could one claim to love God and yet bear hatred or even indifference toward those whom God loved into being? To claim to love God but not to love what God loved was not really love of God but love of some idol manufactured by one's own imagination. At the same time, it was not truly possible to love a neighbor as he was meant to be loved without reference to God. We can imagine that such an attempt might heap upon him power, prestige, and wealth. But what good would it do when such riches inevitably failed? What love was sufficient, not for this life only, but for the life to come? Only a love of neighbor directed toward God himself as the final end would suffice. 

God's plan to be together with his people forever, to live in a relationship of love, he and them, they and one another, was the thread on which hung all of the law and the prophets. Even eternity without God would not be enough to satisfy the longing of the human heart. But with him? With him there would be no end or limit to the joy in store for us.

O my people, I will open your graves

and have you rise from them,

and bring you back to the land of Israel.

Then you shall know that I am the LORD,

when I open your graves and have you rise from them,

O my people!

Passion featuring Kristian Stanfill - One Thing Remains

22 August 2024 - put on Christ

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,

but they refused to come.

What might these invited guests have been thinking? Most likely they regarded the king as a distant figure who had no appreciation for the difficulty of the daily grind. How nice for him to be able to spend his time on superficial celebrations. For the normal rank and file there was too much work to be done for that. To be sure they would celebrate in other instances, for their family, friends, and neighbors, because social reciprocity demanded it. They were all on a relatively level playing field so no one was being disadvantaged by a pause in productivity of that sort. But when the king asked them to attend the feast for his son they clearly imagined all of the other things they had to do. This was true even when the king tried to sweeten the invitation with more precise details of just how good the feast was going to be, with "calves and fattened cattle". He sent this as a message designed to induce the imagination to a mouthwatering vision of the wedding feast. Yet in response to this the people either further buried themselves in work or even became violent. The invitation was so provocative it was as though they had to avoid it all the more aggressively or risk conceding, giving in, and attending.

Some ignored the invitation and went away,

one to his farm, another to his business.

The rest laid hold of his servants,

mistreated them, and killed them.

These individuals seemed to be prisoners of their daily routines who would endure no disruptions. They were like people trapped in the Matrix who became hostile at the mention that another world might be exist beyond the one the knew. When we read about them it is easy to judge them and to imagine ourselves proceeding in a beeline to the feast if we were among those invited. But we are among those invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. And we are certainly also among those who sometimes ignore the invitation, preferring farm, business, or other quotidian engagements to something as abstract and distant as the Kingdom of God. This fact should also help us to at least have some empathy for those who resist all mention of the Kingdom even more aggressively, those who oppose the message of the Gospel in speech or even in action. When we recognize that such ones are in fact tempted by the invitation to the feast, and go to extremes to avoid imagining how good it might be, we can at least understand their motivation a little more.

Go out, therefore, into the main roads

and invite to the feast whomever you find.'

The servants went out into the streets

and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,

and the hall was filled with guests.

None were found that were actually worthy of the initial invitation. But the king was not to be dissuaded. He would find any who would accept his invitation, good or bad, wherever he had to look. It was to be an invitation of pure and unmerited grace. But that did not mean he was content to lower the standards for what the celebration was to be. Even those invited last would need to ensure they weren't wearing clothing soiled by their previous work. This would require a change of garments, but one which was within reach of any who desired it. 

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints (see Revelation 19:8).

This new garment was not something they bought in order to merit invitation into the feast. It was rather something that was only a possibility of those already responding to the invitation of grace in their lives. They could clothe themselves with righteous deeds only by putting on Jesus Christ.

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof (see Romans 13:14).

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (see Ephesians 4:24).

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all (see Colossians 3:10-11).

It was, after all, God himself who promised to give us new hearts and new spirits. So it must ultimately be he himself who clothes us for the feast. But clearly we are free to reject this offer and to continue to present the appearance of our former self is we choose. Let us instead give him permission to do whatever he needs to do in our lives to make us fit for his glorious feast.

Laura Hackett - I Put On Christ

21 August 2024 - living wage

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner

who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.

The landowner's hiring practices reveal that he concerned with more than simply maximizing the productivity of his vineyard. If he were interested only in profit we might imagine him searching through the markets for potential workers as frequently as he did. But in such a case, if desperation drove him to hire even when there was only an hour left to work, we can't imagine he would have paid those workers equivalent wages when he need not do so. It seems that he was concerned more for the potential laborers themselves than they themselves ever realized. He asked, "Why do you stand here idle all day?". He could hear in their answer, "Because no one has hired us", individuals whose potential was being wasted, whose hearts were unfulfilled. 

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,

'These last ones worked only one hour,

and you have made them equal to us,

who bore the day's burden and the heat.'

It seemed, however, that those who worked did not share the landowner's view about the value of their work. They had forgotten or not experienced what it was like to stand idle and to feel as though the world had no use for them. They took for granted too the fact of the master's promise of a wage of justice, a promise that removed any need for them to fear for the future. All they could think of was the day's burden and the heat, and how much more of both they bore than those hired in the last hour. As a consequence of what they endured they came to believe in an increasing sense of self-entitlement. The just wage came to be seen as something they deserved, as though they were entitled to have these jobs before they even showed up that day in the market to look for work. 

What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?

Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?

Are you envious because I am generous?

The Lord does ask us to work, and that in several senses. Even in the Garden of Eden Adam was meant to work tilling the ground and guarding the garden (see Genesis 2:15). Work was never a punishment. The burden associated with work, it is true, was a consequence of the fall (see Genesis 3:19), but not work itself. Even matters of salvation were to be worked out with fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:12). It was faith working through love that availed for salvation (see Galatians 5:6). Yet it was never the work itself that purchased salvation and no amount of good deeds could make one deserve what Jesus did on the cross.

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (see Romans 4:4-5).

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (see Ephesians 2:8-9).

Everyone tends to grumble when the work becomes burdensome and the day becomes hot. But we are not meant to lose sight of the generosity of the landowner, and the care he shows for each worker in his vineyard. He seeks workers just as the shepherd seeks for even a single lost sheep. And the reward has more in common with the feast for the prodigal son than money received on payday. Two extremes are to be avoided. One is the idleness that refuses to engage with the work of the vineyard at all. The other is the attitude of grumbling about the landowner's generosity. Such grumbling arises from the envy that is the result of comparing our circumstances with those of others. Instead, if we could see ourselves and them with the compassionate heart of our Lord we would delight to see them share with us a reward that is one and the same.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;

Beside restful waters he leads me;

he refreshes my soul.

Phil Wickman - House Of The Lord

20 August 2024 - the eye of a needle

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich

to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

We saw the liability of riches yesterday when the young man's attachment to his many possessions caused him to choose not to follow Jesus. He allowed them to rule his heart even though theirs was a tyrannical rule that resulted in his sadness. Following Jesus was the way to the freedom and joy that he sought, but he could not bring himself to follow that path. We can see in the disciples, by contrast, those poor in spirit to whom belonged the Kingdom of God.

Again I say to you,

it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."

The disciples were not prevented by their wealth from following Jesus. Peter and Andrew, James and John, had left their nets to follow Jesus. Matthew left his job as a tax collector. And yet even they were taken aback by the Jesus' caution about wealth. 

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,

"Who then can be saved?"

They must have interpreted their own giving up of everything as a temporary thing which would be rectified in when Jesus reigned in his Kingdom. They may have imagined that this establishing of the Kingdom would first require worldly wealth and power, which they would acquire, use to bring about the reign of Jesus as an earthly king, and then enjoy as those closest to him. But if even wealth itself was insufficient to bring about the ideal of Jesus they were left to ask, "Who then can be saved?" They hadn't thought too much of their own wealth before, since it was mostly negligible to begin with. But now that they began to sense that they weren't heading toward a vision of fulfillment in this world they began to wonder just what they were chasing. It was, perhaps, a little better before they thought too much about it, when to follow Jesus himself was the overriding priority that made them forget all the rest. Nevertheless, now that it was considered it was better to clarify what was in their hearts.

Then Peter said to him in reply,

"We have given up everything and followed you.

What will there be for us?"

Jesus went on to explain to Peter that those that abandoned physical goods for the sake of the Kingdom would receive spiritual rewards. In particular, the apostles and their successors would, "sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" describes the role exercising ecclesial authority. But it was not only the apostles who would discover the blessings that accrued to those who followed Jesus. Everyone who chose to put him first would "receive a hundred times more" and "inherit eternal life". But all of this was on the far side of what as possible for men. It was only possible with the help of the God for whom all things were possible. Only with his grace could anyone truly let go of the things of this world and embraced the way taught by Jesus himself. Without that grace there would always be insistent clinging to possessions or to position, to any measure of control over our lives and the ability to satisfy ourselves that we could maintain. There would always be the lingering question, 'What about me?' keeping us distracted from the work Jesus would set before us. 

Grace had the power to make even large camels small enough and humble enough to enter the narrow way Jesus taught. It would not seem glamorous immediately, and the journey might seem difficult. But the promise was certain and the reward was worth far more than any effort.

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

19 August 2024 - something missing?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

A young man approached Jesus and said,

“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”

Something about Jesus drew this young man to come to him and ask a question that, properly speaking only God was qualified to answer. The man probably thought of Jesus as a wise rabbi who had been known to discourse on the way that led to life. Yet he seemed to dimly perceive that Jesus had, not just an opinion, but a definitive answer. After all, what good would a mere opinion be for a question of such importance?

He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?

There is only One who is good.

Jesus was clearly not saying that he couldn't answer, since he went on to do precisely that. Rather, he wanted to rich young man to realize that he himself was the answer. First he asked the young man to reckon with the idea of the law as a path of moral perfection leading to life. The young man sincerely desired to know which commandments were in view so he could be sure that he hadn't missed any that might hold him back. But according to Jesus the list of commandments were just the ones the young man knew himself to have kept since his youth. It was not that doing so was inessential, but rather that it was insufficient for the fulfillment and fullness of life that the man desired.

The young man said to him,

“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”

The young man sensed that in all of the legal observances he had maintained throughout his life that there was still something lacking, and that he himself was still meant for more. He seemed to partially realize that this answer was to be found in Jesus himself, since he asked Jesus for the answer. But he still thought that the answer was something he could hear and learn and then go on his way. 

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,

sell what you have and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.”

To answer the young man's question about gaining eternal life Jesus invited the young man to follow him and to radically reconfigure his life around him. If he did so he could begin to experience even during his mortal life the reality he would enjoy forever in eternal life. But he was attached to the things of this world to too great of a degree to accept the invitation. At the center of his heart, in some measure, world riches still held the central place. His heart was ordered as though such riches could bring the joy of eternal life he sought. But they were obviously not capable of delivering such happiness. Only Jesus himself would suffice as a load bearing pillar at the center of one's heart. Only pursuing him could open the way to a joy that would truly never end.

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,

for he had many possessions.

When do we go away from Jesus in sadness? What are the invitations he makes to us that we could do but opt not to do even though sadness is the result? This is the worldly grief, that, if we indulge it to too great a degree, leads to death. To change our relationship with our wealth or any other addiction will also lead to sorrow, but one that is temporary, and leads to salvation (see Second Corinthians 7:10).

Worldly wealth, any kind of treasure we find here on earth, comes with the liability of potentially making us forget the God who gave us birth, as with the idolatry the psalmist laments. Such wealth makes is slow or unable to respond to the dynamic invitation that Jesus is always speaking to us, calling us to follow him more closely. Sometimes we can manage to change our relationship to such wealth without being rid of it. But if even a limb that causes us to see should be cut off, how much more should we rid ourselves of competitors to Jesus in our hearts? Is it Jesus himself who is the delight of our eyes and the desire of our souls, or is it something earthly, something temporary? The choice is ours, even if it seems difficult. Let us follow Jesus and go away, not with sorrow like this young man, but with the joy that characterized disciples like Zacchaeus (see Luke 19:1-10).

Kutless - King Of My Heart

18 August 2024 - my flesh for the life of the world

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,

you do not have life within you.

We have physical life because we were conceived by our mothers at a particular moment in the history of creation. But although this depended on our parents it also depended on God. And our existence continues to depend on God in an ongoing way that is not competitive with creation. Not just because without providence any number of catastrophes might occur but because we even need him to sustain existence and prevent creation from falling back into nonbeing. We celebrate the creation of this good world by God and our own being born into the world with thanksgiving. But when we remember the degree to which we depend on him in an ongoing way we recognize how much we depend on him and also how close he must be to all of us as he sustains all things. 

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood

has eternal life,

and I will raise him on the last day.

We have physical life when we are conceived in this world. We begin to live a supernatural and spiritual life when we are born from above by water and Spirit in our baptism. Physical food is required to sustain us in this life day to day. When we remember that without God nothing would continue to exist we can remember that this food is always a sign of God's presence and love. Remembering that he is the source even of natural gifts is how we begin to partake of the feast being prepared by divine wisdom. But just as we need to depend on God and be receptive of his continued blessings in the natural order, so too the spiritual. Just as we need physical bread to continue to survive in the world so too do we need the spiritual nourishment he wishes to give us in the Eucharist. Just as the world would fall back into nothing without God, just as we would eventually collapse without food, so too is the gift of the flesh and blood of Jesus meant to be the source of our spiritual life. 

For my flesh is true food,

and my blood is true drink.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood

remains in me and I in him.

By sustaining the world in being God is present, active, and powerful in every part of creation. Because he does it he may be said to be closer to us than we are to ourselves. But in the Eucharist he reveals the desire to be still closer to us and more essential in our lives. What we begin to intuit about him from his ongoing nourishing of the world becomes truly apparent only when we see that the whole work is really only a backdrop for this unsurpassable gift of himself to us. He grounded us in existence with his power and love. But it is literally by the gift of God himself and not merely a creative act that he fills us with the life of the Spirit.

Creation is a very good thing, as God himself said. But we are made for more than just enjoying his creation. We are made for a union with him that is so profound that analogy beside food and drink would suffice. Only this conveys some sense of the greatness of the gift and its ongoing necessity in our lives. In his condescension to be our food we see the lengths to which love will go to be the foundation of our lives.

Just as the living Father sent me

and I have life because of the Father,

so also the one who feeds on me

will have life because of me.

Creation depends on God in an ongoing way. But this is only the vaguest shadow of the way the Son receives everything that he is from the Father. Because he is eternally begotten of the Father, merely to do the Father's will constitutes for Jesus "food of which you do not know" (see John 4:32). So we may say that Jesus wants to be for us what the Father is for him, sharing with us all that he himself has first received from him. 

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,

"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

It is true that a mere man could never do this and would be crazy to make such a claim. But since Jesus was the one that came down from heaven, both God and man, he was able to do just this. The possibility of a human to become a gift to others is a real and wonderful thing. But the way in which Jesus himself chose to become his Father's gift to us is incomparable. We can respond to this gift by not losing ourselves in pursuing natural goods in the wrong way but instead remembering and celebrating the new feast of divine wisdom offered to us by Jesus himself.

And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,

but be filled with the Spirit

Damascus Worship featuring MarySarah Menkhaus - Body and Blood [Live]

17 August 2024 - being vs doing

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Children were brought to Jesus

that he might lay his hands on them and pray.

The disciples rebuked them

The disciples assumed this was a waste of time. They thought Jesus had better things to do, knowing the pressing needs of those who were ill and possessed by demons, as well as the mission that Jesus himself still desired to complete. These children were, apparently, accomplishing nothing for themselves or for any mission. And they were in turn also apparently sabotaging the productivity of Jesus himself. In our own society that has become so busy, so obsessed with productivity, and so focused on doing, can we not sympathize with why is disciples would behave in this way?

"Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;

for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Inheriting the Kingdom was not, therefore a matter of deserving, not of productivity, not a result of even the best intentioned busyness. The Kingdom was always first and foremost a relationship to the King. These children had found the better part and it would not be taken away from them. We tend to be like Martha, only able to think of everything that isn't being done during these picturesque events resembling Precious Moments Christmas ornaments. We tend to value action. We do pay lip service to contemplation because we know Jesus and many saints valued it. But it really just seems like an intermission between times when real work of genuine value is possible. 

Contemplation can only be understood from the inside out. Relationship with Jesus only reveals itself to be the one truly essential thing when we begin to put him first in our lives. He may call us to be silent and still when we would prefer to be noisy and active. But when we can inhabit this posture of trust he is able to do the fighting for us.

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still (see Exodus 14:14).

The Kingdom doesn't come into our world as a result of us forcing it. Jesus didn't come with an army to set the world straight by means of military force. Rather he allowed himself to be led by the Father in a way that must have appeared shockingly passive in the eyes of the world. He did not insist on control of circumstances and events. But neither did he allow himself to be taken before it was his Father's will, before his hour came. He was with the Father and attentive to his will, allowing himself to be led, trusting that he would make all things work together for his good. 

We too are called to become like little ones, to put our central focus on relationship with Jesus, and to trust him with unshakable trust. Our plans, in the grand scheme, are not nearly so important as just being together with him. Then, when our own hour comes, we will be able to recognize it and trust him to guide us through it. Even when it appears darkest and most difficult we can continue to cling to him just as he himself clung to the Father during his own Passion. We can hold on to belief that he is making all things work together for an even greater good than all that we can ask or imagine.

DC Talk - Consume Me