21 March 2026 - believe the hype

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
"This is truly the Prophet."

They thought that Jesus was the one promised by Moses when he said that "your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen" (see Deuteronomy 18:15). If this were true Jesus was more significant than if were merely a compelling teacher or miracle worker. In that case he would not be speaking his own words, no matter how clever, since God said, "I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him" (see Deuteronomy 18:18), implying that adherence was no longer an optional extra for those who happened to vibe with what he said. The Lord continued speaking to Moses saying, "And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him" (see Deuteronomy 18:19).

Others said, "This is the Christ."

People were probably primed to debunk messianic claims, since there had been other pretenders to that position in the past. Others had claimed they fulfilled these promises of God to David for the restoration of Israel, but had failed to do so. Now people were on guard against believing hype or daring to hope. They had been disappointed before by people who might have been something but turned out not to be. So they easy thing for them to do was to poke holes in anything which dared them to hope again. They had been jaded. In many ways people in our world share this cynicism. They have placed their hope in many places and been disappointed. Most things that seem too good to be true are, in fact, not true. But the defensive posture of cynicism can lead us to miss the ways that God really at work in the world. We may use confirmation bias to support our assumptions. We may line up any number of purported 'facts' to justify what we believe a priori. We won't be open to the encounter God desires to have with us, nor to the good he desires to do, which far surpasses all our hopes and dreams.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"
The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man."

Somehow it is often the sophisticated people who fail to find Jesus, because their own cleverness becomes a trap. Whereas it is the simple who are often less committed to intellectual abstractions and thus able to actually experience encounter with Jesus. The chief priests and Pharisees, if they heard the words of Jesus at all, only heard them through several layers of mental filters. But the guards heard what he actually said. They had probably heard other teachers, sophists, and charlatans. And they knew that this one was not like those others. They knew that he was not like anyone else, then or ever.

Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.

Sometimes experts only use their authority to endorse their own existing positions. They take offense at the prospect of anything that would diminish or usurp their authority in the eyes of others. The Pharisees saw themselves as the ones who knew the law, and Jesus as an outsider and a threat to that claim. They became increasingly committed to the idea that Jesus was a fraud in order to protect their own positions. Or most of them did. But some of them were able to remain open enough to at least hear him out. 

Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, 
"Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?"

Nicodemus already had a sense that Jesus someone extraordinary. He saw his fellow Pharisees claiming to object on the basis of the law while not even giving Jesus the fair hearing which the law required. He was suspicious of this rush to condemn too quickly without hearing him out. Nicodemus himself maintained and encouraged a posture of humble openness to the possibility that one or more of the things that were claimed about Jesus were true. Such a posture is an antidote against both jaded cynicism and prideful cleverness. He is in this sense worthy of our emulation. If we open ourselves to the full reality of Jesus, if we allow ourselves to truly hear his words, and if, in response, we give him our hearts, we will find that he not only fulfills our deepest desires but that he indeed far surpasses them.

Elevation Worship - Here As In Heaven

 

20 March 2026 - where he is from

Today's Readings
(Audio)

But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.

What they knew about where he was from in earthly terms was partial at best, missing the most important data about his birth in Bethlehem, the city of David. It is always bad to judge people based on our assumptions about their origins. We typically overlook many concrete details of their existence and only arrive at stereotypes and prejudices rather than anything real. All the more so when the individual in question was both son of God and son of man. For, as much as they misunderstood his earthly origin, even more did they fail to grasp his heavenly origin. Though he already explained that he had been sent by the Father, they clearly didn't understand or accept it, so he challenged them.

You know me and also know where I am from.

They knew if they believed what he told them. Otherwise it could be taken ironically, in the sense of, 'So you think you know where I am from?'. Thus he went on to explain the sense in which they definitely did not know where he was from, and could not, since they did not know the who sent him. Sure, they knew about that One in some sense, and even worshiped him as their God. But they did not understand him on the sames terms that his only begotten Son understood him. Obviously, they weren't privy to the plan in which the Father decided to send the Son and the Son obeyed and allowed himself to be sent. So any understanding they did have was external, did not penetrate into the heart of God, and thus could not account for the origin of Jesus. Their preconceptions about Jesus and their presumptions about God were both insufficient.

Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.

Here was an opportunity for the confused crowds to look beyond what they thought they knew in order to ask, 'Could it actually be as he said?' But instead of taking it as an invitation they received it as a challenge and became, first defensive, and then aggressive. They might have received the good news of the Gospel but instead heard only blasphemy. They were provoked like the wicked described in the first reading from Wisdom:

Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.

And so the judgment given in Wisdom applied also to those opponents of Jesus in Jerusalem in today's Gospel: 

These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent souls' reward.

Importantly, Jesus knew all this, and yet did not suddenly deviate from his plan to die for these very people who tried to arrest him and would one day agitate for his execution. They were his enemies, and yet, as with us all, he desired to offer his life to save them. Because we know this we can be sure that even when we make mistakes or fail to live as good friends of Jesus he does not on that basis turn aside from us either. He continues to pour out his love in the hope that we may eventually receive it and be restored. It is important for us to recognize in Jesus the presence of this God-like agape love that transcends any other love we have ever known. It is precisely in our weaknesses and failings that it becomes possible for us to be convinced of this love at the deepest level of our being. It is then that we will say with Saint John, and in the same spirit of wonder in which he said it, that "we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us" (see First John 4:16).

Newsboys - You Are My King (Amazing Love)

 

19 March 2026 - father in faith

Today's Readings
(Audio)

she was found with child through the Holy Spirit

It was discovered that Mary came to be with child through supernatural circumstances. Whatever may be said of Joseph's response, one thing is clear: he didn't plan for this. He understood that Mary was special, that he had a mission to watch over her and protect her throughout her life. But the element of the supernatural had probably not entered into his calculations. He saw himself as up to the task when it seemed to be a merely human task. But now it seemed to be much more.

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

Joseph was probably already concerned about the way an imperfect man such as himself could bring shame to his immaculate bride. It was precisely because he was righteous that he had an appropriate sense of his own weakness. And it wasn't as though he needed the definition of the Immaculate Conception handed to him in order to understand that Mary was special. But he probably still saw his mission to her in terms of his superficial value as a Jewish man, and what he could offer her on that basis. He thought of the ways in which he might have been interchangeable with a thousand other men, and so could conceive of filling that role himself. But when it was revealed the way that God was at work in the life of Mary it became clear to Joseph that more was needed. What she needed was not something that any decent man whosoever could provide. Instead, she needed the one specifically anointed and chosen by God for the task. The destiny of the child demanded it.

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

Holy fear made Joseph rightly doubt his own capacity. But the angel conveyed the fact that it was not merely what Joseph was in himself that mattered. What mattered was that he was in fact not an accidental addition to the story. He was chosen as a specific and necessary part of the plan. He was the son of David the great king, through whom Jesus himself would be a part of the royal lineage. It was precisely because of Joseph that Jesus was the heir to the promise made to David in our first reading:

I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.

Of course just hearing that he was part of the plan still gave Joseph no sense of how a relatively ordinary man such as himself could somehow play that role. Thus the angel reminded him that it was in fact the Holy Spirit that was directing the show. Joseph knew well enough that he did not have the necessary competence in supernatural matters to make good decisions for the Holy Family or even to provide them sufficient protection from the forces arrayed against them. But he didn't need that competence. He needed instead to rely on the Holy Spirit who was already at work and would continue to work, not only in the lives of Mary and Jesus, but also in the life of Joseph himself.

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

Thus Joseph was commanded to do something that only he could do. He was told to name the child, claiming him as his son, but also and at the same time as his savior. Joseph, for his part, did not argue the point or hesitate as he wavered between possibly choices. Rather, when he awoke, he obeyed. Such was the character of Joseph. He didn't always know the right way immediately. But when he learned it, he always gave immediate assent of faith. He was, in this sense, like Abraham, a father in faith. Thus, the following passage is also true of Joseph. Let us honor him with the words of Paul:

I have made you father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God,
in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead
and calls into being what does not exist.

Damascus Worship Featuring Aaron Richards - Hail Joseph

 

18 March 2026 - doing the work

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"My Father is at work until now, so I am at work."
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus explained the sense in which it was appropriate for him to work on the sabbath by stating that it was in keeping with the way his Father himself worked on the sabbath, as a commentary says, "Jewish reflection on the nature of God’s sabbath rest (Gen 2:2–3) led to the conclusion that God continued to perform two major activities on the sabbath: giving life and passing judgment on the dead, as seemed evident from the fact that people are born and die on the sabbath"¹. 

Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,

The basis was not merely that God did it and it was thus acceptable for anyone. It wasn't as though everyone was eligible to dispense both life and judgment. Rather Jesus said it was appropriate for the Son to do what he received from the Father. He had a privileged relationship with the Father that was different from that of others. To say a normal man could do something because God did it would be blasphemy. For example, we are not to give our own moral laws or dictate our own ideas about good and evil. Jesus was indeed acting like God, but because he was himself God from God and True God from God.

and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.

Jesus did give life on the sabbath, in the sense of restoring those whom he healed. But he promised to demonstrate greater works than those healings. Those healings, and his judgment on those who were critical of them, were only meager foreshadowings, since the lives of those whom he healed would still end in death. But they pointed beyond to the resurrection on the last day. On that day those who had heard the words of Jesus and believed in him would pass definitively from death to life. The dead would hear the voice of the Son of God and live. So too would there be definitive judgment on that day, not merely like the temporary judgment of Jesus on the religious leaders, after which repentence was still possible. When the dead heard the voice of Jesus and came out from their tombs those who had done good deeds would be raised to life, but those who had done wicked deeds would go on to the resurrection of condemnation. Thus the activities from which God did not cease on the sabbath, that Jesus continued in his earthly ministry, would find their fulfillment on the last day when the just would enter into the perpetual sabbath rest of life together with God, and the wicked would be cast out.

I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.

The opponents of Jesus may have been concerned that he was setting himself up as an alternative, a potential rival, to the God of Israel. They knew that for a mere human to actually have such power would result in selfish egotism preventing judgment from being truly objective. But, humanly speaking, Jesus did not introduce any of his own preferences or predilections into the judgment of God. Rather, he did what mere humans could not and perfectly received, internalized, and conveyed the will of the one who sent him. Thus he was able to judge with perfect justice. But not only that. Because of his connection to the Father he is the one who is able to help lead us beyond our own self-will in order that we too may truly seek the will of the Father. In this way, God fulfilled in Jesus what he promised through Isaiah.

In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land
and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!

1) Martin, Francis; Wright, William M. IV. The Gospel of John (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture): (A Catholic Bible Commentary on the New Testament by Trusted Catholic Biblical Scholars - CCSS) (p. 100). (Function). Kindle Edition. 

Who Is Like Thee?

 

17 March 2026 - leaving the pity party

Today's Readings
(Audio)

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"

It may have once been the case that the man would have been able to answer Jesus with an unqualified yes. But now, after thirty-eight years, although he was at the pool as though he were still seeking healing, it was clear that he had in fact given up. After struggling for so long, seeing others healed, but not being able to make it to the pool in time, he was no longer able to maintain his hope. He was, at this point, going through the motions. But, we might wonder, why bother, if it wasn't helping?

The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."

It seemed that if he couldn't attain the goal of healing he could at least indulge in self-pity. Maybe such a sad story was occasionally rewarded and he was given alms, encouraging the behavior. But one wonders if such an attitude wasn't actually self-destructive. Perhaps he could have found a way to the pool if he had showed a little more spirit. Or, if not, perhaps there was a better way to spend his days than in close proximity to a constant reminder of what could never be.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Jesus, however, neither indulged the man nor did he turn his back on him. Rather, if Jesus couldn't find the fire in the man's spirit that he desired to see, he would put it there himself. His answer was so powerful and direct as to bypass all of the man's apparent tendencies toward self-pity, hesitation, and self-sabotage. It had probably been long years since he had done anything in a way that would be described as immediate. But in response to the command of Jesus he demonstrated at once that not only his body but also his soul had been healed.

After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."

Jesus did not imply that the initial illness was necessarily caused by sin. Rather he saw the tendencies that had developed in the man as a result of the illness and was aware that they could sabotage not only his daily life but also his spiritual growth. It would be far worse to abandon spiritual progress because of perceived lack of growth than to give up on a healing that was merely physical. Although Jesus healed him on both levels it would be necessary for the man to persist in the grace he had been given. The old ways he used to live need no longer define him. Our guess is that he probably took this positively, and truly valued what Jesus had done for him. If so, then telling the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him was well-intentioned, rather than revenge for ruining his pathetic but perhaps comfortable lifestyle. But. We each face both options as possible responses when we are healed by Jesus. We can begin to be active agents in the story of salvation using the grace we have been given. Or we can be upset by what is expected of us and turn against the one who healed us. Not sinning so that nothing worse may happen is indeed a lifelong process. But we who have been touched by the healing power of Jesus, who now walk by the Spirit, ought to know the goodness of what we protect by avoiding sin. It is the life of God within us, leading us to eternal life with him.

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

Switchfoot - Meant To Live

 

16 March 2026 - believing and seeing

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

Jesus said this in order to call those who heard to deeper faith. The royal official in particular might have been uncertain of whether or not Jesus could help, desperate to try anything with a possibility of saving his son. Even when Jesus critiqued those who had to see in order to believe he persisted in his initial request. He asked him to go to the place where the child was so that the healing could be accomplished in a manifest and observable way. He intensified the request, and perhaps also his faith, by addressing Jesus as Lord. It was as though he was admitting the critique of Jesus was correct but also that he didn't know any other way to ask.

Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”

The response of Jesus was almost certainly a challenge to the royal official's faith. He called him Lord. But what did that really mean? Jesus responded to the effect that he would not and need not come but that the beloved son of the official would nevertheless be healed. If the official put his faith in the words of Jesus, he could believe in order to receive the desire of his heart. It reminds us of the lepers who were told by Jesus to show themselves to the priests and who were healed as they were obedient to his command. One might have thought that in his desperation the royal official would have pressured Jesus to come to be physically present to his son, to take every possible measure to see and make sure that the healing was accomplished. But it seemed rather that his desperation, which was certainly real, actually made him open to deeper faith. There was no indication of an argument with Jesus. Rather, he was told "You may go" and he went. As a consequence he received news along the way that what he had asked had been granted, precisely in the moment that Jesus had said, "Your son will live", precisely in the moment he believed.

and he and his whole household came to believe

The way that Jesus orchestrated the healing of the official's son brought him and his whole household to a deeper level of faith than if he had merely come and performed the healing in person. They now had every reason to trust the primacy of belief and understand how faith attains its goal. Yet stories such as this do also serve as signs for others. They are able to understand, not only that a sick child was healed, but also that a family was transformed, and it was through faith that it came about.

What Jesus did for the royal official's son was in fact a preview of coming attractions. The faith of the royal official called a little bit of the future described by Isaiah into the here and now of his present moment. He came to experience that:

I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;

Matt Maher - Lord, I Need You

 

15 March 2026 - blindsided

Today's Readings
(Audio)

In our readings today we have several examples of people who think they can see but cannot see as God sees. In the first reading the prophet Samuel seems to judge that Eliab is the Lord's anointed on the basis of his appearance. He has to be led by the Lord not to choose on that basis but to instead keep looking for what he would not have found on his own. In the Gospel we first have the disciples who saw the blind man and assumed the presence of sin. They had to be led by Jesus to see the man in a new way and understand his situation differently. His blindness was not about sin, but was rather to serve a purpose greater than himself in manifesting the works of God to the world. He who had every appearance of disadvantage would prove to be one for whom and through whom God could do great things, reversing the normal order of expectations. The crowds were not able to see beyond how things appeared to be. They defined the man by his blindness and so, once he could see, it was as though they themselves could no longer see him, as others said, "No, he just looks like him". 

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this 
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”

The Pharisees, who in virtue of their position as teachers, ought to have seen the most clearly of anyone, were in fact the most intractably blind. They assumed that Jesus was a sinner and therefore could not have performed the healing miracle attributed to him. They refused to see what was in fact the case based on the preconceptions. They ought to have recognized that Jesus was, more than David, the Lord's anointed. But they were so invested in the belief that he was not that they already had a rule in place "that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue". They claimed to be disciples of Moses, and therefore implied that they could not be disciples of Jesus, since they did not know from where he came. But this fact, which they saw as a strike against him, was really the whole point that they were missing. They did not know where he was from, since he himself was the Word of God who had been sent by the Father and become incarnate. The word of revelation of from Father that Moses had delivered to the people was now standing before them in human form.

Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin; 
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

Blindness itself is never a problem for God. The problem is an obstinate and willful refusal to recognize one's blindness in order to be healed. The blind man was sufficiently vulnerable before Jesus that he not only had his physical blindness healed but also his spiritual vision. He gained a more accurate insight, a clearer view, into the identity of Jesus than either the crowds or the Pharisees possessed.

“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.

People who had every appearance of vision proved to be the ones who were truly blind. The one who was truly blind was revealed to see things with absolute clarity. Thus continued the great reversal Jesus came to bring about, in which the proud were humbled, and the humble were exulted.

You were once darkness, 
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light, 
for light produces every kind of goodness 
and righteousness and truth.

Our lives do not end when we are enlightened at baptism, but rather begin. We must then choose to live on the basis of that new reality. We attain clarity about what is truly of the light and what is not. But we must learn to think and act in a way that is in keeping with the light. As new creations in Christ we must no longer be people who feel the need to hide in darkness to conceal the shameful nature of our deeds. Rather we should try to live in such a way that the light feels like where we belong. We do this by trying "to learn what is pleasing to the Lord". The more this is our chief motivation and the basis of our actions the less we will want to slip back into the darkness. In some ways it is easier to live in the darkness, but it always leads to disappointment. It's works are always fruitless. But the light, is, as it were, inevitable. And for those whom the Lord enlightens, and those who abide in that light, there is no greater joy.

 

DC Talk - In The Light

 

14 March 2026 - fast and loose

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.

Those who are convinced of their own righteousness have often managed to convince themselves of something they do not believe at a deeper level. Thus, they must meditate, like the Pharisee, on all of the awesome things they do, and use that list to compare themselves favorably to others. Since they have no vested interest in the righteousness of others they more readily see their flaws and tend to despise them. 

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself

There isn't much room for God in hearts like that of this Pharisee. God's presence is too unpredictable and dangerous to the ego for someone like that to risk opening himself too much to him. Thus, for the Pharisee, God was the recipient of an elaborate show-and-tell of all of the things the Pharisee did right, and how these seemed to make him compare favorably to the rest of humanity. He seemed to imply that if anyone went away justified it ought to be him.

But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

If we saw such individuals in our own churches we might easily mistake whether it was the modern version of the tax collector or of the Pharisee whose soul was in good shape. There might be individuals among us who do a sufficient number of superficially religious things to appear to be devout. They might not engage in any obvious public sin. They may know the faith well and never fail to check a required box in terms of their practice. By contrast, there may also be people who don't understand the faith so well and whose practice of the faith looks less pristine. Yet it may be these later are the ones who have truly opened themselves to God. Sometimes this is in fact easier for those who have achieved less, since they don't have an elaborate facade to present. They are, as it were, exposed before God. Their need for mercy has not been covered over by various pious practices. Even regular struggle with sin doesn't disqualify them if it makes them aware of their need for God. They often know all too well of their flawed and fallible human nature, against which they are unable to achieve victory apart from God's grace.

I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.

The fact that the Pharisee fasted and paid tithes ought to have been commendable. But he attributed these good works to himself, rather than God working within him. Thus the power that they ought to have been able to unleash in his life was negated by pride. This is why it is important for us to remember that it is God who produces good fruit within us. 

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13).

Thanksgiving for the grace we receive helps prevent our good works from inverting us, and directing our focus down toward our ego. It opens us to the presence of God and does not numb us to our ongoing need of his mercy. When we remember that all that we have and all that we are is from him we won't risk running from his presence. Instead we will be motivated to heed the words of the prophet Hosea:

Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!

Tom Booth - The Jesus Song

 

13 March 2026 - in the first place

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

"Which is the first of all the commandments?"

Without an overriding priority there would be no way to settle a dispute when two commandments appeared to conflict. Thus, for example, we see that some Pharisees would even go so far as to set love of God and love of one's parents in opposition. They did this, not for God's sake, but to provide an easy way out of the responsibility toward one's parents. They gave the appearance of giving priority to honoring God. But their overarching principle was actually based on their egos. They knew the letter of the law, but that letter proved more than able to bring death rather than life, when in the wrong hands.

Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!

Putting God first was indeed the correct answer. It wasn't merely a matter of degrees, or a balancing act. Rather all one's love, with one's entire entire, soul, mind, and strength, ought to belong to God. But what then of one's neighbor? Would not such all-consuming love for God cause neglect for our duty toward others? For this reason, Jesus did not stop by mentioning love of God, even though, properly understood, it was sufficient.

The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.

Or, as in another Gospel, the "second is like it" (see Matthew 22:39). The greatness of these commandments exists when they are upheld together in harmony with one another. One cannot love God, whom one cannot see, while neglecting those creatures whom he has created in his own image and likeness. Indeed, one cannot even benefit God by loving him. God already possesses all perfections. He commands us to love him precisely so that we can become free, as he is free, to love others. We become like what we love. So, in truly loving God, we must become like him in his selflessness toward his creatures. Without love of neighbor our love for God can slip into subtle forms of idolatry, in which we worship God, not as he is, but rather as we wish him to be. Love for neighbor gives a concrete reality to the externality and otherness that is even more true of God himself. It isn't necessarily convenient, or what we would decide if left to us. Therefore love of neighbor can help purify us of idolatry. 

It is, however, also possible to love our neighbors poorly. We do this when we encourage them to settle for less than all God has for them, when we act as enablers of sinful behavior, like people providing alcohol to addicts. It is often easier for us to help and encourage others toward their immediate goals, even if those goals are harmful. We still see the reward of momentary satisfaction. And we are free to look away when the resultant self-destruction begins to spiral out of control. This is why it is not any love of neighbor whatever to which we are called. Rather, we must love them as God loves them, that is, unto himself. He, the Lord our God and Lord alone, is the goal of our lives and theirs. Only in remembering this do we love in a way that is worthy of the name.

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

It was the perfect obedience of Jesus that proved to be worth more than all offerings and sacrifices, both fulfilling them and surpassing them. Because he perfectly brought together in himself love of God and love of humanity we now set aside that whole former sacrificial economy in favor of the one sacrifice of the lamb of God. And not only that, but as we share in the fruit of his sacrificial love we become like him. We in turn becoming offerings to God for the sake of the world.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (see Romans 12:1).

Bob Fitts - One God

 

12 March 2026 - bad influences?

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."

It should have been obvious that Jesus driving out a demon is not something that the prince of demons would appreciate, nor something to which he would give the assistance of his power. But people in the crowd were looking for reasons to undermine Jesus, to impugn his ever growing reputation. They insinuated that he was too good to be true. This was in keeping with people's normal experience of the world. There really was no comparison. There was no one as selfless as Jesus, and none with such power. Because it was not normal they had some level of justification being a little defensive. But they went too far when they refused to recognize the finger of God at work in their midst. To discount that power they made implicit one of their assumptions, which was that real power was more likely to originate from the forces of darkness than elsewhere. Jesus rightly pointed out that their own people drove out demons by means of the same power at work in him. But clearly there was something different about what was happening through Jesus compared to those other exorcists, something that demanded explanation.

Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?

Jesus was entirely united within himself in his mission to seek the will of the Father and the salvation of humanity. Satan was completely opposed to this plan, and desired to prevent Jesus from his mission of gathering the human race together into his Kingdom. It was the crowds who were lingering between the two ultimate alternatives. Jesus thus reminded them, or tried to, that they were in fact on the same side, or should be, when he asked, "by whom do your own people drive them out?" He tried to demonstrate that the fact that they were scattering what he was trying to gather meant that they and not he were the ones succumbing to the influence of the evil one.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.

The reason Jesus was able to bring freedom was not because he was in league with the prince of darkness, but rather, because he was, at last, one stronger than the prince of darkness. This implied that apart from him the possessions of the evil one were relatively safe. Without him, it wasn't possible to get free on one's own or to make much of a dent in the armor of the powers of darkness. That implied that the only good way forward was not one of dividing people against Jesus, which would only play into the plan of the enemy. The only way was to join him in his mission of gathering. But this meant that Jesus must ultimately be the head, the center, and the cornerstone of the people who were gathered. This implied the need to break free, not only from the devil, but even from one's own ego which would not readily relinquish the leading role in one's life. The stories we make up and tell ourselves are shallow and unfulfilling. The story that can truly captivate and satisfy us is the Theo-drama that God is telling. May we set aside our insistence on creating our own private stories so that we may find our place in the larger meta-narrative of God's good plan.

Hillsong Worship - Stronger

 

11 March 2026 - fulfilled

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Not fulfill in the sense of finishing and setting aside. Jesus took upon himself the curses that were invoked by the way the law that had been violated in the past. He himself lived in perfect obedience to the law. He did this, not merely for our sakes, so that we wouldn't have to worry about obedience ourselves, but so that "the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (see Romans 8:4). John summarized the difference Jesus made when he wrote that "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (see John 1:17). The law was fulfilled by Jesus as though it were waiting on him to finally achieve the purpose for which it was given. 

Circumcision was never meant to be a merely external reality but point to the need of an inner transformation. Yet the law had to content itself with merely external obedience until Jesus came to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. People set one aspect of the law against another in order to justify themselves and their behavior until Jesus made it possible for his followers to seek first the Kingdom, which meant taking up their own crosses and following him. We need faith to please God (see Hebrews 11:6) since we know that "to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace" (see Romans 8:6). Our fallen flesh fends for itself. We need access to a higher mode of reality, and a better way of being, to which faith is the doorway. It allows us to share what Jesus did for us, but especially what he now wants to do in and through us.

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus deepened and internalized many aspects of the law, from the prohibition against killing, to that against committing adultery, to that against swearing falsely. This helped to illustrate that the point of the law was not merely to regulate external behavior, but to point to the sort of people we should want to become. It contained not only prohibited behaviors. When analyzed, it revealed genuine goods those prohibitions were designed to protect. Yet the condition of the people at the time required that exceptions sometimes be made for the hardness of their hearts (see Matthew 19:8). And these, not the law proper, were set aside by Jesus, as no longer necessary in the new economy of grace.

For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?

The law was meant to be received as a blessing, and the people did in fact receive it that way. However, preoccupation with the letter of the law allowed individuals to use it to insulate themselves from God's true plan and intention for them. Jesus incinerated that insulation in the fire of truth so that the law could achieve what Moses had so long ago said that it could: helping to draw near to God. Therefore may we too obey and teach it.

Maranatha! Music - I Will Delight (In The Law Of The Lord)

 

10 March 2026 - attitude adjusment

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”

We may think we're being generous when we suggest seven times as a limit to our forgiveness. But we are actually looking for an upward bound, a maximum that we need never exceed, a final degree after which we are free to cut others off from our mercy.

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’

The servant had some degree of self-interested, imperfect contrition. He had regret because of the order of punishment that was given. Yet even this imperfect plea was enough to move his master with compassion. He was not forgiven because he managed to manifest some kind of perfect attitude or complete conversion of heart. Up to and including the point that he begged for mercy it would not have been unthinkable for him to treat his fellow servants without it. It was once the master had shown mercy, once he had been forgiven, that change was not only possible, but expected. The mercy of the master ought to have been enough to drive his partial conversion to completion, to move him from self-interested mercy to share in his master's unlimited mercy. At that point he himself had been forgiven an unpayable debt. This experience of mercy that was not limited by the amount of the debt, nor based on performance, nor dependent on anything particularly good or noble about himself as a person, ought to have been transformative. It ought to have been an existential lesson that allowed him to show mercy to others. Indeed, we may speculate that part of the reason the master showed this servant mercy was partly so that he would in turn show mercy to the fellow servants of his who owed him much less than he himself had owed the master. It ought to have seemed easy by comparison, and something clearly expected of him.

His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’

When we begin our journey in our own experience of God's forgiveness we often do so with some measure of selfishness mixed in with our contrition. Our initial motivation is not often our inability to show mercy, but our immediate need to receive it. If we try to persist as Christians using only the resources and attitude with which we begin there is a real possibility that we will eventually come up short. We'll hit our seven forgiveness maximum beyond which we will feel free and justified in our selfishness. Even Peter posited such a limit until his own heart was healed by the Lord to go beyond it. We too, if we wish to live as the Lord's disciples, must be healed of the artificial limits on mercy we try to impose. It isn't automatic. In fact, we are sometimes frightened enough by our existential vulnerability to try to assuage our anxiety by getting what we can from this world, and from others. The better way to overcome such anxiety is to experience the abundance of God, beyond all limits, flowing through us into the world. A great example of one who knew this was Daniel could have pleaded for special protection for himself, as one who was genuinely not himself guilty, but who rather took the part of his people, knowing that it was not enough for he himself to be spared if others were lost. 

But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.

Vineyard - Help Us Our God

 

9 March 2026 - something extraordinary?

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

People in the native place of Jesus might have assumed that they would have received some kind of special treatment in the positive sense. If he he did mighty deeds in Capernaum surely he would do still more in Nazareth. But although he found such expectations placed on him in Nazareth, he didn't find commensurate faith. In Nazareth the people seemed to think Jesus ought to prove himself. He was simply one from among their number, and they knew, or thought they knew his father. Their assumptions made it impossible for them to come before Jesus with receptive humility, which is the only appropriate attitude in his presence.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

In the same fashion that the people of Nazareth assumed their own worthiness so too did they reject the idea that the Gentiles would be included in God's the blessings of God's covenant. Jesus sensed this in the hearts. But since it was an important part of his plan, accepting Jesus meant a willingness to let him work how and where he willed. Jesus, therefore, didn't avoid the issue. He provoked them by reminding them of an existing pattern in which God blessed the Gentiles rather than those in Israel through Elijah and Elisha, prophets like himself.

It was often the case that it was often the Gentiles who didn't take Jesus for granted, who did not assume they were deserving, and who were able to manifest an attitude of humility in his presence. The Gentiles did not presume they deserved access to the power that was at work in the Lord Jesus. They didn't write him off because they assumed they already knew everything about him. They were thus able to receive more of what Jesus had to offer.

Yet the inclusion of the Gentiles was not merely for their own sake (for our own sake) but also for that of the Jewish people. By showing that he could work where he was welcomed he hoped to provoke a holy jealousy in his covenant people, drawing them beyond their preconceptions and presumptions, inviting them to empty their cups so as to receive all that he did in fact desire to give them.

"My father," they said,
"if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said."

Our expectations are often are our enemies in the spiritual life. We assume that there is one way which in which God works, or that he only works through certain people, or in certain places or situations. And we thus tend to miss all the unexpected places where he is often active, where he often seems to prefer to work. It is very much as if he is challenging us to be open, pushing back against our tendency to slide into familiarity and routine. Sometimes we'd be willing to put up with this if it was accompanied by some extraordinary and miraculous manifestations. But often the unexpected places are simple ones. We don't, for example, often expect great power to work through the Sacraments. They are familiar to us and we think we know the full spectrum of their possibility. But that is exactly the place where, when we are open, we are the most likely to find the transformative and miraculous power of Jesus at work in our midst.

Kutless - Word Of God Speak

 

8 March 2026 - well enough

Today's Readings
(Audio)

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”

Jesus often acts to bless us by first asking something of us. What he asks may test our assumptions, as when he spoke to one who was both a woman and a Samaritan. And the response he desires may not be literal or straightforward. Yes, he ultimately did want a drink. In his thirst for souls he sought to be quenched by the faith of the Samaritan woman. But for this to happen she first had realize that there was something more and better, something that her life had not provided to that point. Even a rumor of living water was worth pursuing over the unsatisfactory water, water for which she had to expend much effort, but which never truly satisfied her. She had, it seemed, sought to quench her thirst in addictive patterns of behavior demonstrated by her unstable relationships. This was absolutely a well of water that was never going to satisfy her.

for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water (see Jeremiah 2:13).

We can't seek both the broken cisterns and the source of living water. A lesser thirst must give way to a higher one. Trying to satisfy ourselves at the same old wells is going to produce the same results, and leave us too tired and distracted for anything else. But this implies that we must change our patterns of behavior. We tend to push back at this point. We may suddenly become deeply interested in theological disputes that previously seemed abstract, as misdirection away from the inner work we need. It isn't that there is nothing to what we say. We might be implying something to the effect that the hope Jesus offers doesn't apply to us. We worship and must worship on a different mountain. Or so we think.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, 
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; 
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.

Whatever limits we place on God are entirely self-imposed and imaginary. He is inviting us to leave behind stale and static worship, worship that is merely performative, or merely unreflective habit, to enter into something that is real, something defined by God rather than ourselves. We are being called, led by the hope enkindled in us by the invitation of Jesus, into true worship. And in this worship in Spirit and truth we even now taste the reality that will one day satisfy us for eternity.

And hope does not disappoint, 
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts 
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Songs In His Presence - Isaiah 12: You Will Draw Water

 

7 March 2026 - gifts without the giver

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.'

We want the good gifts of the Father but without him nearby to see how we use them. The gifts are our priority. The giver represents a hassle and an obligation. It seems to us that he would limit our fun, impair our ability to indulge ourselves. We believe that we can get more out of his gifts if we take them to a distant country in which we imagine ourselves to be far from his concern. It is a subset of the temptation that made Adam and Eve wish to be like God. We believe that God is holding out on us, and that they only way to get everything we desire is to put distance between him and us, to vainly attempt to hide from his gaze. Yet, fearfully, he often allows us to get what we want. He will let us try our hand it using his gifts apart from him. He will allow us to become spiritually distant, not as though he no longer sees or cares about us, but such that he is no longer impinging on our conscience. But he allows us to get what we think we want only as discipline, in order that we might learn what we truly need to satisfy us.

When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.

Without proximity to the Father we quickly exhaust the ability of mere created things to satisfy us. We can spend everything without him and finally discover that we even that was not enough. Nor is there anyone around us aside from God to whom we can turn. It is not just that no one offers us anything. It is that they do not possess what we truly need. When we hit rock bottom in that way it is then that we are most likely to remember the abundance that we left behind in the Father's house. We realize that by every human measure we have disqualified ourselves from being in the house and enjoying it. But we know that the Father has so much that even his hired workers have enough food to eat. We thus return, not expecting the way things to be as the were before we betrayed him, but still hoping for better than the famine of the distant land.

While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.

The son didn't even finish has act of contrition before the father had embraced him, restored him, and even elevated him. He had his own finest robe placed on him and had a ring put on his finger. Sandals that the son had no doubt worn through were replaced with new ones, a fresh start. The father was not waiting to punish him, did not hold him to account for his every mistake. He had clearly been hoping and longing for his return. He not only went out to meet him, but ran to him. This was what he had desired all along.

He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.

We tend to have a little of the aspect of the older brother in us as well. We don't easily accept a lack of strict justice in the case of the mistakes of others. We tend to think that if they aren't properly punished that they can't really learn. We don't always recognize the ways in which life apart from God is its own punishment and lesson. On top of that we prefer to see ourselves as innocent, not having sinned in the egregious fashion of the younger son. Yet there is something of his own misshapen desire within us, the same desire to have the fathers gifts without the father. As the older brother complained, "you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends". We ourselves have rejected the abundance of the father, failing to earn it through our effort and service, too scandalized to receive it as freely given gift. The return of the younger son represents a challenge on multiple levels. It shows us how good it is to celebrate in the father's house, rather than apart from him. It reveals that this is never something we earn, but is always a gift. It's hard, because we must acknowledge all the wasted time when we failed to hear the Father saying, "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours". Yet it is so good to finally hear that, to finally allow ourselves to be won over, and to enter the feast, to join the celebration, and to share in the rejoicing. This joy reaches its apex when we share the Father's heart, his concern for the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Jesus himself summarized his mission thus: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (see Luke 19:10).

Josiah Queen - The Prodigal

 

6 March 2026 - problematic tenancies

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

The parable spoke in a particular way to those in leadership positions in Israel. They had begun to use their position for selfish ends, forgetting that they were meant to provide the fruit, spiritually nourished women and men, to the landowner at harvest time. But instead they used the produce to satisfy their own egos. When God sent warnings against lack of fidelity, the people of Israel often responded by persecuting the prophets he sent to them, much as the brothers persecuted Joseph in today's first reading. But it was something else again with Jesus. He summarized in himself the law and the prophets. As a result he would be the target, even more than the prior prophets. He was the culmination of all that the prophets were and all that they taught. And the suffering and persecution he would face was the full reality of what the lives of the prophets merely foreshadowed. But this was not the end. Though the son of the landowner would be killed, the landowner would ultimately be vindicated. Though Jesus would be put to death, the landowner would give the vineyard to new tenants through his resurrection, ascension, and gift of the Spirit. And what of those who remained steadfast in their opposition to him even after the resurrection? He would "put those wretched men to a wretched death".

At first at may seem that a parable directed to religious leaders doesn't have much to say to most of us. Yet like them we have been entrusted with a stewardship. As with those in the parable of the talents we too will be accountable for how we have used the gifts we have received. Do we remember the reason that our own vineyards exist? As in the parable, they do have defensive features. But these are not to be turned against the Lord from whom we have them. Yes, we must defend what we have been given from our spiritual opponents, the powers of darkness. But we must not come to think of the vineyards as our own even after we exert ourselves to protect them. The produce is meant to serve some larger purpose than gratifying our egos. We need to identify that purpose and honor it. We should be ready, when the son visits us, to respect him, and to give him what is his due. Neither can we shirk responsibility, burying our gifts, as though the vineyard means anything without fruit to show for it. What we have been given is not a trap, and only secondarily a test. It is primarily a gift. The landowner shares his own job and responsibility with the tenants. He does this both for their sake and the sakes of those who can then be blessed thereby. 

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Part of the reason we have problems cooperating with God is that he tends to work through unlikely means. He chooses the weak to shame the strong, the foolish to shame the wise. We tend to assume that the only value of others is their ability, and thus their utility. But what makes others valuable, what makes us valuable, is ultimately the fact that God values us. He can, as it were, raise up children of Abraham from the very dust (see Luke 3:8). It's provocative when the Lord chooses in ways that don't seem strategic. The only way we can get onboard with what he is doing is by faith. Rather than taking offense or being scandalized, and perhaps eventually radicalized, we must give our full and free assent to what he is doing, how and when he is doing it. It may seem constantly on the verge of collapse, ready to fail at any moment. But the word of the Lord always proves true in the end, as it did with Joseph.

They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.

5 March 2026 - on our doorstep

Today's Readings
(Audio)

And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.

Scripture often challenges us to increase our circle of concern, in particular to those close to home, whom we've trained ourselves to ignore. What are the challenges near our own doors that we have simply stepped over so many times that we no longer see them? Maybe in the past they haven't seemed like our problem. Or maybe they have seemed so intractable as to make our efforts insignificant. Maybe their class, ethnicity, or religion made them seem so different as to be difficult to approach. But perhaps, as with the rich man and Lazarus, even our scraps could make a difference. Even had he kept his fancy clothes and fine food he could have gone a long way to alleviating the suffering of another simply by how he managed his waste, the scraps from his table. 

The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.

The netherworld merely unmasked the condition of the rich man's heart, which had heretofore been covered over by the temporary consolations of wealth. He sought his strength in flesh and turned away from the Lord, becoming more and more like a barren bush in the desert. We know that the Lord desired to nourish him as with streams of living water. But he wanted to do so particularly through his relationship with Lazarus. Lazarus represented an opportunity for the heart of the rich man to be resurrected and revitalized, but he closed himself to it. He focused instead on those things over which he had control. But when those things finally failed, he had only himself on which to fall back. And this closedness to God and neighbor was revealed to be hell. But sadly, it seemed too late for him to truly learn anything further at that point. He was fixed in the mold into which he had cast himself by his actions during his life. Even in death he seemed to assume that Lazarus ought to serve him. What job could the poor have besides to make the hell of the rich more tolerable? Or so he seemed to think.

When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

The poor who hope in the Lord will one day discover that the difficulties of this life are only temporary, more than matched by the eternity of life with God. If the reality of trust in God was in their hearts during their mortal lives it will one day define their existence. It may not now superficially appear that they are connected to streams of life-giving waters. But they are the ones who need not fear, not only the heat of the change of seasons, but even death itself. For their lives will stay evergreen in the presence of God, where distress can no longer touch them (see Wisdom 3:2), bearing forever and ever the fruit of praise. The fact of this great reversal is inevitable. But it is not meant to make us complacent. If we ourselves want to be embraced by God when our own lives are over we ought to align ourselves with his priorities, doing what we can now to make the lives of those in need what he himself will one day make them forever. We are meant to signal our desire for heaven by trying to do our own small part to make the earth a little bit more heaven-like for those whom he has given us to help.

'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'

If it was possible to be hardhearted during the time of the Old Covenant it is still possible during the time of the New. Jesus did rise from the dead, and made clear that our response to him has eternal consequences. But just as people like the rich ruler were able to ignore the parts of Moses and the prophets that were inconvenient for their lifestyles, so too do we appropriate the parts of the Gospel that affirm us while ignoring those that are more challenging. There is a direct correlation between our willingness to embrace the whole Gospel and our willingness to help those around us. But even if our hearts are rather unresponsive, we ought at least be motivated by the imperfect contrition of self-interest. Are our hearts in a condition that we would want to define our eternal reality? If not, let us turn again to the Lord, more and more, until he truly has all of us.

Brooke Ligertwood - Bless God

4 March 2026 - drinking the chalice

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom."

Maybe this was seen as damage control in light of the recent prediction by Jesus of his impending death. Maybe they could use their positions to help protect him from that inevitability. Or if, God forbid, something did happen to Jesus, at least they would have something to show for the time they spent with him. Or maybe they hadn't really even processed the prediction of the cross and were seeking the seats from a merely human desire for self-advancement. But whatever their motives, their perspective was still too limited. Their vision of greatness was still, apparently, too much like that of the rulers of the Gentiles who lord it over their subjects.

They were meant, finally, to receive honor and power in the Kingdom. But they were not meant to do so in the image of the world, but rather in the image of God. They first needed to become holy and merciful as God was himself holy and merciful so that they could wield power for the sake of loving service, as God did, and Jesus himself constantly demonstrated. Half the point of earthly authority seemed to be the power to avoid drinking the chalice of suffering. But the way Jesus used his divine authority was precisely to drink the chalice, to lay down his life for his friends.

My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.

In the first instance, those who were at his right and his left were two thieves. His throne was the cross, from which, though he appeared powerless, he reigned in love. It was not yet time for James and John to share in those positions of honor. They still needed more growth before they could share the chalice of Jesus. But one day they would. 

When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.

The other ten failed to parse anything about the nature of power from what had been said thus far. They only heard that James and John were trying to get an edge on the rest of them, and establish themselves as greater than the others. They didn't clock the fact that Kingdom power was always tied to self-sacrificial love. The greatest among the disciples would be the ones who gave themselves most completely to love of God and love of neighbor. But they were too afraid of missing the starting gun of an earthly competition, too afraid that others might gain advantages and useful privileges while they were left in the dust. So Jesus spelled things out more directly.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Our first reading today shows Jeremiah demonstrating the proper use of power and authority. In doing so he became very clearly a type and foreshadowing of Jesus himself.

Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.

Even when the things we want are good things we tend to want them for the wrong reasons, or at least with mixed motives. We typically want the crown without the cross, sometimes specifically so that we can avoid the cross. But this only shows us how far our hearts are from love, and the degree to which we are not yet ready to be entrusted with Kingdom authority. But the world needs us to get ready. It needs the love which the Lord Jesus desires to show through us. We too are called to share the chalice, in ways unique to each of us. Let us pray to the Father that he prepares us for that day.

Brotherhood Of Hope - To Love You And To Make You Loved