28 January 2025 - friends for life

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Pharisees approached him and asked,

"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"

They were testing him.

As was typical for them the Pharisees did not care about the answer Jesus would give except insofar as they anticipated he would say something problematic. Perhaps he would condemn divorce and then upset King Herod in the same way that led to the eventual death of John the Baptist. Perhaps they felt the views of Jesus as they understood them were inconsistent with the apparent allowance of divorce in the law of Moses. It is this point that Jesus addressed first.

He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"

They replied,

"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce

and dismiss her."

In fact Moses had issued no command allowing for divorce. He had issued commandments regulating divorce as an already existing practice. But Jesus observed that this was less than ideal. It was necessary for divorce to be regulated, saying, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment". Without grace divorce was going to happen and it was best to provide for the women who would suffer as a consequence with legal provisions.

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

Jesus then gave a direct answer to the question of the morality of divorce in an absolute sense. In order to understand divorce one must first understand the purpose of marriage and the implicit intention of God in creating humanity in his image as male and female. The point of marriage was not to be merely a contract of convenience. It was rather to facilitate a one flesh union between women and men in which the image of God would be fully reflected. The sort of union to which marriage led was something too existentially real to exit on a whim. Doing so was an affront, not just to either or both of the parties of a divorce, but to God himself, whose image was thereby disrespected. Marriage was apt for monotheism, in which God himself was one. And it was particularly apt for Trinitarian belief in which he himself was a union of persons. Divorce was, perhaps, apt to polytheistic societies where the gods themselves were constantly fighting and in competition with one another. But polytheism was false and so divorce did not accurately represent reality.

He said to them,

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another

commits adultery against her;

and if she divorces her husband and marries another,

she commits adultery.”

It was part of the new teaching of Jesus that adultery could be committed against a woman, as previously it had only been men, whose wives were viewed somewhat as property, who could accuse women of adultery. The Jewish law did not in fact allow women to initiate divorce but the Roman law that was dominant at the time did allow it. Jesus condemned divorce no matter who initiated it and taught that it was a grave offense against the single human being in the world most deserving of the love of which they were then denied.

The book of Sirach praises friendship. But marriage ought to be the most perfect form possible of friendship. Unlike in other cases, spouses are not permitted to be fairweather friends. They are to be present in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, just as God is always unwavering in his presence to us. When this reality is realized it attains most perfectly what Sirach praised in good friendships generally.

 faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;

he who finds one finds a treasure.

A faithful friend is beyond price,

no sum can balance his worth.

A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,

such as he who fears God finds;

Bob Fitts - One God

Matt Maher - Unwavering

27 January 2025 - not getting millstoned

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink

because you belong to Christ,

amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

Jesus rewards those who do good not only to himself, but also to those who love him. The person casting out demons, who was not one of the disciples, loved him and so the jealousy and hostility of the disciples toward him was not the appropriate response. But the disciples also loved Jesus. There was no competition. He would reward all of those who blessed them. He identified himself personally with those who followed him. Doing something for a disciple, even a little thing, was doing it for him. This meant that even things that seemed insignificant when done for another human being took on great significance when they were done as unto the God-man. No doubt the sacristan that fetched a water bottle for a priest on a hot day wasn't thinking in these terms. But Jesus nevertheless received that as done for his sake. This is how frighteningly close Jesus chose to associate himself with those acting in his name on his behalf. 

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,   

it would be better for him if a great millstone

were put around his neck

and he were thrown into the sea.

We see from this passage that Jesus also takes seriously the well-being of others who are outcasts, little ones, those on the peripheries of society, and of children. We also see something of the reverse of the principle from the previous passage. Jesus blesses those who bless his little ones. But he is also protective and even vindictive against those who harm them. Above all it is their spiritual well-being about which he is the most concerned. From this we can see that morality and the spiritual life is something that is not entirely in the purview of the individual but can be influenced by others as well. The possibility of scandal is real. We can't just assert that others are responsible for themselves and then do whatever we like. As Paul said, "Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats" (see Romans 14:21). Even things that are objectively morally neutral can still become sinful if they lead another person astray.

The consequence of the need to set a good example is that we need to make a maximal effort in taking sin seriously. We must take it seriously as individuals before we can be good examples to others. We must vigorously uproot from our lives, not only sins themselves, but those things that lead us to sin. This means we must avoid the near occasions of sin to such a degree that we would prefer to not have legs than to be able to attend to them. We must have such custody of the eyes that we would prefer to be blind that let ourselves view something with a lustful or otherwise evil gaze. It is of course true that almost none of us care this much or can be bothered to take sin this seriously. This unfortunate fact does not mean we need to set about amputating various body parts. But it does mean we need to pray more and then work harder. The possibility of hell is real for those who presume on God's mercy. As Sirach reminds us, "Say not: 'Great is his mercy; my many sins he will forgive'". His mercy is great. He will forgive our many sins. But he will not do this if we take it for granted to such a degree that we have given up all desire to make progress, if we have ignored the grace he constantly gives us to change and become holy.

Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.

All of what we are called to do requires perseverance of the kind that only God can give. It all goes back to our love of the Lord Jesus and our willingness to follow him and keep following him no matter the difficult circumstances or temptations we face. It is nothing we have of ourselves that helps keep the flavor of the world from being spoiled. Just as we are the light of the world because we have the light of Christ so too are we salt because the love of him within us makes us so.

Scott Underwood - Take My Life

26 February 2025 - an outside job

Today's Readings

(Audio)

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

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

The disciples were especially sensitive to the success of this other exorcist in light of their own recent failure to cast the mute spirit from the boy. It sounded as though the problem wasn't so much that the exorcist wasn't a follower of Jesus as that he wasn't a follower of theirs. The disciples, were, after all, being prepared to be leaders in the Church. Rogues operating outside of their authority would seem to be a problem. The disciples seemed not to be jealous for the sake of Jesus but rather because it was a blow to their own pride. In this way worse than when Eldad and Medad were able to prophesy even though they were outside the camp. At that time it seemed that Joshua was at least jealous for the sake of Moses. But the thing that both Joshua and the disciples got wrong was basically the same even if they got it wrong for different reasons.

Moses had said, "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets" (see Numbers 11:29). Similarly, Jesus said, "Do not prevent him". He had come to fulfill the prophecy of Joel which stated that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh (see Joel 2:28). He created the conditions in which Paul could say, "Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy" (see First Corinthians 14:5) with the belief that it was possible. The point of leadership and of hierarchy was not one that was primarily focused on narrowness and restriction but rather on making the abundance of Jesus available to as many as possible. 

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

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

The role of the disciples was indeed to oppose those who could speak ill of Jesus, whose supposed prophetic gifts were a sham or a con. But the fact that a prophet wasn't within the physical boundaries of the Church did not necessarily mean that he didn't love Jesus or that he was acting disingenuously. Those who were not for Jesus, not operating out of faith, hope, and love in Jesus, could only act against him. But even those who followed him imperfectly and confusedly were still for him. This was the abundance of Christ. Only those who set themselves against him and could speak ill of him were excluded. By contrast, there were no limits to what Jesus could do through those who were for him, no matter what their personal limitations may have been.

Wisdom breathes life into her children

and admonishes those who seek her.

He who loves her loves life;

those who seek her will be embraced by the Lord.

Jesus is the power of God and the wisdom of God (see First Corinthians 1:24) for all peoples. It is not a wisdom that comes from the world. It is not a wisdom that comes from textbooks. It is a wisdom that comes from loving Jesus. It is in this sense that John taught, "you have no need that anyone should teach you" (see First John 2:27) because Jesus himself would teach them.

Pat Barrett - By The Spirit

25 February 2025 - the greatest and the least

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He was teaching his disciples and telling them,

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

and they will kill him,

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

But they did not understand the saying,

and they were afraid to question him.

The disciples were sure that Jesus must not have meant what it sounded like he meant. Perhaps this death was merely another parable that they hadn't yet fully grasped. They just couldn't square the idea with their preconceived notions about what the messiah would be. By the definition they understood he would meet with victory, not defeat. And yet the conditions that would allow for such a victory became increasingly unlikely and Jesus didn't seem to be bothered. The disciples seemed increasingly aware that such a victory was unlikely and that  his prediction of his death was not merely metaphorical, as they showed by their unwillingness to ask him any questions. They were afraid of the answers, afraid that his meaning was exactly what they feared it was.

"What were you arguing about on the way?"

But they remained silent.

For they had been discussing among themselves on the way

who was the greatest.

They had hitched their wagon to Jesus and it now seemed to them that they were careening together toward a ditch. In such situations the selfish ego has survival strategies as we see with the argument among the disciples about who was the greatest. Was this outright willful blindness of the reality of the death of Jesus? Or even worse, was it fighting over the scraps that would be leftover in his absence? In either case we see that their focus was not on Jesus, their friend and their leader, as he shared difficult and distressing news. It was rather myopically upon themselves, on their own power and prestige. But make no mistake, we do this too when we are called to a new level of dying to self and living for others. It is especially then that we try to get what we can for ourselves, to demand, if not power or wealth, at least recognition. The moments when we are invited to think of others it is often difficult to think of anything but ourselves.

"If anyone wishes to be first,   

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

Jesus was only calling them to imitate himself, who came not to be served but to serve (see Mark 10:45). He would later demonstrate this profoundly by washing his disciples feet, which in turn was an interpretive key for understanding both the Eucharist and his Passion. There was no way to true life that didn't involve this path of self-forgetful service. There was no resurrection without first embracing the cross. Jesus not only performed this service for our sakes, but desires to live in us so that he can reproduce it on our lives.

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

Receiving and embracing children was the epitome of thankless service at that time. Children were not valued by society in the way that they later came to be in the Christian west. They were seen as a drain of resources until they could be put to work and made productive. The child itself could offer nothing in return for the affection Jesus demonstrated. Neither would society praise him for it. Instead, society in general would probably have responded as the disciples did when people were bringing children to him and having him touch them and they rebuked them (see Matthew 19:13). For all of these reasons, the way Jesus embraced children was both a demonstration of his love for the lowest and the least and also a demonstration of his love for us. Like children, there is nothing we can give to Jesus that he does not already possess. From all eternity he was fully content in the heavenly exchanged of Triune love. And yet, as he did with the child so too does he choose to embrace each of us. We must not be too proud to reject him on the pretense that we can't pay him back. We can't, but he doesn't ask us to do so. He only asks our love.

and whoever receives me,

receives not me but the One who sent me."

Because he and the Father were one, receiving Jesus meant receiving also the Father who sent him into the world. Rejecting him therefore meant a rejection of God, of goodness, of truth, and of beauty. But in becoming a child himself and welcoming children Jesus sought to make his divinity as approachable and nonthreatening as possible, as proof of his love for us and his desire for our love.

You who fear the LORD, hope for good things,

for lasting joy and mercy.

You who fear the LORD, love him,

and your hearts will be enlightened.

Andy Park - The River Is Here

24 February 2025 - faith and prayer

Today's Readings

(Audio)

I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.

The disciples had previously been entrusted with the authority of Jesus and gone out to proclaim the Gospel and cast out evil spirits. Clearly things seemed to go better that time. But now there was something missing.

O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?

The father's belief in the ability of the disciples to cast out the demons seems to have probably been insufficient. Even his belief in the ability of Jesus himself was limited, asking "If you can" rather than 'If you will it'. The disciples, for their part, were also not living up to the responsibility entrusted to them by Jesus. They failed to use prayer to create an atmosphere of faith. Maybe they tried to do what had worked in the past as though it were a formula. But this case seemed to have been more difficult than those they had encountered previously. They needed to spend more time and attention, perhaps, than they had before. But instead things devolved into an argument. Were they trying to rationalize their own failure or to exonerate their teacher of responsibility for it? Whether it was either of those or something else argument was not a good environment for healing. Whatever faith the father had in Jesus was becoming increasingly fragile in the face of apparent failure.

Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”

Jesus led this man beyond his tentative faith. Even though he couldn't muster up more on his own he was at least persuaded to ask Jesus for help, or in other words, to pray. If the demon in question was one that could only come out through prayer perhaps this, and not only that of the disciples, was part of the prayer in question. The disciples seemed to have tried to repeat a formula and the father didn't seem to have much faith. But Jesus explained that for all involved in something so serious both faith and prayer were necessary. It could not degenerate into mere routine and maintain its effectiveness. 

“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:

come out of him and never enter him again!”

Jesus not only commanded the spirit to leave, he commanded him never to return. Perhaps his disciples didn't realize that in this case that command was going to be an important component in the freeing of one who had been afflicted since birth. We could even speculate that perhaps the disciples were able to have some short-term success but failed to prevent recurrences. It may have been like the demon Jesus described elsewhere that went out from a person only to find the house swept clean and invite seven spirits worse than itself to return with it (see Luke 11:24-26).

Jesus was never practicing a formula and was never merely partially convinced of his own power and authority, precisely because he trusted his Father from whom they came. Today's Gospel directs to be on guard against routine and to engage each situation with prayerful attention. It encourages us to realize the importance of faith so that, to the degree that we are lacking in it, we continually come to Jesus for more.

Rita Springer - AMEN!

23 February 2025 - opposing forces

Today's Readings

(Audio)

To you who hear I say,

love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

A few decades ago we had people with whom we disagreed, to be sure, but few we would admit to be our enemies. These days it is harder to avoid the fact that we all seemingly have more enemies. It is the nature of discourse in our modern society to amplify the angriest and most radical voices. Even those who began as moderates become polarized. In trying to reject one thing they know to be wrong they reach to the opposite extreme for ammunition. There is one way to ensure that this situation remains unchanged. That is by continuing to treat our enemies as enemies, and to engage with aggression and the desire to be proven right rather than with compassion and the desire for dialog. 

To the person who strikes you on one cheek,

offer the other one as well,

and from the person who takes your cloak,

do not withhold even your tunic.

It is of course true that as soon as we show compassion it is mistaken for weakness. When we try to conciliate through dialog we are shouted down rather than heard. The temptation is to push back even harder, and to shout even louder. But while this might be helpful to ensure that we don't lose entirely it is unlikely to lead to anything other than retaliatory escalation. By contrast with the ways of the world we can't accept the ways of Jesus because they seem impractical. It seems that turning the other cheek and giving more than is asked of us will be nice gestures, certainly, but ones which will be lost in the great sea of conflict in the world. Maybe Gandhi could change a whole nation in that way. Maybe MLK Jr. could. But wouldn't it be mere unhelpful theatrics for us, especially those of us who aren't committed to politics full-time? But while it is true that for us the path of nonviolence is unlikely to make an impact or even register at the national level it may do something even more profound. It may change individual hearts. It may begin at a grassroots level that is almost invisible at first but which is a necessary precondition of opposing sides learning to hear one another again at all levels of society.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

We don't want people to meet us with an unwillingness to discuss our issues or an active hostile toward us. And so we must continue to try to engage others in the way that we ourselves would want to be engaged. How would we want to be corrected by others when we were wrong? By shouting and belittling? Doubtful. We must always be ready to make the first move of kindness. If we always insist on some token of sincerity by the other side we may be asking something of them that we wouldn't want them to ask of us in a similar situation.

Stop judging and you will not be judged.

Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give, and gifts will be given to you;

a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,

will be poured into your lap.

We are called to act more and more in the way that God himself acts toward us, to be merciful as our Father is merciful. Even when we are ungrateful and wicked his love for us does not waver. This means that we are no position to judge anyone else as unworthy of love or beyond the possibility of salvation. In fact, it is impossible to receive God's mercy ourselves if we are unwilling to show that mercy to others. But great promises attend to those who heed the teaching of Jesus. If we try our best to hold nothing back then God will be free to hold nothing back from us. In return for our meager efforts we will receive a supernatural abundance of spiritual gifts.

David Crowder Band - How He Loves

22 February 2025 - not bored of the Chair

Today's Readings

(Audio)

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

There is no avoiding this question for anyone in the modern world. Jesus is such a unique and compelling figure that it is all but impossible to entirely ignore him or to have no opinion about the claims he seems to have made. And it is finally a question no one can answer for us, one which we must each come to terms with on our own. 

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

Flesh and blood, merely human thinking, or purely natural reasoning isn't enough to determine the true identity of Jesus. Philosophical reasoning can go so far as to realize that Jesus, in virtue of his life, his teaching, and his miracles, requires an explanation that it cannot supply. History may discover much about his life and even assert the likelihood of the resurrection. But it can never go so far as to say what these different pieces mean or how they fit together. The only context that makes sense of Jesus is divine revelation. In turn, divine revelation only makes sense when viewed through the paradigm of Jesus himself.

Peter was the first to peer so deeply into the identity of Jesus. But he also learned that however much we know Jesus there is always a still greater amount which we do not know because this always necessarily obtains between creature and creator.

For between creator and creature there can be noted no similarity so great that a greater dissimilarity cannot be seen between them (see Fourth Lateran Council, Second Constitution).

Even with this new level of understanding Peter still couldn't grasp why the anointed Son of the living God would need to suffer and die. He couldn't hold in dynamic tension the concept of Godhood and the fullness of humanity. He couldn't see the need for one who was all powerful to undergo torment and death. But he kept working on it, frequently failing, but never giving up. He acted wrongly early on, such as trying to turn Jesus aside from his cross. But he remained open to being led by Jesus, even when he didn't understand. And even when he failed spectacularly he was able to make an equally impressive repentance. 

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Could a Church really be built on anything so human and prone to failure? Could Jesus really transfer power from the seat of Moses on which the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23:2) sat to the Chair of Peter to preserve faithfully and without error the truth entrusted to him by Jesus and his Holy Spirit? The answer to all of these is yes, and for the same reason that God was able to use mere humans, with their unique perspectives and abilities, to write inerrant Scriptures. The guarantee came, not from anything they were in themselves, but from God and the role he desired them to play. All that was necessary from them was their cooperation. In the case of Peter, entrusting him with Jesus' own authority as a steward by giving him the keys to the Kingdom, implied that he and his successors would never be in error when they taught formally on matters of faith and morals. After all, what would the Church be without truth? Or what would the netherworld want to prevail against if not the proclamation of the Gospel?

The role of Peter, and indeed of all the presbyters of the Church, was not like that of abusive secular authority. They were rather to imitate Jesus who came not to be served but to serve. They were to imitate his own compassion on peoples who were often like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus was the Good Shepherd, and Peter was called to feed his lambs. He seemed to take some time to adjust to this idea. But we can see from today's first reading that eventually he understood it deeply.

Tend the flock of God in your midst,

overseeing not by constraint but willingly,

as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.

As Catholics we ought to be grateful for the shepherds we have been given, even if their personalities aren't perfect and their preaching leaves something to be desired. Their primary purpose isn't to entertain or to be popular, but to care for our souls. It is a task that is mundane and humble to watch from the outside. It entails patiently serving those in line for confession, those who desire  baptism, couples joining in marriage, and attending to the dying, among many other responsibilities. But however humble it might seem to observers it is actually much more exalted and beneficial to those who are its recipients.

Elevation Worship - Here As In Heaven

21 February 2025 - what truly lasts?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

There is an idea in some spheres of Christianity that implies that because Jesus did what he did that it doesn't matter what his followers do. But this Gospel passage would seem to contradict that. This is not to say that his disciples were merely meant to imitate him. They were to follow him. They were being led somewhere which, apart from grace, they could never and would never go. We can see this in the way that Peter was unable to stay close to Jesus during his trial but eventually was able to give his life for him.

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” (see John 13:36).

Jesus' death made it possible for his disciples to die to self and to escape the narrow confinement of their egos. United to him, and acting for his sake rather than their own, they could make their lives into offerings of love, just as his own had first been. It was not enough to merely wish to escape selfishness and sin and to try to reproduce what Jesus had done. Rather, it was necessary for him to reproduce his own death and resurrection in each of his followers. Disciples, for their part, would only endure such a death to self for the sake of Jesus, since the ego would protest that such a path could lead only to extinction.

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

What could one give in exchange for his life?

Jesus helped by these words to silence the ego's excuses and protests. He demonstrated that all of the promises for self-created happiness in this world, even if they could temporarily succeed, came with an expiration date. They have no more hope for ultimate success than did the Tower of Babel. The only way to true life was in the transformed life of the resurrection offered by Jesus himself.

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words

in this faithless and sinful generation,

the Son of Man will be ashamed of

when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

The temptation to prefer self over Jesus and happiness in this life over the life to come would eventually result in compromise where the cost of discipleship would be too high and Christians would deny Jesus. As a consequence, respecting their freedom, he would in turn be ashamed of them at his coming. Fortunately, though, even most denials aren't definitive. Just as Peter was able to return and strengthen his brethren (see Luke 22:32) so too does exposure to our own weakness sometimes lead to greater strength.

He also said to them,

"Amen, I say to you,

there are some standing here who will not taste death

until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power."

Though the power of the Kingdom of God is concealed from the eyes of the world it is revealed to those with eyes of faith, those who remain close to Jesus, and who are willing to hope again even after all hope seems lost. They are the ones who love him even as he undergoes agony for him. Even though none is perfect they become witnesses to his resurrection. They don't discover the power of this Kingdom on their own, nor do they earn or deserve it. It is a gift.

Kristian Stanfill - One Thing Remains

20 February 2025 - the dangers of merely human thinking

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“Who do people say that I am?”

They said in reply,

“John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others one of the prophets.”

We have already seen that the crowds could be a physical obstacle to an encounter with Jesus. But it seems that even their opinions could be misleading. These were not the outright rejections of Jesus as a charlatan or a fraud that would have characterized groups like the Pharisees. They were just close enough to the truth to confuse the issue. No wonder that Jesus did not rush to convey his identity in easy to misunderstand soundbytes. He didn't want people whom he healed to proclaim him as a healer lest he be considered only a healer. And he didn't want his own disciples to publically proclaim him as messiah since no one had yet to terms with what that would truly mean.

And he asked them,

“But who do you say that I am?”

Peter said to him in reply,

“You are the Christ.”

His own disciples were, after all, in a better position than the crowds to understand him. They didn't just come out to see the show, perhaps experience a miracle, and then head home. They were committed to Jesus. They were present day in and day out, when times were good and when times were bad. In particular, their spirituality had been formed by Jesus witnessing Jesus' own dynamic and living relationship with his Father in heaven. All of this was enough to prepare Peter to receive the revelation that correctly answered the question of Jesus which the crowds could not answer.

Peter said to him in reply,

“You are the Christ.”

This fact may not have been obvious. Jesus' life didn't seem to match what many were expecting of the messiah. Military liberation of Israel from Rome didn't seem to be in his plans. There were also other competing ideas about what the messiah would be. But it is safe to assume that Jesus was not a perfect match for any of these, defying expectations at every turn. Peter's response was as if to say that even in spite of this it was Jesus who would truly fulfill the role of God's anointed one. He was implicitly saying that all of the competing conceptions of messiah were at least partially incorrect. It was Jesus who definitively showed what it meant to be messiah, rather than messiah being some ideal category into which a candidate would need to perfectly fit.

He began to teach them

that the Son of Man must suffer greatly

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

and be killed, and rise after three days.

Although Peter was willing to go a long way in letting Jesus define himself, there were limits. Jesus had already been rejected and opposed by some. But Peter wanted to believe that these were occasional exceptions that would eventually give way to victory in some form or another. He couldn't even imagine a messiah who would be killed. That seemed to imply a greater and more irreversible failure, not something that seemed accidental or merely happened along the way. It is unclear whether he heard that Jesus also predicted his resurrection, and if he heard, whether or not he understood. Even if he had it death must have seemed to him an unnecessary setback that a messiah should not need to undergo. But Jesus had said "must" and by it he meant that this was plan God had always intended. He was, therefore, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (see Revelation 13:8). Yet this "must" was not an imposition by hostile forces beyond his control. By his very prophecy of it he demonstrated that it was a part of his plan. And by his rebuke of Peter he demonstrated, contrary to expectations, that it was not the plan of the enemy.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,

rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” 

Satan's way was that which seemed easy at first but led ultimately to compromise and disaster. But it didn't require demonic assistance to come into agreement with the devil. Rather it only required thinking in a merely human way rather than considering things from the perspective of God. Trying to create a purely secular, human destiny one could only lead to despair.

I will establish my covenant with you,

that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed

by the waters of a flood;

there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.

God would never again attempt to destroy all creatures so as to start over fresh. But in Jesus he would do what the flood could never have done. He would drown sinfulness and destroy death. The cross was a new sort of flood and it was for this reason that Paul said, "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (see Romans 6:4). Even more truly than after the flood, those who were in Christ were a new creation (see Second Corinthians 5:17). Jesus was truly the messiah, the fulfillment of all of the Scriptures, whether or not the explicitly referred to a messiah. God's plan seemed difficult, but was in fact far better than anything that merely human thinking could concoct.

We The Kingdom - God So Loved

19 February 2025 - the way we grow

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,

people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

The healing of those who were physically blind was done because Jesus had compassion on all who were not able to experience the fullness of life as intended by God. But they also served as signs for those who were spiritually blind. Spiritual blindness existed, not in those who could not see, but in those who would not. The physically blind recognized their condition and were therefore able to desire a cure. But spiritual blindness, precisely because the problem originated in the will as a denial of truth, was not easily recognized. Jesus had to poke and prod to make those who were spiritually blind admit that their superficial presentation was at odds with the truth of the depths of their hearts.

It wasn't just the Pharisees who lacked spiritual sight. It was also Jesus' own disciples. He had only recently asked them, "Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?" (see Mark 8:18) after talking about the leaven of the Pharisees. But the disciples, in virtue of choosing to remain near Jesus, where on a path of healing, which, while not immediate, was certain.

“Do you see anything?”

Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”

Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;

If we ask why Jesus didn't heal the man immediately the answer we give cannot be that he did not have the power to do so. Nor would we suggest that the blind man didn't desire it enough. We may say that the gradual healing was a metaphor for his disciples' growth and even our own post-baptismal progress. But that still doesn't quite get at it. After all, Jesus could have accomplished any of these things in an instant if he desired. He could have healed this blind man in one go, brought his disciples instantly to a mature faith, and even made us saints immediately after our baptismal enlightenment.

his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.

We can only assume there must be something to be gained by a gradual healing, in which we are involved, and through which our faith is allowed to grow, that would be lacking if Jesus did everything immediately. Yet even this doesn't entirely get at it, since Kesis could certainly somehow have given us this depth along with true conversion. Yet he seems to respect his creatures' human integrity. Just as plants do not immediately develop into fully grown trees, and just as humans go through childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood, to old age, so too does the spiritual life typically progress through stages of growth. We have seen and know that God can and does sometimes bypass this process, such as in saints who die young. But that aside, allowing for normal growth seems to be his preference. Which means there is a degree to which we must be patient with the process. But too much patience is probably actually apathy, or a lack of faith in the ability of Jesus to transform us, or a belief that we can achieve such transformation on our own apart from him. We can avoid all temptations against spiritual growth as long as we remain near to Jesus, as his disciples did. Why does this work so well? Because he is the vine and we are meant to be the branches (see John 15:5).

The bible tells us that the flood is a symbol of baptism (see First Peter 3:21). And so the waters receding after the flood in today's first reading is another indication that growth is a typically gradual process. But in what does it culminate? In the coming of a dove, which we see in the baptism of Jesus is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 3:22).

DC Talk - In The Light

18 February 2025 - bread mix up

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,

guard against the leaven of the Pharisees

and the leaven of Herod.”

Leaven in this case referred to the sinful attitudes of Herod and the Pharisees, and the way that such attitudes could disproportionately and negatively affect the loaf into which they were mixed. Jesus warned his disciples that they too could come to possess such dispositions if they didn't make a special effort to guard against them. After all, the appeal of such leaven was that it seemed to be successful. The dough was rising. But into what? The disciples, however, were operating at an entirely different level, with an earthly mindset, unable to process what Jesus had told them.

They concluded among themselves that

it was because they had no bread.

The disciples ought to have realized by now that this lack of physical bread was no problem. Jesus responded by helping them to remember that abundance that flowed in his steps, the twelve and the seven baskets left over from the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand. This served as a bridge to Jesus' real point since a self-focused scarcity mindset was exactly the sort of thing that might make one reach for the wrong sort of solution. 'I forgot to bring enough bread', they might think, 'So I will use wealth and domination to make sure I never lack again'.

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

There was more to what Jesus wanted to communicate than trust in his abundance and sufficiency. He wanted to contrast his strategy for growth, his desire to integrate Israel and the Gentile nations, with the wrong strategies for that relationship demonstrated by the Pharisees, who clearly saw no place for the Gentiles, and by Herod, whose cooperation with the Gentiles was always a spiritually degrading compromise. Yet these would remain live options in the early Church described in Acts. The disciples would need to trust in Jesus' plan or risk selling out to the Judaizers for the one hand or the Romans on the other. They could ignore their Jewish heritage entirely for the sake of welcoming the Gentiles. Or they could so focus on the necessity of being Jewish that they became a community sealed from outsiders. Either of these might have seemed a more obvious solution than the solution proposed by Jesus and well understood by Paul.

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (see Ephesians 3:4-6).

A stage of covenant history had arrived wherein the bad could no longer simply be wiped away. The undesirable could no longer simply be excluded. It was no longer necessary because of the grace and mercy God made available in Jesus Christ. Genuine forgiveness and real transformation were finally possible. Jesus' heart was open to all and he himself was the way he taught and teaches to disciples in every age.

 

Ascribe To The Lord

17 February 2025 - unsigned message

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,

seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

If the Pharisees had really been looking for a sign there had already been many that they ought to have noticed. But they were insincere. They wanted to retain their own prestige and power no matter who Jesus turned out to be. Their testing him was not because they expected or would even accept affirmative results. Rather it was to justify their lack of obedience to Jesus. They had so many reasons that they rehearsed to themselves about why he could not possibly be the messiah. But most of these stemmed from their own pride and envy. Jesus had already validated his claim to be the messiah to anyone holding him to a reasonable standard of proof. But the Pharisees made up their minds to never be convinced. 

He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,

“Why does this generation seek a sign?

Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

They were like the generation that wandered in the desert following the exodus from Egypt. No matter how much God showed them his providential care and protection they refused to put their trust in him. They complained about what he did offer and thought wistfully about what they left behind in Egypt. Their hearts were never entirely free from Egyptian gods and the slavery that resulted from belief in them.

Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.

In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD

from the fruit of the soil,

while Abel, for his part,

brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.

God desires that we be both sincere and whole hearted. He loves a cheerful giver (see Second Corinthians 9:6-7), as he loved Abel who held nothing back and gave him, "one of the best firstlings of his flock". Cain, by contrast, was only halfway committed, and offered to God, not nothing, but certainly not the best of what he had. Cain was insincere when he invited Abel out into the field with him. He was insincere with God when God held him to account for the murder of Abel. When he was asked where Abel was and responded that he didn't know. In his own way he was testing God because he did not want to concede to God's rule over his life.

Cain said to the LORD:  “My punishment is too great to bear.

Rather than realizing the severity of what he had done, Cain could only bemoan his own punishment. He, guilty of murder, was now worried that he might be killed by any passerby. He, who had not truly desired the presence of God complained, "I must avoid your presence". He, who couldn't live in harmony with his brother, complained that he must now become a restless wanderer. None of this sounded much like repentance.

We are like the Pharisees in that we often insist if only God just do this one more thing we will finally give him our whole hearts. We are like Cain in that we don't give him our best, act surprise when that fails, and then envy those who are blessed because they do so. We are like both the Pharisees and Cain because we don't speak with God honestly or express our true motivations. We tend to complain more than we tend to repent. But when we look at the punishment of Cain there might be something like a sign of hope. Cain was given the safety to wander the earth and hopefully eventually to learn his lesson. The Pharisees too were given more time to reconsider. Not only that, they were given all surpassing sign of the death and resurrection of Jesus as proof of his identity. 

When God comes down hard on someone like Cain or like the Pharisees we tend to be more sympathetic with the one being punished while they are being punished. Even Cain, who obviously deserved some kind of justice, might elicit our sympathy when we hear God's judgement. But as the medicine is ordered to the cure so too is punishment always oriented toward conversion. God desires all to be saved (see First Timothy 2:4) gives up on no one who does not entirely and definitively close his heart to him.

When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.

Passion Featuring Kristian Stanfill - Heart Abandoned

16 February 2025 - planted near running waters

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Blessed are you who are poor,

for the kingdom of God is yours.

It is hard for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God, though for God it is possible, since to him all things are possible. Beyond a certain point of sufficiency the accumulation of wealth becomes a distraction pursued for its own sake, demanding attention that might otherwise have gone into learning to become disciples of Jesus. It is the motive that led the rich fool in the parable to build silos of increasing size to store grain above and beyond what he would need (see Luke 12:1-21). It was also this motivation that led the people in the parable of the wedding banquet to ignore the invitation and go off, "one to his field, another to his business" (see Matthew 22:5).

The disciples, by contrast, where those who had given up everything to follow Jesus (see Matthew 19:27). They were often hungry, needing to pick grains on the Sabbath from the fields through which they traveled (see Matthew 12:1). By preferring the mission over the desires of the body they learned about the hidden bread about which Jesus had taught them: doing the will of his Father (John 4:32-34). They gradually came to understand that those who sought first the kingdom gained all else besides (see Matthew 6:33). God indeed filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty (see Luke 1:53). Had they preferred to try to ensure they had full bellies by pursuing earthly things they would have missed, not only the multiplication of the loaves, but even the Eucharistic feast. Not only that, they would have risked becoming like the rich man that neglected poor Lazarus on his doorstep (see Luke 16:19-31). For a time they would suffer and it would seem that the world had triumphed. But eventually, in light of the resurrection, they would laugh, overcome with joy.

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,

we are the most pitiable people of all.

The beatitudes help us to look attentively to that which is truly important in the world, Jesus, his mission, and his presence in the poor and needy. But they remind us that to serve this world best we must be able to look beyond this world to the resurrection. Only in the resurrection will the great reversal described in the beatitudes be made complete. Only then will we be fully satisfied, laugh with no admixture of sorrow, and rejoice and leap for joy in the Lord, living in his kingdom with undivided hearts.

He is like a tree planted beside the waters

that stretches out its roots to the stream:

it fears not the heat when it comes;

its leaves stay green;

The reading from Jeremiah reminds us that the beatitudes are not merely a future tense promise. Faith brings them into the here and now, giving us in, some measure, the satisfaction and the joy that will be fulfilled entirely with his Kingdom. In short the beatitudes are like extended meditations on the power of the resurrection, when the worst thing in the world gave way to the best, when death itself gave way to life forever.

John Michael Talbot - Holy Is His Name

Elevation Worship Featuring Brandon Lake - There Is A King

15 February 2025 - where can anyone get enough

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus summoned the disciples and said,

"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,

because they have been with me now for three days

and have nothing to eat.

The disciples had seen something like this before so we might assume they ought to know what should be done in this case as well. Jesus had been moved with compassion for the crowd of five thousand and was now moved with pity for the four thousand. They had invested so much of their time into being near him that they hadn't eaten for three days, a length of time enough to ensure that they couldn't make it safely to their homes for food. Jesus pointed this out before the disciples could suggest sending them away to fend for themselves. But rather than remembering the previous miracle of the bread they seemed to grow hopeless.

His disciples answered him, "Where can anyone get enough bread

to satisfy them here in this deserted place?"

Where indeed. But of course, even modern disciples don't necessarily learn lessons the first time, especially lessons about the abundance of God available through Jesus Christ. We have an almost uncanny ability to assume that the first time God supplied our needs was a fluke, and the all subsequent times were more aberrations. Actually trusting that God has a plan when we clearly don't have enough doesn't come naturally.

Perhaps his disciples were concerned that Jesus would use up their meager seven loaves leaving them with nothing. A little piece for every person would quickly run through the supply without making much difference for any individual. Also, they may not have been thinking as clearly or creatively about helping a crowd that was primarily Gentile in origin. Had they shared Jesus' pity for the crowd they would have been more likely to seek an repeat of the multiplication of the loaves even if such a repeat seemed unlikely to them.

Jesus did not let his disciples lack of vision prevent him from responding to the needs of the crowds. He gave thanks and once again demonstrated that as long as he was present there was enough. Previously there had been twelve baskets leftover, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Now there were seven, for the seven Pagan nations that previously inhabited Canaan.

By the sweat of your face

shall you get bread to eat,

Until you return to the ground,

from which you were taken;

Jesus was actually undoing the curse that befell Adam after his first sin in the garden. This feast of bread in the desert came about without requiring the usual sweat and tears. And it pointed forward toward the Eucharist where there would always be an abundance for the spiritual needs of his people. The Eucharist in turn pointed forward to the eternal Wedding Feast ot the Lamb in heaven, when every need would be met, when Jesus "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (see Revelation 21:4).

Shane And Shane - Psalm 34 (Taste And See)

14 February 2025 - off by himself away from the crowd

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He took him off by himself away from the crowd.

The crowd was often an impediment to having an encounter with Jesus. We think of Zacchaeus climbing a tree, or the friends lowering down the paralytic into the room where Jesus was, or the hemorrhaging woman who had to push through the crowd to touch him. Sometimes the crowd was an obstacle to which seekers were able to respond with a persistent faith. But here we see that the crowd was a sufficient hindrance that Jesus took matters into his own hands. In this case it wasn't just an obstacle to surmount that was at issue, but rather the environment in which the man, once healed, would find himself. Jesus did not desire one who was once deaf to experience a cacophony of voices as the first sounds he heard. Rather, he wanted the focus to be on his own voice.

He put his finger into the man’s ears

and, spitting, touched his tongue;

then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,

“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)

Just as the first man was fashioned out of clay, so this man was refashioned by the power of Jesus, recreated in accord with the original intent of God's design. As such, although it would probably normally take someone with restored hearing a while to speak normally, and might require some speech therapy, it was not so in this case. The words of Jesus were so clear and true that they led to correct speech for one who truly listened to them. 

And immediately the man’s ears were opened,

his speech impediment was removed,

and he spoke plainly.

For many of us, we've been mingling with the crowd for so long that we no longer hear the truth clearly and distinctly. As such our own speech is diminished. We no longer convey the good, the true, and the beautiful, but instead speak negative judgments about the world, about others, and about ourselves. We don't speak in line with the promises of the word of God, but we make negative pronouncements like ungodly prophecies and then act surprised when situations turn out poorly.

He ordered them not to tell anyone.

But the more he ordered them not to,

the more they proclaimed it.

Jesus knew that the man was going to proclaim the great things the Lord had done for him. But he still made this statement to give an example of not doing good for the sake of fame. And yet there is more to it than that. Even the crowds who learned what had happened were not thereby made replacements for Jesus or his disciples. A direct encounter with Jesus was still required. Hopefully the astonishment of the crowds would gradually serve to lead more and more people to have such an encounter. But if the crowds would again stumble, misunderstand, and get in the way, it didn't finally matter. Jesus always had a higher plan that could work around all obstacles and barriers. And he does for us too, we who desperately need to learn to listen to him more than to the world.

“Did God really tell you not to eat

from any of the trees in the garden?”

We really need to know what God actually said. As we can see in the first reading, the enemy's strategy is to make us lose confidence in what we've heard, along with our trust in the goodness of the one who said it. If we don't make listening to the word of God our firm purpose we will easily become forgetful and possibly even resentful of God and what he has said. Then it will seem that, rather than helping us, he is holding out on us. And that won't lead us anywhere we want to be.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized that they were naked;

so they sewed fig leaves together

and made loincloths for themselves.

MercyMe - Word Of God Speak

13 February 2025 - not hearing a no

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,

and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

This woman had heard about the power and the compassion of Jesus. She came to him even though he was a Jew and she a Gentile because she believed he might be the only hope for her daughter who was afflicted with an unclean spirit. She had even gone to some effort, apparently, to discover Jesus who had entered a house discreetly so that no one would notice.

He said to her, "Let the children be fed first.

For it is not right to take the food of the children

and throw it to the dogs."

It seems fair to say that most of us would have given up there, when one we hoped to show compassion started slinging racial epithets. Yet she sensed there was more to the story than the surface of the words of Jesus' response. He had come for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And yet he was present in this Gentile city. Didn't that imply anything? A hardcore anti-Gentile rabbi might well have avoided a predominantly Gentile territory. Maybe, she thought, this initial denial was not a rigid no. And after all, he hadn't said no explicitly. Maybe he was stating out loud the fears she had in coming to a Jew to ask for help. Could her faith transcend her own expectations, especially when Jesus seemed to lean into the reality of those expectations?

She replied and said to him,

"Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."

Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go.

The demon has gone out of your daughter."

Her fear told her that perhaps Jesus didn't have enough to help her. Perhaps his power was only sufficient to save the house of Israel to whom he was sent. But her faith suggested that he had no such limits, and this may be why she addressed him as Lord, which was a title only used for God in the rest of the Gospel of Mark. There was such an abundance of bread that not only would it feed the children of Israel but it would be almost impossible to keep the excess from overflowing to the Gentiles. And to limit the reception of grace was not the goal of Jesus. His goal was to elicit this deeper faith with which the woman responded.

Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go.

The demon has gone out of your daughter."

When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed

and the demon gone.

Some of the greatest examples of faith resulting in the most miraculous of healings were actually from Gentiles such as this woman. It was right for Jesus to prioritize the Jewish people, the heirs to all of the promises of God. But these promises were always meant to make Israel a light that manifested God's glory to the nations. Ultimately the basis that both Jews and Gentiles would avail themselves of the grace of God given in Jesus Christ was one and the same: faith. This is still true today. Along with with that truth is the fact that our faith too is often tested before we see it rewarded. We too often need sufficient faith to look beyond the apparently impossible in order to remember God's all sufficient abundance.

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 (see Second Corinthians 9:8).

Matt Maher - Overflow