7 October 2025 - seizing the moment

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.

In order to welcome Jesus, Martha focused on serving, on doing what was expected, doing what was required in order to make Jesus comfortable in her house. Mary, by contrast, seemed to be shirking her obligation to assist with serving. Sitting at the feet of Jesus when Martha could barely manage on her own and could use help seemed unperceptive at best and lazy at worst. The fact that Jesus allowed the situation to continue, for both sisters to persist in the roles they chose, struck Martha as indifferent. She was working hard to provide an optimal environment for Jesus while Mary seemed to be doing nothing of value.

"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."

The fact that Jesus neither told Mary to go to Martha nor went to Martha himself to explain the difficulty must have been because he knew she would come to him. Rather than accepting the societal norms of his day as a barrier, he showed by this that they could instead be overcome by one's choice. Martha was free to join them or not, regardless of what norms or circumstances dictated. Martha, of course, could not recognize this choice as a valid one. But the way Jesus expressed it made it seem as though it would not only be good for Mary but for Martha as well. He contrasted Martha's anxiety with the centering influence of being near to him as Mary had chosen to be. And this contrast was nothing if not an invitation for her to join them. She would henceforth know that she was always free to do so. The only thing that had ultimately kept her away was herself. Not that she was to blame. The reasons she assumed her course was necessary were manifold and plain.

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."

There will always be reasons why it was not a good time to simply sit with Jesus. We might abstractly understand that we need to seek first the Kingdom. But we often assume it must wait until after dinner, until all the chores are done. There are a million practical necessities that seem like that must come first before the Kingdom. But there are moments of opportunity to be near to Jesus that must not be missed. It is absolutely the case that this might even provide a mild natural inconvenience to others if they must then, for example, wait longer for a meal. Jesus was not saying and could not have been saying that everyone should always in a mode of pure receptivity and never doing the extraneous tasks that were in fact necessary to support his mission. But he was explaining what must come first in the hierarchy of priorities. To the degree that we put second things in that first place we will inevitably experience the burden of being pulled in a million different directions. Only when being near to Jesus is our highest priority will we understand how to address everything else.

We may hope that Martha emerged from this experienced, not chastened for a failure, but with a new sense of freedom to share in the better part chosen by Mary. It might delay dinner, but not forever. And in any case, whenever Jesus himself was part of that process and assisted with the meal, it was always better than it could have been otherwise.

John Michael Talbot - Holy Is His Name

 

6 October 2025 - go and do likewise

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"

The natural, unspiritual mind is always looking for the minimum necessary. It is aware of its tendency and desire to pass by those in need on the other side of the street. It does not wish to suffer interruption of its own plans and priorities. Thus it desires an interpretation of rules and laws that allow this. One must love God, obviously. But doesn't this still imply a wide space for personal freedom which is morally indifferent and therefore not directly encumbered by this necessity? No doubt some duty toward one's neighbor is also necessary. Even the ego sometimes realizes how horrific the world would be without love of neighbor. It understands that it may have to give something in order to expect anything in the social order. But the ego is incapable of going beyond such basic contractual obligations.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot (see Romans 8:7).

The spiritual mind, by contrast, isn't not interested in minimums nor maximums, nor any other calculation. It is instead focused on what needs to be done. Because it is not trapped within the walls of the ego it is able to take in a situation more objectively. It does not see the needs of others as a threat to itself. Because it isn't actively resisting compassion it is open to the experience of profound sympathy. It is capable of true being for others.

Both then and now it was and is easy to identify a long list of reasons why it is unwise to get involved, to focus on all of the liabilities, and lost opportunities entailed in making a decision to help. We may even still manage to think of ourselves as compassionate people in the abstract, even if mercy never or seldom impacts our lives day to day. We quickly make excuses about the intractable nature of suffering in the world. What difference can one intervention make? Isn't the mantra of doing small acts with great love one of mere sentimentality? Yet this desire to only do something if we can do everything, to make an effort if we can achieve a perfect result, is also a symptom of the "stinking thinking" characteristic of the ego and the unregenerate mind. In any event, we know that we will not be judged on the basis of our failure to eliminate poverty in the world. But we will be judged on our willingness to ignore the suffering that is at our doorstep. We won't be judged because we did not do all possible things to end suffering in the world. But we will be judged by those which altered course to ignore when they crossed our path.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (see Romans 12:2).

Renewed minds lead to responses to suffering like that of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan made anything but a minimal response when he came upon the man who fell victim to robbers. He made what can easily be considered a maximal response. We see this as well in Jesus, the true Good Samaritan. He easily could have stayed home in heaven, enjoying eternal bliss with the Father and the Spirit. But instead he came to earth, treating the wounds of our sinfulness. By carrying his own cross he brought us to the inn of the Church where he himself paid the entire cost (with the two coins of his humanity and divinity). We have now been entrusted to the Church so that we can continue to heal and have our minds renewed. As a start we can learn the correct answer to the question posed by Jesus to the scholar of the law:

Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Todd Agnew - Romans 12:1

 

5 October 2025 - increase our faith

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."

The disciples had gradually grown in faith in Jesus, not just in what Jesus could do in himself, but in what he could do through them. This aspect of faith had the same source as trust in the doctrine he taught. Both came down to the power of his person. But faith was not binary, not all or nothing. People expressed different degrees of belief in his doctrine. It was one thing, for instance, to believe that he was the messiah. It was another to trust him, without understanding, when he said he would give he flesh and blood as food and drink. So too was it a matter of degree with his power at work in the disciples. They were able to heal and cast out demons, having seen it done first by Jesus himself. But more difficult things might still require a greater degree of faith. What was more difficult for the mind to accept than such signs and wonders? It seemed that included in that category were the call to radical forgiveness and the humility required for servant leadership.

The request from the apostles to have their faith increased followed a speech by Jesus about avoiding sin and the necessity of repeated forgiveness. Perhaps, knowing their own hearts, the apostles realized that these things were not so easy to see and imitate as miracles. Healing and exorcism did not give the appearance of requiring radical conversion of heart. They appeared, in a word, external. But forgiveness and avoidance of sin, even if someone seemed to demonstrate them, nevertheless touched a place within that any honest man would have to concede was resistant to change. Forgiveness or the lack thereof didn't seem to be entirely within the conscious purview of the individual. Even the new knowledge that one ought to do it, or even that one was required to do it, might only lead to despair. It would, in the end, require great faith. No doubt this is why there have been many historical and recent accounts of Christian forgiveness that appear almost supernatural, both to outsiders, and even to us.

When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, 'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'

In order to serve without growing in a sense of entitlement faith was necessary. Service that was at all rooted in the ego would automatically lead to people feeling that they had earned and now deserved some kind of reward. The ego was only capable of even attempting acts of service when it could justify it on the basis of predicted benefits. But we are asked to be servants of a God to whom we can offer no true benefit. He created us without consulting us first, and invites us to work in the fields of the Kingdom, not for his sake, but for our own. We are called to learn to become servants like Jesus who came to serve us in spite of the cost to himself and in spite of the fact that our own response of service to him could not provide anything he didn't already possess prior to the incarnation. We are called to be servants who don't need rewards so that we can more completely imitate the love of the one for whom rewards were not a possibility. If we know ourselves at all we recognize that service that is disentangled from ego to this degree is not naturally possible for us. But it is possible when we operate in faith.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.

We did not receive merely some generic power, such that we could use to surpass or to dominate others. We received a power and a self-control that enable us to express supernatural love in imitation of Jesus himself. This gift enable us to conquer sin and unforgiveness in ourselves and live and persist in living as people not here to be served, but to serve. It is power to bear our "share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God".

As we can see from the disciples request for faith, it isn't automatic. We need to want it and dispose ourselves to receive it. The degree to which we are not doing so we are probably sliding backward toward complacency. Even Paul's own spiritual son Timothy could not be content to rest on his laurels. Neither, then, can we.

I remind you, to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.

The Worship Initiative Featuring Aaron Williams - Heart Abandoned

4 October 2025 - hidden from the wise and the learned

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.

People who were too puffed up with pride where not disposed to receive the revelation that was given freely to the childlike. On the one hand were those who exercised humility before the truth and were thus able to learn. On the other were those who believed in their own intellectual prowess above all, too whom the mysteries of the Kingdom would necessarily remain inscrutable. The seventy-two disciples revealed themselves to be childlike by taking Jesus and acting on it. By trusting Jesus they availed themselves of his protection, and already shared in his victory over Satan. In contrast with these disciples were the Pharisees and the other opponents of Jesus. They were neither open nor interested to hear what he had to say. They rested complacently in such knowledge as they already possessed. If that knowledge was inadequate, as it must be, to address the questions posed by an unknown future or their lack of perfect fulfillment in God, they would distract themselves from those lingering questions through attempts at craftiness and cunning. They did not have the answers that deep down they must have desired. But by constantly shifting the pieces of the partial truths they did possess they sought to sedate themselves and keep others enthralled. 

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

It was necessary to become childlike to receive divine revelation. This was more than a precaution against further inflating the pride of those who were already too proud. It was more than a mere coincidence that the attitude of humility was uniquely suited to attain the truth. It was precisely because the highest truth Jesus desired to reveal was the life of the Trinity. The only way to truly access that revelation in a way that was anything besides confusing was to participate in it as adopted daughters and sons of the Father. Only by sharing what belonged properly only to the Son could we hope to have any sense of the true meaning of Trinity. Therefore by becoming like the Son, who expressed what it was to be childlike in archetypal fashion, we could come to share in the Son's own knowledge of the Father and experience of their Spirit. Without this participation we might even be able to accurate cite the Athanasian formulations of Trinitarian doctrine, but without them touching our hearts or lives. It is probably possible to be a Trinitarian theologian while continuing to grow in pride. But it is not possible to truly cry out "Abba! Father!" as anything other than sons and daughters in the Son. As to which is preferable, we hope it is obvious.

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

Being childlike is the starting place of supernatural faith. Only those who become like children can truly appreciate how blessed their eyes are when they behold the Eucharistic presence of Jesus. Only those who become like children can truly live Eucharistic lives, capable of contributing of nourishing the world. Jesus became for us the Eucharistic Lord because of his love for us and for his Father. It is a love that is capable is gathering the whole world as one family. Together we receive and become food that avails, not just for days or weeks, but for eternity.

Vertical Worship - Open Up The Heavens

3 October 2025 - holy people > holy places

 

 

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!

It wasn't enough to live in ostensibly holy places. What mattered was being holy people. The fact that one could see Jesus at work nearby was not inherently confirmation that one was in the right place, that nothing more was required. Observing Jesus at a distance was not enough. A response was required. In our own day an individual could spend a lifetime in Church, witnessing Jesus minister his healing power to members of the congregation, and assume things must be fine, but without having made a personal response himself. It wouldn't matter what kind of healings were happening even to the person next to him in the pew if his own heart was never touched or transformed.

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

The mere fact of being from a background in which it was normal to reject God and his ways by no means implied anyone is disqualified from receiving salvation. When people did not think to regard their lands as holy it sometimes meant they were less likely to be presumptuous about the condition of their souls. When they heard about Jesus they might more readily decide that he ought to be more to them than a mere confirmation that they were already in good shape. They might, as in fact some from Tyre and Sion did, desire to hear Jesus, and possibly to be changed by what they heard. They would not necessarily assume that they were in the light, that they were already able to see, and might more easily discern the true light who had come into the world when he crossed paths with them.

And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.'

There is nothing automatic about discipleship. One can gain much by the circumstance of being born into a devout family. But if that devotion is never embraced by an individual choice it will not profit anyone who reaches the age of reason. Jesus did not say that it was necessary to be in the crowd who heard him. He said it was necessary to listen to him, and to the disciples who spoke in his name. We may balk at that second part, at the idea that the Church can make such definite demands of those who would follow Christ. But that is only to say that Christ represents something so real and definite that a self-defined response is insufficient. He is not something we made up ourselves, or someone whose parameters we determined on our own, and we therefore need more than arbitrarily or subjectively determined response. We need true conversion and repentance. His presence nearby makes us not less accountable, but more. As is evidenced by the lives we do see Jesus touch, he has come to bring healing. But we too stand as beggars in need of this mercy. The only reason we will miss out is if we stubbornly insist on refusing his invitation, which may well happen if we persist in denying we need it. May we instead welcome all the grace he desires to give us.

Matt Maher - Heart Of Worship

2 October 2025 - guardians dear

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

 The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"

It was obvious who the great ones were in the world, the rich, and those in power. But the Kingdom was clearly different. This question from the disciples may have been another way of asking what would constitute doing their best for Jesus or what would make them the most valuable to the Kingdom he was bringing about. If that was the case then the question wasn't entirely one motivated by pride. It was at least partially based on enthusiasm for Jesus and his movement. We'd almost be inclined to say that it is better to have a bit too much ambition of this kind than no motivation at all, better to be coordinating with Jesus to build the Kingdom with imperfect motives, than to sit on our hands at home.

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

As we can see, however, Jesus did find the disciples drive for greatness as something in need of correction. The disciples pursuit of greatness was partly for Jesus, but also substantially rooted in what they as individual contributors could add. It was based on their inaccurate ideas about themselves, that Jesus in some way needed something from them that no one else could offer. It was also based on a desire to stand out from others in the future, to be elevated and honored for what they were able to do that others were not. The correction Jesus gave them was not one designed to decrease their motivation to pursue excellence. It was rather one that was designed to give them a new basis for self-worth. In the Kingdom it wasn't their performance or unique abilities that made them valuable. In the eyes of the world they would have as little value as the world place on children. In that sense they were to understand that their contributions were roughly similar to kids being allowed to assist in the kitchen. It was more for their sake than for that of the meal. Yet, although the world in Jesus's time tended to not value children, we do see examples where children were highly valued. After all, such children as Isaac, Samson, and Samuel, were all treasured by their parents. Jesus himself was the beloved Son of his heavenly Father. And we know the Father's love was revealed to disciples specifically by making them his children. It was this kind of spiritual childhood that was meant to be the source of the value and self-worth of the disciples. It wasn't something that could be the source of competition, for all disciples shared equally in this spiritual adoption. But it did not inherently diminish their drive or motivation. Instead it shifted the basis for it. They would henceforth wish to perform, not out of a need to feel validated, but in order to please their heavenly Father whom they loved.

And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

We receive Jesus more and better when we recognize the value that is inherent in others independent of their utilitarian value to us. Humans are worthy of love and respect regardless of whether or not they can add unique value as individual contributors through high levels of talent or skill. We are worthy because we are made in the image and likeness of God. We are all his sons and daughters potentially if not actually. When we recognize this fact about others it will be easier for us to see the presence of Jesus in them, and, in receiving them, to receive him as well.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.

By acting like children in a spiritual sense, by trusting in the Father more than in ourselves, we become able to avail ourselves better of divine providence and heavenly protection. When we insist on relying on our smarts, strength, or skills, we put ourselves at risk of self-sabotage, at going against the provisions put in place for our own protection. It is like trying to cook with no adults in the kitchen. Their is a real risk that we may burn the whole place down. We have to be childlike to appreciate and avail ourselves of the blessings that our individual Guardian Angels are meant to be for us, those heavenly beings whom we celebrate today. No matter how much we may sometimes imagine it, we are never actually alone and left to our own devices. Let's recognize that fact and begin to live with confidence in the Father's love, and in its particular manifestation in these beings that have been given charge over us.

Newsboys - Entertaining Angels

1 October 2025 - no reservations

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."

This isn't the sort of assertion that would be made by someone unless they thought that Jesus was worth following. The man didn't seem to be merely making an excuse since it appeared he said it without provocation. He may well have been sincere, not just to sound good to Jesus, to the crowd, or even to himself. He probably even intended to follow through on what he had said to the degree that he understood it. But there were some inherent assumptions that proved problematic. His "wherever" was still limited, not truly anywhere. He thought Jesus would be expedient to get him to a place he himself would find desirable. He may have assumed that the path of the messiah would lead eventually to a palace like that of Herod or that of Caesar. But the path of discipleship would not lead immediately to even comfortable lodging, much less a throne. To become a disciple one needed to be willing to let Jesus set the terms entirely, willing to prioritize following him over some eventual goal to which he might lead. Even though Jesus would eventually lead his followers to heaven it was not the right attitude for his disciples to treat Jesus as a means, to use him for the sake of some separate and selfish goal. This was why making any destination more important than Jesus himself was never going to work.

But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."

The person who thus responded to Jesus did so after he was invited by Jesus to follow him. This context makes his response seem more likely to have been an excuse than a sincere request for a brief delay. It was possible that his father was already dead in which case the delay would have been short. It was also possible that he was still alive, implying that he wouldn't be ready to follow Jesus until some undetermined future time. But in either case he misunderstood the urgency of Jesus's call. The man was concerned about life and death in the natural order. But from the perspective of Jesus what mattered more was the supernatural life which could not be possessed apart from him. From that perspective, all who existed outside of the Kingdom did so in a state of spiritual death. They existed in a state that was ultimately futile and hopeless apart from him. He longed to change this state of affairs by the power of his resurrection. For those who wished to follow him this would have to take precedence even over their family relationships. Family bonds that weren't elevated to the supernatural order were still mired in the futility of the fallen world, destined toward death rather than life. Hence the urgency to follow Jesus, that the entire fallen world could be raised up and renewed.

And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Perhaps at a certain point the onlookers felt the need to say something to Jesus in order to excuse themselves, after seeing how the flimsy reasons of others were summarily dismissed. They were like the people who did not want to attend the wedding of the king (see Matthew 22:1-14). In this instance, the person, taking a cue from Elisha, asked Jesus for the same delay that the prophet had been allowed before he began to follow Elijah. It seemed superficially plausible. Yet Jesus detected that it was really just an excuse. The man still had concerns that were more important to him than Jesus. And these would ultimately be a liability. Perhaps with even a great prophet like Elijah such an admixture of motives could be allowed. But Jesus was one greater than Elijah, and to truly be his disciple meant having no greater priority than him, no greater goal than following him.

May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.

Matisyahu - Jerusalem