14 April 2013 - total re-coal

14 April 2013 - total recoal

So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,

rejoicing that they had been found worthy

to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

What is it that changes men so fearful that they couldn't stay near Jesus at the cross into men who rejoice to share in that cross?   It is not simply seeing Jesus risen once and then being perfect thereafter.  And interestingly, it isn't just seeing him once and then immediately being filled with the Holy Spirit at Penetecost.  There is a process whereby Jesus reveals himself as risen.  It is a process that paves the way for Pentecost and teaches us to be open to the Holy Spirit.

Most of us are in a similar situation the the apostles after the first appearances of the risen Jesus.  We know he lives but we are limited by our own past and the knowledge of how we've failed.  Fortunately he continues to appear to us amidst the familiar aspects of our lives and transforms our memories of failure into new triumphs.  He heals us exactly where we hurt.  This is why he meets the disciples in the context of a meal.  It is why he meets Peter at a charcoal fire so very like the one where he denied him.  It is why he asks Peter not once but three times if he loves him.  He heals the apostles exactly where they have been hurt so that they can say:

You changed my mourning into dancing;

O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

Jesus is risen and death has been defeated.  The past no longer has any power over those who are in Christ.  Jesus wants to free us to behold the truth of what has happened.

“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor, glory and might,

forever and ever.”

The four living creatures answered, “Amen,”

and the elders fell down and worshiped.

People who see this vision can't shut up about Jesus.  They are joyful even to share the suffering he endured because they behold the power of his victory even now.

13 April 2013 - storm chasers

13 April 2013 - storm chasers

It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and they began to be afraid.

The wind has already been blowing and the waves are already tossing the boat but they don't begin to be afraid until they see Jesus coming toward them.  They have been so disoriented by the storm that they don't recognize him and he has to reassure them that it is him.  The storm is the actual danger but they are oblivious.


They wanted to take him into the boat,
but the boat immediately arrived at the shore
to which they were heading.

Sometimes taking Jesus into the boat is appropriate but this time it is better that they not be in the boat at all.  Jesus sometimes wants to jump in to the stormy circumstances of our lives to be with us and to help us within them.  But other times he wants to completely transplant us to new circumstances by bringing us out and away from the power of stormy seas.  We need to avoid fixated on such circumstances to be able to let them go if we are so led.  We have to watch Jesus and follow his lead but we know that we don't have to be afraid.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,

upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

and preserve them in spite of famine.

We need people filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can discern the ways in which Jesus is trying to lead us.  This is the key to the success of the early Church.

Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,

filled with the Spirit and wisdom,

whom we shall appoint to this task,

Because they are Spirit-filled they won't try to stay in the boat when Jesus is calling them to the shore.  If Jesus is calling them out on stormy seas they will not fear because they are filled with his presence.  No matter by what path he guides us he is entirely trustworthy.

Upright is the word of the LORD,

and all his works are trustworthy.

12 April 2013 - we're kingdumb

12 April 2013 - we're kingdumb

“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

This is one of the reasons why Jesus cannot always answer prayers in just the way we want.  Sometimes he has to withdraw to the mountain lest we enthrone him as king of our pre-existing worldview.  He isn't going to rule according to our ideas of what he should do.  Our priorities are earthly whereas his are heavenly.


Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.


Sometimes he does answer our prayers for human needs.  Sometimes he does give us bread when we are hungry.  But he does this first and foremost to teach us to trust in him as the source of all goodness.  He wants us to trust him so much that we can come to believe him when he tells us about the heavenly Bread of Life which he truly longs to give us.  He wants to place this desire deep with us.

One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.

He wants us to trust him above all things.  He wants us to recognize that any other goods pale in comparison to the life which flows from him.  Seeking him thusly is the only explanation for the attitude of the apostles in the face of persecution:


So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

They seem to only be tangentially aware that bad things are happening to them because they are so fixated on Jesus and his presence in their lives.


And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

In the practical sense they have a great deal to fear and yet with their Christocentric viewpoints they are uniquely able to pray with the psalmist:


The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?

11 April 2013 - overflow

11 April 2013 - overflow

He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.

Why not?  He is the "one who comes from heaven" and is therefore "above all."  Our paradigm is earthly.  We don't have a shared frame of reference.  We don't even have appropriate categories of thought.  And our wills twist words to fit into our current perspectives and to therefore keep us comfortable.

Yet apparently even though no one accepts it some do.  Here is a Gospel paradox.

Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.

How can this be?  The apostles give us a clue when they are reproached for preaching Jesus.


We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The Spirit himself must give us not only the content of the message but also the means of accepting it.  He must provide new categories of thought and a new volition which won't twist the heavenly to conform it to the earthly (and this is why we should never give up on anyone's ability to receive it).

This is why we should rejoice when he tells us that he "does not ration his gift of the Spirit."

He will fill us even beyond our human ability to receive and accept him rather than rationing himself to us. He himself will become our acceptance of him if we allow him to do so.  There is therefore no limit to what he can do in us.  This is why it is more than we can ask or imagine (cf. Eph 3:20).  This is why belief is so fundamentally important.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,

Belief surrenders or our perspectives, categories, and willfulness to him who is absolutely trustworthy.  It places all of these things at the feet of the Son.  Belief frees God to reveal himself on his own terms.  How could sin and death hinder one who is so filled with God?

We must recognize our own poverty and, simultaneously, the one whose generosity knows no limits.

The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

There are still many earthly words corrupting or speech.  Let us long to be so taken with him that "his praise shall be ever in my mouth."

10 April 2013 - lighter than error

10 April 2013 - lighter than error

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.

Joy radiates from him.  All that we have to do is tilt our gaze toward that light and it will begin to transform us.  Even though we have much to be ashamed of his light will actually erase this rather than bringing it into a sharper focus.  What can happen to darkness in light but to disappear. We lift our gaze to Jesus in sacramental confession and we find ourselves not condemned but forgiven.


And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.

Let us not prefer the darkness.  Let us bask in the radiant presence of the Light of the World.  This does involve a separation from the works of darkness with which all of us have been complicit.  It involves an act of looking toward the light and thereby acknowledging that we ourselves are not that light and that we indeed live in darkness to one degree or another.

People may seek us in the dark places where they expect us to be but we will not be there.  The things which once held us captive no longer can.  Looking at us from the outside will only reveal further mystery.  There is no natural explanation for the freedom we now enjoy.  The world tries to throw us back into its prison but it can no longer keep us bound.


“We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

We can reach a place where the things which once ensnared us no longer slow us down.


“The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area
and are teaching the people.” 

They are teaching firstly just by their presence when the world expects that they should be in prison.  This seems like a lot to take in for those of us that are still in the gray areas between light and shadow.  We aren't living in the full blessings which the LORD has for us yet.  We aren't living free from the oppression of darkness.  Is the light really all that it promises?  Will it really liberate rather than accuse and condemn?


Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

9 April 2013 - order of cooperation

9 April 2013 - order of cooperation

With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,

Much like our beloved new Pope Francis a key part of what makes their witness effective is that their lives are totally given over to Jesus.  There is no false dichotomy between spiritual and material.  Jesus is LORD of all aspects of their lives.


The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.

They are united in their hearts and minds by the belief of who Jesus is and what he is doing.  This unity that comes from faith is what allows the unity even of possessions.  We no longer have to claw for our own piece of the pie.  Competition for the temporary becomes collaboration ordered toward the eternal.  If we want to be credible witnesses  it is essential that we have this unity that comes from faith in a way that transforms every aspect of our lives.


If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

Pope Francis tells us "about earthly things" and it is allowing an otherwise hostile culture to pay attention to him.  The community of believers in Acts shows us the same thing.  But this unity comes only from faith.  It is, as it were, top down.  We can't build up to this unity by doing good deeds.  This will in fact eventually prove to be a path of selfishness that has no power to testify to the risen LORD.

It can only begin with the revelation of who Jesus is.


so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

And with our recognition that he is LORD.

The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Everything will be marked by the tyranny of the passing and the temporary unless the principle of a life which cannot die takes hold of us as well.  Our life without Jesus is winding down.  It is gradually being reduced to dust.

“‘You must be born from above.’



Even those of us who have been baptized still have a choice.  We can let this risen life manifest in us or we can spend our time building castles on the sand.  Let us fix our eyes on the things of heaven.  Let us build on what lasts.  This will be the testimony that the world needs.  This will be the testimony that the world can hear.


And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.

8 April 2013 - inspired questions

8 April 2013 - inspired questions

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

Ahaz will not ask the LORD for a sign because he doesn't really trust the LORD.  He thinks he is trying to trick him into asking something which he should not.  Sometimes we do ask for signs in a way that is selfish.  We ask when we don't really need them.  We basically want to be entertained.  But this is not always the case.  Sometimes the LORD intends to build us up with a sign as he does with Ahaz.


Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”

He wants Ahaz to have agency in the salvation of the world by asking for the sign which brings it about.  But even though Ahaz doesn't trust as much as he should he is nevertheless blessed with the sign which the LORD intends.  

Ahaz fails in a way that is typical of us as fallen creatures.  As the Catechism tells us, "[m]an, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command." (CCC 397)

What the psalmist sings is therefore merely prophetic until the time comes and God sends his son to make all things new.


To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”

Mary is the first person in the whole history of humanity to be able to pray this psalm with all sincerity. It is implicit in her response to the angel.


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

This perfect obedience to God's will is perfectly fulfilled in Jesus on the cross.  Only Jesus has the power not just to obey perfectly but to offer all of us along with himself when we are still not only powerless but full of resistance and sin.  


Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.




His offering consecrates all of our wills, empowering us to delight in God's will too.  And so let us share in the thanksgiving of the psalmist.


Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.