21 December 2025 - not suspicious minds

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.

Our culture tends toward suspicion in most matters so we often assume that Joseph suspected Mary of infidelity. We are aware of so many TV and radio programs about such topics that it seems fairly normal to us. But we must believe that suspicion was not the natural or first response for Joseph as it might be for any of us. It would not have been the first option in regard to any faithful child of Israel, let alone one as committed to the Lord as was Mary. Neither would it have been exemplary righteousness to immediately assume the worst, or, in fact, to assume anything without hearing her explanation. The fact was that "she was found with child through the Holy Spirit", or that, in other words, a miracle had been discovered. It is likely that the profound holiness of Mary, of which Joseph must have been aware, made what was humanly impossible seem not altogether unlikely. Yet, Joseph did not want to expose her to shame. Wasn't this meant to imply that he would divorce her while trying to minimize the public scandal? Or was it rather a different sort of shame he sought to avoid, one which he might introduce into the situation himself by his very involvement?

Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

If Joseph was suspicious of Mary it follows that the problem with taking her into his home was not one of fear, as though he was worried about his own reputation being on the line, or, still worse, future lapses in virtue on the part of Mary. No, if Gabriel was counseling Joseph against fear it was because Joseph's holy fear made him reluctant to be so involved in something so miraculous. He had in fact discovered the true burning bush in the Blessed Virgin, and was afraid to walk on the holy ground of her presence.

For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.

We tend to assume that Gabriel was explaining here that the child was not born of adultery or rape. This seems superficially self-evident to us if we assume that Joseph did not share in the discovery of the fact that the child's birth came about "through the Holy Spirit". What else might it mean? One possibility is that it was a reminder of who was actually in charge in this situation, in order to give Joseph confidence. He need not fear to be involved in something holy and miraculous beyond his understanding because he wasn't the one in charge. The Holy Spirit was in fact the one running the show, and his plans included Joseph in an important way.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.

Gabriel referred to Joseph as "son of David" intentionally, since it was based on this fact Jesus would himself be born into the lineage of David, eligible to receive the royal throne and covenant promises accorded to David (see Second Samuel 7:8-16). It was for this reason that it had to be Joseph who gave the child of Mary his name, in order that all of the many promises of God could be fulfilled through him. It was precisely fitting that the name of Jesus meant 'God saves', since this was just what the messiah would accomplish as the ultimate result of all of those promises.

The birth of Jesus without the role that Joseph ultimately did decide to fulfill is nearly incomprehensible. Once his role was known to him he played his part without question or even hesitation. Through him Jesus was "descended from David according to the flesh". And through his faithfulness and protection he flourished and grew. He was "established as Son of God in power" by the same Spirit that brought about his birth and that guided the holy family's life together. Joseph, probably, did not live to see this happen, "through the resurrection from the dead". But nevertheless the hallmarks of this great craftsman were all over the final product, life and character of him whom we now worship as our God.

Matt Maher - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

 

Damascus Worship Featuring Aaron Richards - Hail Joseph

 

20 December 2025 - do we want to know?

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”

Sometimes we ask, because, like Zechariah, we are giving voice to our doubts. But at other times we don't ask because, like Ahaz, we already have our own plans. We're afraid of the way the Lord wants to involve himself in our lives and so we shield ourselves under a false pretense of piety. The prohibition against tempting the Lord, or putting him to the test, was against trying to force his hand or make him prove himself. It certainly didn't mean that one couldn't ask for a sign when specifically instructed to do so by a prophet. 

But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”

Mary might have expressed doubt, as Zechariah had done. Although she was not too old to bear a child she apparently did not plan to conceive in the normal way. This was likely due to a vow of virginity, or else, why the question? She might have responded to Gabriel that there was no way that what he was suggesting was possible in her specific circumstances. Or she might have refused to ask, like Ahaz, because she didn't want to know, and was unwilling to have her preexisting plans interrupted. But she was a faithful daughter of Israel who knew the Scriptures of her people. Rather than the selfish fear of Ahaz, or the servile fear of Zechariah, she demonstrated the holy fear that is the beginning of wisdom. This made her set her own plans and preconceptions aside enough to open herself to learn what God wanted to do in her life. She didn't require of him that he only do things that she was already able to understand. She opened herself to receive new understanding such as would be necessary for her to cooperate with God on his plans for her life.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.

We know that God does not typically explain everything about what his plans for us will mean. The future remains largely unknown and unknowable for us. But he does nevertheless want to make known enough for us to willing cooperate with his plans. He does this chiefly through the Scriptures. But he also acts on an individual level, since he has unique plans for each of us (see Jeremiah 29:11). Let us not be like Zechariah who doubted. Or, if do give in to that temptation, let us learn what he learned in the school of silence about the power of God's word. Let us not be like Ahaz, reluctant to listen when God wants to speak. Let us instead be like Mary who trusted God enough to let him speak into her life, and who fully embraced what she heard.

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

Michael Card - Immanuel

 

19 December 2025 - asking the wrong questions

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years.

We know that there are several precedents in the Old Testament of women who were too old to conceive nevertheless miraculously bearing children by the power of God. The children that were born in such instances were often to play in important role in the history of their people, from Isaac, to Samson, to Samuel. We note that repeated emphasis of this theme as indicative of the fact that these miracles mean some special to God. We might even go so far as to say that in each one he looks forward to the way he would bring the Jesus our savior into the world by causing Mary to conceive even though she was a virgin. The conception of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth was one more divine intervention that fit this pattern. What they all had in common was that, by accomplishing something humanly impossible, he gave the couples what their hearts desired. Every conception is indeed a gift of God. But in these cases he delighted to give them in such a way that his love and mercy were especially evident. Mary's case was of course somewhat unique. But in each, God delighted to work within the structure of the family to accomplish his purpose. This was always both for the sake of the individuals involved and also for society as a whole. 

Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

God had sufficiently prepared for this moment that Zechariah should have been able to believe what he was being told, since he would have been familiar with the Scriptures in which previous instances of the pattern were recorded, and since, in any case, he ought to have believed the supernatural being who revealed it to him. But he succumbed to the human tendency to believe the familiar over than the fantastical, even when the fantastical appeared before his eyes. He could not be roused from the hypnosis by which the world caused him to place limits on what he believed was possible for God. He was ultimately able to receive the gift God gave him. But he was not able to do so all at once and without reservations. Only Mary was ever able to do that perfectly, and she because she had been prepared by God with special grace to do so. Hence the superficially similar questions Zechariah and Mary asked Gabriel were in fact quite different. Zechariah demanded proof. Mary only asked for clarification of what was meant. Thus we see a significant difference on the threshold of salvation. God desired to be fully manifest only where he would be fully welcomed so as to not have to force his way into our world. The birth of John the Baptist unleashed much grace to prepare for his coming. But only the complete yes of Mary's fiat led to his birth in our world.

But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

We tend to have more Zechariah in us than Mary. We tend to ask for proof rather than we respond with humble ascent and request for clarification. A good strategy when we find ourselves doubting is the manage our speech more carefully. Rather than speaking our doubts, we can choose silence, and eventually learn to affirm what God's word tells us. Making a habit of voicing our doubts tends to give them power and influence over us that makes it difficult for us to see beyond them. Making a habit of speaking the word of God helps us to believe that for him all things really are possible, even when they are beyond anything we have previously experienced.

I will treat of the mighty works of the LORD;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

 

Marty Haugen - My Soul In Stillness Waits

 

18 December 2025 - not a suspicious mind

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.

Joseph presumably knew Mary well enough at this point that there could be no serious doubts about her moral integrity, her unassailable virtue. If she was indeed "found with child through the Holy Spirit" there could be no question of infidelity. What, then, was the shame Joseph sought to help her to avoid? It was actually by remaining with her that he could most easily help her to avoid public scrutiny that she would face as an unmarried woman with a child. At least if she was married there was a plausible explanation available for those who did not know the full story. So it seems if he was not suspicious of her he might have chosen to continue with the betrothal with the additional righteous motivation of protecting her reputation. But the text tells us that he was worried about exposing her to some kind of shame. Perhaps the shame he feared was that which he, as an imperfect individual, would introduce into the situation. If he already had a reverence for Mary's virtue and now a holy fear about the conception of a child he might have realized (correctly) that the whole thing was, as they say, above his pay grade. He didn't want to tarnish whatever God was doing as humility made him fear that he inevitably would.

Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

We see from the angel that Joseph was not upset but rather afraid, afraid of how his involvement would be problematic. The angel told him that this fear was misplaced, and this for two reasons. The first is that Joseph himself was a son of David. His own involvement was not accidental but rather part of God's plan to "raise up a righteous shoot to David", as Jeremiah said. The second reason was that the situation was being directed by the Holy Spirit. It was part of a bigger plan than Joseph could see. The best thing to do in such a circumstance was not to try to solve everything oneself, as though responsibility ultimately rested within oneself alone, but to let oneself be led, even without completely understanding where it was all heading. 

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.

Joseph had the important role of conveying the name given by the angel as the name of the child. Within that name was the announcement that the promise of God to save his people was finally being fulfilled. So too was the fact that God had now come closer to his people than ever before. Thus the child through whom the world would be saved would also be truly called Emmanuel, God with us.

When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

Let's learn from the model of Saint Joseph. From him we can learn how to allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit to play a part in the plan of salvation even in spite of our flaws and liabilities. We too do in fact have a part to play in helping the world come to know how close our God has come to us. May we carry it out with the same prompt faithful Joseph himself demonstrated. Delayed obedience is often the same is disobedience. But this was never an issue for Joseph. May we learn from his example.

Damascus Worship Featuring Aaron Richards - Hail Joseph

17 December 2025 - a new beginning

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.

This book begins with a genealogy that is really a new genesis, the forward to the story of a new creation being brought about in Christ. But what can we really learn from a list of names, other than, perhaps, interesting historical anecdotes? For one thing we can see that the Jewish people were looking for a messiah who was a real person, rooted in history. He would demonstrate that the kingly line of David had not failed, which would in turn prove that God had not abandoned his covenant promises. Not just anyone could fill the role of the messiah. It wasn't something one could just claim without substantiating that claim. That is why so many people took issue with even the implicit idea that Jesus might be the messiah and sought to poke holes in the possibility. They did so by criticizing his place of origin, his way of appearing on the scene, his association with Gentiles, and probably even the circumstances of his birth. But the geneology Matthew preempts all of these criticisms. He shows how the birth even more scandalous births than that of Jesus did not prevent God accomplishing his plans for David. He also demonstrates that the Gentile's inclusion in the lineage of David was not problematic, and thus that the Gentiles always had a part to play in God's plan. The inclusion of many unsavory individuals, even outright sinners and corrupt kings, demonstrates that God was and is able to work through even the worst of human circumstances to bring about his ends. This is good news for the followers of Jesus, who often fail to live up to the standard he set. Even in spite of our mistakes God is still capable of bringing his messiah to the world.

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

Fourteen was apparently significant as the numeric value of David's name in Hebrew, which is also given as fourteenth of the list. David and Jesus were the only two people on the list whose respective titles ("the king" and "the Christ") are given. Thus the emphasis is on the fact that Jesus would be the one to fulfill the promises to David, the true son of David, the messiah¹.

We can take comfort from the genealogy that God has always been involved in history, working to bring about his plan to bless all the nations through his covenants to Abraham and David. The idea of Jesus as a character of ahistorical myth makes no sense in the Jewish context. Such a misrepresentation was only able to arise later within other cultural milieus. Yet during much of the time during which the geneology of Jesus played out it was not immediately obvious that God was at work. Thus, even if his work is sometimes hidden in our own day we still have reason for confidence, and far more reason than merely the ancestry of Jesus, since his own life speaks for itself. It is the concrete point at which the history of our world changed forever. This is still reflected by the dating system we use, no matter what designations we use to express it. It is an inescapable fact that, as Saint John Paul the great wrote, "THE REDEEMER OF MAN, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history" (see Redemptor Hominis, 1). 

Many of us are often tempted to think that the story of Jesus is too good to be true. His contemporaries were more likely to think it was too human to be part of God's plan. But it is both better than we guess and more human than we typically give it credit for being. After all, we are talking here about the God man himself. But it is most definitely true that the lion of tribe of Judah has come and received a kingship that will never end. Let's remember the full density of the historicity of the Christmas story as we prepare to welcome Jesus again this year. When we do so we will more easily believe in its continued power to change the world.

1) Hahn, Scott; Mitch, Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament (p. 138). (Function). Kindle Edition.  

Robin Mark - You're The Lion Of Judah

 

16 December 2025 -

 

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

The man came to the other son and gave the same order. 
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. 

The chief priests and the elders gave an affirmative answer to the question of whether or not they would serve the Father. But in spite of this, they did not go out to serve in his vineyard. Did they ever plan to go? At the beginning they probably felt pressured to say yes because they didn't want to disappoint God. So they claimed to agree with him, but either not considering or ignoring the implications of doing so. But when they no longer felt like they were being put on the spot they chose to focus on their own priorities instead. Perhaps initially they envisioned the requested work to be something quite different, something that they easily could and would have done. But in fact the work in the vineyard was being accomplished best by Jesus and his disciples. His outreach to the lowest and the least, to those on the margins of society, was not what the chief priests and elders had planned to do when they gave God their yes. They seemed to prefer the stratified hierarchy where they themselves were at the top and people like tax collectors and prostitutes were entirely excluded.

He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards he changed his mind and went. 

The first son who was asked at least gave a sincere answer that coincided with the actions he took after. He said no and did not go, at least, not at first. He was representative of the tax collectors and prostitutes who initially said no to God, choosing their own will over his law. They expressed their no to God by the way they lived. But neither their answer nor their actions were ultimate. They were given the opportunity to reevaluate, answer again, this time in the affirmative, and to change their lives. They had come to understand all too well what the choice of not serving in the vineyard meant. It meant squandered freedom, sorrow, and despair. Since they knew they said no previously they were able to change their minds and repent. The trouble for the other son and those whom he represented was that they said yes, and somehow still believed in their answer. The trouble for the chief priests and the elders was that they were so convinced that they were in God's will that they were unable to evaluate themselves objectively and see that they were living primarily from their own will.

When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did. 
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.

The miraculous transformation that happened in the lives of sinners who encountered John the Baptist ought to have been a sign for others about the mercy of God, and of the fact that it was available to everyone. But not everyone wanted that mercy to be shared so broadly or so easily accessible. They preferred a world in which, as they thought, they did not need mercy, and in which no mercy for egregious sinners was available or possible. But the way they desired the world to be did not match reality. For in reality, mercy was available to all who could acknowledge their need for it. And there was no living soul, save the Blessed Virgin, who did not need it, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23).

Most of us are among those who have said 'Yes, sir' to God. But do we always go? Or has some distant yes in our past replaced the need for our continued obedience in the present? How do our own lives track with God's desire to make his mercy available to all people? Do we share his heart for those on the fringes of society? Or does his mercy seem like an invasive hassle from our point of view? Do we rather want to enjoy our lives without such interruptions, without such potentially uncomfortable relationships? If we have promised to be about God's work in his vineyard then we actually need to be about it. We can't just imagine we are, or say we are. It's not enough to merely attend mass on Sunday and put money in the offering plate if our hearts are not open to God. If we are not committed to seeing his Kingdom built among us we may exclude ourselves from seeing it come in fullness.

More than our own impressive abilities to deceive ourselves, this parable tells us that God is a God of second chances, and that it is never too late to turn to him. We must do so, not only in words, but in lives lived for him. Typically we must progress through such conversion in stages. We realize that in one area or another we have not yet given ourselves fully to God. Then, once we give that area over to him, we discover another. But the more we discover, the more we progress, and the closer to God we come.

For then I will change and purify
the lips of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one accord;

John Michael Talbot - Here I Am Lord

 

15 December 2025 - questioning authority

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?"

We can hardly blame them for being scandalized by Jesus cleansing the temple. He told them to stop making his Father's house a marketplace, which was obviously an implicit claim about his authority to act on his Father's behalf to set things right. But they wanted Jesus to make this implicit claim more explicit. Clearly no ordinary teacher would have claimed to have authority over the temple. Even prophets might make prophetic gestures or statements in regard to the temple, might even prophesy its eventual downfall, but they did not feel free to take renovations into their own hands. Jesus had said that he was one greater than the temple (see Matthew 12:6), which could, in the final analysis, mean only one thing. That one thing is what they were hoping to provoke him to say.

I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus wasn't being evasive about answering the question about authority so much as not interested in answering a question that was not motivated by a search for truth. The chief priests and elders asked the question for political purposes. They wanted to force Jesus to say something so extreme it would negate his growing popularity.

Where was John's baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?"

Jesus, as he so often did, turned the tables on those who sought to entrap him. He responded with a legitimate question, since a proper understanding of the origin of John's baptism was inextricably linked with understanding Jesus, who received that baptism. The forerunner was part of the context without which the bridegroom's coming would be unintelligible. If they wanted a real answer about the authority of Jesus they would need to demonstrate the capability to give a real answer about the ministry of John the Baptist. But in the case of John the Baptist too they could only give a political answer, unable to take the popular stance, since they did not agree, and unable to say what they truly thought, since the alternative opinion was so popular. But if they couldn't be sincere about what they thought on that point, what right did they have to demand straightforward sincerity from Jesus? If they were only looking for pretext to solidify their preexisting opinions for political purposes, what good would it do to tell them that the authority of Jesus came from his heavenly Father?

So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know."
He himself said to them,
"Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."

The big problem with the chief priests and the elders in this instance was that they had prior commitments and preconceptions into which Jesus did not fit. They hadn't believed in John, and were unwilling to reevaluate him in the light of Jesus. They were too tied to their ideas to change, and too afraid of the crowd to allow their opinions to be subjected to public scrutiny. In a way, people sincerely opposed to Jesus, and who could at least say so directly were in a much better position to potentially discover the truth about him. If those who questioned Jesus could just admit that they didn't believe in John that could have been the beginning of a conversation. But in their unwillingness to say anything at all they all but ruled out learning the truth.

The first reading this morning reminds us that God can work even through very stubborn people committed to false beliefs, as he did through Balaam. Our aversion to the truth and our innate stubbornness are not insurmountable obstacles to God. He can find people to whom we listen and put in their mouths words we can grasp. We may still reject those words. But they may spark with in us a desire to at least hope that they are true. Such is a blessing of this holiday season. Many people do not believe the message of Christmas. But some of them at least find it to be a desirable message. A God who cares enough to become one of us, to make himself known, and to save us, does seem preferable to a disinterested universe in which we are just blips of chance, heading from nothing and returning there. We can use this to our advantage as evangelists. It isn't always easy for us to own our Christianity publicly. Their isn't always a good opportunity to do so without being awkward. But Christmas makes it a little easier. So let us follow the example of John the Baptist and help to prepare for the coming of Christ this year.

Sword Of The Spirit Worship - Our Blessed Hope

 

14 December 2025 - at the gates

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
"Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?"

John knew that Jesus was the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We have already seen disciples of his internalize this message and leave John to follow Jesus (see John 1:35-39). But the disciples John instructed to go to Jesus with the question about which we read in today's Gospel were apparently uncertain about whether or not Jesus was the messiah. We could easily imagine John had been telling recent disciples of his about Jesus, them getting excited, and then his imprisonment by Herod causing them to doubt. So John told them to bring their own doubts and questions directly to Jesus himself, knowing that Jesus would somehow have the answer. This is, of course, great news for evangelists. We may not know exactly what to say. We may not have the freedom to do all we would otherwise do to convince others. But the constraints we face are not constraints for Jesus. If we can even persuade others that Jesus is worth asking directly, which is yet a long way from convincing anyone, he has demonstrated he can take it for from. This seems similar to something Saint Paul would later express:

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! (see Second Timothy 2:8-10).

Jesus responded to the inquiry of John's disciples, not merely by proclaiming his own miraculous power, though he did that. Rather, in doing so he proclaimed that the prophecy of Isaiah was in the process of being fulfilled. God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, was coming with vindications and divine recompense to save his people. The Lord had come to ransom his people who would then be free to enter the true spiritual Zion, full of song, crowned with joy that would never end. All of the sorrow and mourning the marked their world and still mark our own would then be forced to flee. This is the same promise described in the book of Revelation:

He 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).

Yet there was still a risk that people would take offense at Jesus, since he did not fulfill the prophecies exactly in the way anyone expected. John's own disciples were perhaps willing to take offense even at the fact of his imprisonment, though he was their own teacher. His lack of success seemed to be, at least, a cause for concern. And if this was true, how would they ever reconcile themselves to the fact of a crucified messiah? Because of this Jesus helped them to understand that the greatness that they had found in John was different from that usually recognized by the world, and was undiminished by Herod's power. People within the world said things in order to please others, like reeds swaying in the wind. But John always and only said what he believed to be true. People in the world demonstrated their success by their wealth, often exemplified in their wine clothing. But John had never needed this to win the approval of others. It was precisely his lack of regard for such things that made him seem, if also possibly dangerous, highly compelling. It was clear that his role wasn't designed to lead to a royal palace. If John's disciples learned to recognize what had drawn them to John in the first place they would be less likely to take offense at Jesus. And this was important, because, great as John was, he was only the forerunner, the messenger sent before the face of the Lord to prepare his way.

Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

The purpose of the greatness of John the Baptist was to help others find their way to Jesus and his kingdom. It would be a mistake to stop with him and not go the full way to becoming a disciple of the one whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. John was also great in the kingdom, and in some way died as a witness to Jesus. But that greatness was not meant to be unique to him. It was not specifically a result of his role as forerunner. All disciples together were meant to share in the great privilege of bearing witness to Jesus. This means us as well, especially as Christmas draws near and we prepare once more to welcome him.

You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 

Clamavi De Profundis - O Come Divine Messiah

 

13 December 2025 - not a victory lap

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

The book of Sirach, in giving praise to Elijah, taught that he would "come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob". The prophet Malachi also mentioned that Elijah would return before the great and terrible day of the Lord. The scribes understood this, but they didn't recognize the coming of the one who fulfilled that promise. No doubt, for someone like Elijah they were expecting a victory lap, complete success without effort or opposition. John the Baptist, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, had much about him that made his connection to Elijah evident. But we do not hear that he called to fire or destroyed the prophets of Baal or raised the dead. Yet what he did do seemed to be more important from God's perspective. He was very much interested in restoring the tribes of Israel through his message of repentance. It wasn't enough for them to rest on their laurels, as though their Abrahamic ancestry would automatically solve their problems. Rather, they were called to justice and to mercy. But it seems the scribes where hoping for something else, something that addressed the external problems in the world whilst leaving their souls untouched and unhealed. The idea that the proud in Israel had moral and spiritual work to do was probably part of why tax collectors and prostitutes believed the message of John but the professionally religious were more reluctant.

Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.

The ministry of the forerunner shared in the polarizing nature of the one he came to make known. Neither the forerunner nor the messiah himself met with immediate unmitigated success. They both proclaimed such a provocative message that all of the systemic powers of darkness in the world came against them to silence them. Even their deaths may not have looked that remarkable to an external observer. The one died as a prisoner of a tyrant, the other as a criminal. Yet it really was the truth for which they stood that made them intolerable to those for whom it was uncomfortable. John did come to proclaim restoration, but only such as was available through individual moral reform. Jesus did come to proclaim the Father's everlasting love for his lost sheep. But the shape this took was not what everyone desired or anticipated, and so they did not all welcome it.

So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.

Even Christians are sometimes tempted to look only for obvious and world-changing miracles to convince ourselves that we are not wasting our time. But Jesus never wanted to convince the crowds merely on the basis of special effects. He desired them to come to faith, not only in what he could do, but in what he himself desired to do. Hence the real transformations were and are often hidden. Those things would not be convincing to those looking for physics defying events that hold up to scientific scrutiny. Yet we know that the transformation of human hearts is even more difficult and improbable than merely physical healings. And, whether we often remember it or not, we do in fact know of the marvelous ways that those we know and we ourselves have become, through faith in Jesus, what we could have never been alone.

In summary, we need to believe Jesus and John about the need for us to die to self, through the power of the cross of Christ, through the blood of the lamb of God, so that we may then, and only then, experience the fullness of the resurrection.

 Choir of King's College, Cambridge - On Jordan's Bank

 

12 December 2025 - am I not your mother?

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Today we celebrate Our Lady in Guadalupe. In doing so we acknowledge the special role given to Mary in salvation history. She was daughter Zion who sang and rejoiced at the coming of the Lord to dwell among us. She was the woman clothes with the sun, between whom and the ancient dragon (or serpent) God promised to put enmity. She was the new Eve who would triumph where the old Eve failed. But she did not do this on her own strength. Eve would have had a better chance of resisting the intimidation tactics of the serpent if her husband Adam had been willing to lend her his strength. But though he was so close to her that she could pass a piece of fruit to him he watched in silence, shirking his duty to guard the garden. But Jesus, the new Adam, did not leave the new Eve to struggle alone. Since the subject who experienced the cross and resurrection was God himself  it was something that transcended time. And because of this, the grace that resulted from it was available to fill Mary from the moment of her conception. That was the reason the archangel Gabriel acknowledged her as full of grace.

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”

Whereas Eve chose to prioritize herself, her freedom, her desire to decide good and evil for herself Mary instead chose to place her trust in God and his plans for her. It was unlikely that either woman was able to fully grasp what the consequences of either choice would mean to them. Even Mary doubtless had her own plans and expectations prior to the archangel interrupting her life. But Eve resolved to decide for herself, relying on no one. Mary believed that God knew better than she what would lead to the best outcome. Obviously the specific choices these two individuals had to make were more extreme than what will be asked of us. But they are not entirely different from questions with which we must all contend. Will we trust in God, even when we lack all of the details about an ambiguous situation? Or will we insist on relying on ourselves at such times? Will we insist on merely human ways of thinking, or will we trust in the new and spiritual mindset God has given in through his Spirit? Not every choice we make has these dimensions. But every choice that matters probably does.

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.

Mary didn't take her special role in the story of salvation as an excuse to ignore others and focus on herself. In fact, she seemed animated by knowledge of the fact that God was working through her in a special way. It seemed as though she all but ran out the door to spread the blessings of God to others who might benefit. She did so, not so much by bringing herself, helpful as Elizabeth would have found her presence, but by bringing the presence of the Lord within her, the blessed fruit of her womb. It was this presence that caused Elizabeth to rejoice in the Holy Spirit. It was this same presence by which Our Lady of Guadalupe brought about the conversion of millions of indigenous peoples of the Americas. 

It is not surprising that what Mary did once historically at the time of Jesus is an important task still entrusted to her by her Son. The apparitions at Guadalupe are among the most famous of her interventions in the world. But they are by no means the only ones. Many of the interventions with which we are familiar may be obviously miraculous to the extreme. But this should not cause us to miss the times when she desires to intervene in our own lives in ways more humble and hidden. She wants to bring the joy of her son to us as surely as she did to Elizabeth or the peoples in what were then the Mexican territories of the Spanish Empire. 

The presence of Our Lady accomplished what many highly educated missionaries could not in spreading the Gospel to those lands. In our own day the effectiveness of educated and erudite preachers is limited. We need Our Lady to come to us to break open the floodgates of grace, just as she did for other peoples and lands. She can help because her faith, by which she believed that nothing is impossible for God, allows that reality the be realized where she is present. And when it is realized, when God himself demonstrates that for him all things are possible, more and more people join Mary in singing her song of joy.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

John Michael Talbot - Holy Is His Name

 

11 December 2025 - the violent bear it away

Today's Readings
(Audio)
 

among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

Insofar as John was a prophet like others in the history of Israel he was great, but still somehow far less than even the least in the Kingdom of heaven. But John was one who had a foot in both worlds, that of the Old Covenant, and that of the New. He was the first to experience violence being turned against the Kingdom. This was true since the purpose of his coming was to prepare the way for Jesus, and it was this that put him in such a public role as to offend Herod Antipas. He stuck even to subordinate truths about righteousness and repentance, down to insisting on the unlawfulness of Herod's marriage, precisely because to be unfaithful to any truth was to be unfaithful to the one who was the Truth in person, the bridegroom he came to make known. 

Let's pause for a moment to realize what a reversal is being described by Jesus in regard to John. The obvious and evident signs of John's greatness were as a prophet from the long prophetic tradition of Israel. He had such massive success calling people to repentance, a success which, we point out, was not common for the prophets, that people were afraid to say anything negative about him for fear of the crowds (see Matthew 21:23-27). This was the greatness of which Jesus said "among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist". But his Kingdom greatness was revealed by the suffering he endured for the messiah. Outside of the Kingdom, even for a prophet, John's end could only be considered a tragedy that was in some measure a failure. But in the Kingdom it could be regarded as a victory, since in the Kingdom suffering and death were no longer meaningless for lives lived for Christ. It wasn't primarily those who lived successful lives on earth that were considered great in the Kingdom. The great reversal in which the mighty were cast down and the lowly were lifted up was applicable to John the Baptist as a prime example. This reversal had been foreseen in the Old Testament. But in Jesus it finally arrived. And John was among the first to experience it.

the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. 

The commentators all say that this passage refers to the woes that would mark the world at the time of the messiah, all of the violence that would be directed against Jesus and those who followed him. And we concede this is the primary meaning. Yet we also acknowledge the long tradition of those who say that it refers to the spiritual violence necessary to enter the Kingdom. This spiritual violence is directed primarily at old sinful selves, which we put to death, in order to live more fully the new life given to us in baptism. This is what Paul described in his letter to the Romans, saying, "if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (see Romans 8:13). For this reason the Catholic tradition speaks of mortification as an important part of the spiritual life. After all, no amount of violence from others can actually prevent a follower of Jesus from entering into his Kingdom. But a lax attitude with in regard to the temptations of the flesh can do exactly that. Thus for us, as for John, the true shape of success and victory is not what we might expect. It isn't having our every desire met so much as having those desires reordered to reflect reality. The strength we need, it should be said, does not come from ourselves, even it is through us that it works. 

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God (see Second Timothy 1:8).

John's role was special. He was called Elijah because he prepared the way for Jesus, his Kingdom, and ultimately, the end of that period of history. The prophets had prophesied up until John, indicating, despite their differences, a common thread. He was the culmination of God's preparation of Israel to receive her messiah. Together with the rest of the passage, the "up to the time of John" implied the ending of one era and the beginning of another. The time of preparation for the Kingdom was over. The Kingdom was now truly at hand. 

Although the Kingdom is among us, the challenge we are given by the Church is to prepare to welcome it in a new way this Christmas. We are rehearsing the original coming of the messiah so that we can welcome him more completely into our own hearts and lives this year. Just as Jesus divided history into BC and AD (or whatever we are to call them now) so too does he divide our individual lives. Our after should be markedly different than our before. But for this to be true and remain true it is required that we continue to pursue it, even with the sort of spiritual violence we have described.

John Michael Talbot - Prepare Ye The Way

 

10 December 2025 - a word to rouse us

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.

Today both the first reading and the Gospel speak a word of comfort to those who are weary. We're speaking here of something more than a merely physical sensation. We might define the phenomenon as the result of a flagging of endurance, leading us to want to give up. Why might we be weary? We don't have to look too far to find ample reasons. We pray, but our prayers are not immediately answered. We work for justice, but the powerful still oppress the weak. We try to draw near to God, but encounter dryness. We have been told and so understand that endurance is expected of us, that we need to persist, and maintain our hope even when the circumstances make things seem hopeless. Hope has God for its object, and, as we know, it "does not disappoint" (see Romans 5:5).

Let's look at how Jesus handled temptations to give up. We know that he set his face like flint (see Isaiah 50:7) and "endured the cross, despising the shame" (see Hebrews 12:2). But it was not a matter of merely gritting his teeth and powering through. Even he, Jesus himself, had to have an object in which to fix his hope, something more important than all of the suffering he would endure. He did what he did "for the joy that was set before him", which was not some generic feeling of elation, but his union with the Father. His hope, humanly speaking, was solidly fixed in God. This gave him the strength he needed to endure the cross to bring us salvation.

For our part, we are not meant to merely struggle through on our own strength. Having hope that never wavers like Jesus did often proves too much for us. But when we come to him, share his yoke, and learn from him, one of the things we learn is how to fix our own will in the will of the Father, to have hope just as he did. On our own we may well surrender ourselves to despair. But when we share the yoke of Jesus we see the way that leads to victory. Jesus was able to trust even before he experienced the resurrection because he knew his Father was faithful. But now the resurrection has in fact occurred. When we are united to Jesus we already begin to live this new life in the Spirit. We can endure because we are in some way already at the goal as long as we are in union with him. Burdens that were unbearably heavy thus become light when we share his easy yoke.

Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles' wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.

The motivation and strength that we receive from Jesus are primarily of the spiritual order. And yet, when we are so certain of our purpose, and know for sure that victory is possible, even our physical bodies receive new energy. Old women and men who know their purpose and destiny through their union with Christ often have a vitality that is at odds with their years. The youthful spirit of the saints still living on earth seems to animate even their aging bodies. Maybe if our complaints are primarily about such matters, the solution we need is not some new supplement or yoga routine, but rather a new infusion of purpose from our union with Jesus himself. The invitation is both easy and open. We come to him, share his yoke, and learn. Only here, in his arms, can we ever find anything remotely like rest in this fallen world.

 

Bob Fitts - He Will Come And Save You

 

9 December 2025 - the one percent

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?

Jesus is not content with good enough. One sheep missing is, for him, one too many. His stated purpose in coming was to seek and to save the lost (see Luke 19:10). When he saw people who seemed like sheep without a shepherd his heart couldn't help but be moved with compassion for them (see Matthew 9:36). 

Most of us have experienced being spiritually lost to some degree at some point. Maybe we were even still in sight range of other sheep and yet succumbed to confusion about our purpose and our worth. Hopefully we have all had the experience of being found by Jesus, being embraced by him, and being carried back to his flock. He has a place for us where we can thrive and truly be, as they say, our best selves. Even from within the flock we might be confused if we try to figure out our place and purpose on our own. But Jesus helps us understand who we are meant to be and why. And in doing so he delivers us from our disoriented confusion.

Though most of us have been lost in small ways we may not relate to those utterly absent from the flock that Jesus desires to bring within his fold. Even if we do relate, it may have been some time since we could be described in similar terms. We are mostly more like the ninety-nine who remain behind when he seeks out the one that is missing. Because of this we often take this parable as a teaching to help us appreciate why it is often those who are more distant from the Lord who seem to receive the most obvious signs of his love. It helps us come to terms with his apparent absence in our own lives while he is out in the field loving those most in need. But is Jesus really limited in this way? Does he love us less in order to love the lost more? If he were merely a man we would have to concede that he must. If he were, he would only possess limited power, capacity, and attention to distribute among all the sheep. But the shepherd who feeds his flock is not merely man, but, as Isaiah points out, "the Lord God", the same one who "comes with power" and "who rues by his strong arm". Therefore we must infer that even if it seems from our point of view that the lost sheep receive special attention it is really the case that they are loved differently, in a way that they particularly need, rather than more. Neither, then, are we loved less, for we are safely ensconced within the mountain heights of his Church. It is not really that he is absent in our lives, any more than the father of elder brother was absent from his life in the parable of the prodigal son. It may feel like Jesus is more present to people who are lost. But if we correctly understand the blessings we have been given here at home within his Church, we will recognize that what the father told the elder brother is the same thing God says to us: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours" (see Luke 15:31).

And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.

All of the sheep safely within the flock are worthy of the same joy. But it is especially true that the finding of the lost demands special celebration, as did the return of the prodigal son. We may use the parable of the lost sheep to help us understand our own situation and those of others. It does help us to see those mysteries from God's perspective. But the more important point, perhaps, is to let it teach us to have hearts that are more like that of Jesus, who prioritize seeking the lost, who are committed to mission. We should be like the herald described by Isaiah in our first reading:

Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!

Bob Dufford - Like A Shepherd

 

 

8 December 2025 - your praises we sing

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.

Into a situation in which there should have been only life Adam and Eve chose to allow death to enter. They had been told the one thing to avoid, the one thing carrying the consequence of death. But they had chosen to believe the serpent rather than God. They succumbed to fear and chose to decide for themselves about good and evil. They imagined that they could subjectively impose a better order on the world than the one with which it was created by God. In that false world that they imagined they were safe from the serpent, enjoyed delicious fruit, and God didn't mind so much after all. But this was not, as we know, the result. Eve, who had been intended to be the mother of all the living became the mother of all of the spiritual dead, all mortals doomed to die.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.

Adam and Eve didn't take God by surprise with their disobedience. He did not suddenly wish he had not created them with free will after all. No, he always had a plan to restore all things. He only ever permitted evil since from it he could bring still greater good. The enmity that was always meant to exist between the forces of darkness and the children of God would be restored. Where the disobedience of Eve brought sorrow and death, the obedience of Mary, the new Eve, would bring life and forgiveness.

Since Mary was always a part of God's plan we should not be surprised that she was given special grace to play her part. What Paul said of all us of was true of her in particular, that God "chose us in him, before the foundation of the world" and "blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens". This was why the angel greeted her by saying, "Hail, full of grace!", as though "full of grace" was such an apt description of her as to be her name. The word indicated that she had been completely filled with grace in the past in a way that continued on into the present. Years of reflecting on this mystery led the Church to recognize and gradually clarify the teaching of the Immaculate Conception. We now understand that the grace which filled her had done so from the very moment she was conceived. She had been specially protected by the grace of Christ's Passion so that she could fully cooperate in unleashing his salvation on the world, so that she could fully and without reservation welcome the one who would at last crush the head of the serpent. While Eve expressed the freedom she had been given for selfish ends, Mary used it perfectly to honor God. For this reason it is Mary, and not Eve, whom all generations will forever call blessed. But she would not wish to be alone in honoring God in this way. She desires to help us even now, today, to say yes, just as she did. Mary, mother of God, pray for us!

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."

Damascus Worship Featuring Seph Schlueter  - Hail O Queen

 

7 December 2025 - way prepared

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Zechariah had prophesied of his son John that, "you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways" (see Luke 1:76). And now it was in fact coming to pass. John was calling all who would listen to acknowledge their sins and, to repent, and to bear good fruit as evidence. He was giving the people knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of their sees (sins Luke 1:77). That forgiveness itself was not yet available. The baptism of John was a mere sign of one's intention and commitment. But the reason he made the proclamation was that the salvation mentioned by Zechariah was indeed at hand. The time to prepare the way was now because the Lord was indeed going to come to them, in a new and utterly unique way. The tender mercy of God was coming into the world and the dawn from on high was beginning to break through. 

Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.

We know that the verse from Isaiah referred to the coming of the Lord, the coming of God himself. But interpreters must have assumed that this was meant as mere metaphor. But the dawn from on high of whom Zechariah prophesied, and for whom John the Baptist prepared, was not merely a metaphorical way of describing God's action in the world. It was in fact the person of Jesus Christ himself, the light of the world and the savior of humanity. The Lord for whom John prepared was present in the person of Jesus Christ in a way surpassing all others. It was therefore literally true to say that John prepared, not for a mere human, but for the Lord himself.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

It was not enough to merely going through the motions without sincerity. Choosing to be baptized because doing so was popular or even as a contingency plan, just in case John was right, seemed to be too insubstantial to motivate any real or lasting change. The baptism of John might not have had the power to forgive sins or bestow the Spirit but it was at least meant to be a choice that would change one's life going forward and definitively set a new direction.

God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

We need not try to acquire salvation based on the accumulation of points or merit. Nothing we do is able to so impress God that he just can't help but give us salvation as a reward. We need to let ourselves be built as living stones, children of Abraham through faith. It is God who does the real work in us, rather than we who do it to prove ourselves to him. We, even we Gentiles, have access to it through faith. The transformation is a gift, given in the form of the Holy Spirit and fire. Practically speaking, this usually happens in the form of the baptism established by Jesus, which that of John only foreshadowed. When we emerge from the water of that fount of life the Spirit descends upon us and we hear the Father calling us beloved daughters and sons. It is then that we have the power to bear good fruit as evidence of our repentance, because we receive all the gifts of the Spirit of which Isaiah spoke.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

Songs In His Presence - His Name Shall Be Called

 

6 December 2025 - if God is with us

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.

These crowds weren't meant to be without a shepherd. Yet ever since the fall people experienced feelings of trouble and of being abandoned, since they no longer had direct access to the presence of God. He no longer walked through the same garden of paradise with them in the cool of the day. It was easy to assume that their expulsion from the garden meant that God no longer cared about them as much as before. They were forced to move from a place where their every need was met to one in which they could only earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. They went from a place where they would never have died to a world marked by age, disease, and illness. Compared to their relationship with God in the garden they often felt isolated and alone. Yet there were still indications that they were not alone, that God had not really given up on them. He did not, as he might well have done, destroy them immediately. He made them clothing. And he made a promise to crush the head of the serpent who was the ultimate cause of the situation. 

As time passed the consequences of the fall began to increasingly define people's experience of the world. The relationship between God and humanity became so tenuous it became possible for people to suspect that God did not exist or to accuse him of being capricious, not truly good. He tried to send shepherds to care for his people, but they often failed, using their positions as a means of exploitation, rather than for the sake of the sheep. But none of this meant that God's heart was not still with his people. The fact that he didn't immediately make the issue of sin disappear was not because he didn't care, but because he cared to much to sweep it away without drawing from it a still greater good. He never stopped wanting to be present to shepherd his flock himself. But he was patient, waiting until the fullness of time, so that the fullness of his intended relationship with humanity could be restored. When Jesus came into the world he did so at a time when people were hoping for a savior, looking for a messiah who could set them free. They had a sufficient sense of their own insufficiency, and began to cry out go God for salvation. Not everyone did, of course, but enough at least that the work could finally begin. We can't determine exactly why God chose the specific time and place he did to begin his project of restoring the world. There is always something mysterious about his timing. This is expected, since he has a higher perspective and a deeper understanding of reality than we do. But we can say for sure that he did what he did when he did because it allowed him to most perfectly show his love for us. Thus, in today's Gospel passage the crowd that was present stood in for all humanity in all the years leading up to that moment, and all the years that would follow. They stood for everyone who felt far from God, who no longer trusted, or believed, or who were desperate for him but could not find him, for all the sheep that felt alone. Jesus himself seemed to desire to reach out and embrace them all and assure them that his love for them had never wavered, would never waver, and never could. 

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.

If the compassion of Jesus was really as we have described it, we may go on to say that the mission of his disciples, and indeed our own mission, is to continue to spread that compassion to the world. Our lives too should be signs that no one has been forgotten by God. No one has truly been abandoned. No one should need to face their troubles alone any longer. Since the fall, the snake has been trying to convince us that God either does not care about us or is in fact against us. Our lives are meant to show the world that he is, beyond all doubt, for us.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (see Romans 8:31).

We ourselves are imperfect. And God's presence is still more hidden than the poetic language of the story of creation seemed to suggest that it was for Adam and Eve. But ours is an age where God is by no means absent. We no longer need to feel alone because of the Eucharistic presence of Our Lord and the gift of his Holy Spirit. These realities mean we have direct access to a shepherd who wants to lead and guide us with such concrete specificity that the words of the prophet Isaiah can be true for us:

No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
"This is the way; walk in it,"
when you would turn to the right or to the left.

Michael Card - Immanuel

 

5 December 2025 - blind faith

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!"

Even if nothing else in our lives is clear, the thing that matters most is to know that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who came to save us. When we seek him first he will help open our eyes to anything else that is truly important. Having him as our absolute priority will gradually reorder our other priorities until they more accurately reflect reality. It is then that we will walk without stumbling in the way of the Lord.

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them (see Hosea 14:9).

Most of us are not actually blind, or using a screen reader to read this reflection. But all of us, at least at times, are not sure where to turn for answers, or even what an answer would look like if we saw it. Our paths are often fraught with confusion. And it is often a confusion that doesn't seem directly related to Jesus. We may imagine him waving contentedly from church buildings as we pass by on our apparently urgent errands. But in fact he wants to come with us, to do life together with us. It is only he himself who is the light that illumines our lives. If we only meet him on Sundays or in church buildings a good chunk of our lives will remain in darkness.

The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going (see John 12:35).

In Advent we prepare for the coming of the one who is the light of the world. We do not do this because he is the ultimate Christmas decoration, in addition to all of the other season decor. We do it because we and our world are still in darkness and desperately need more of the light he brings us. We do it because even we ourselves, let along the disinterested secular masses, still frequently stumble without sufficient light. We ourselves are meant to become light to help push back this darkness. But this is only possible when the true light, Jesus himself, is living within us. 

See that no one knows about this.

When people understand Jesus in a superficial way they tend to think of salvation as solving their problems as they understand them. But Jesus actually helps us to understand our lives and the world in a new way that relativizes the things we previously considered important. We might hope that he will fix our houses, our cars, our bodies, our socio-economic situations, or any number of other things. But the main thing Jesus wants to fix is our souls, which is to say, our relationship with his Father. This is what it really means for him to be the savior of the world. The first step is realizing that our vision of God is not yet as crystal clear as we desire. We still superimpose human ways of understanding on the divine. Salvation, if it means relationship, also means coming to see him more clearly. It is by this vision that we become more and more like him.

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (see First John 3:2).

When we finally see him as he is, it is then that the words of Isaiah will be fully realized:

On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Songs In His Presence - In Your Light