7 November 2018 - fear and trembling

Today's Readings (Audio)

work out your salvation with fear and trembling

Modernity tends to tell us that all fear is bad. We should subject our environments and ourselves to the degree that fear is no longer allowed. We are made to feel ashamed for feelings of fear. After all, it seems servile. And what is more antithetical to the modern spirit of independence than service. But what sort of fear is this that Paul recommends? It is not fear of loss or fear of suffering so much as awe before God.

For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.

It isn't just Paul teaching and working with the Philippians. It is also, and mainly, God who works in them. When they realize that not only their works but even their very desires for goodness come from God himself they become fearful in the right way. In a way, it is a fear that they themselves might get in God's way and prevent him from doing all that he wants to do in them. But then, realizing that even that desire comes from God, their awe should increase still more. The most fearful part is that even the right fear is a gift of the Spirit. It is a change in perspective that those who depend on mercy must learn to embrace.

What is asked of disciples is not easy. We are called to place Jesus before father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even our own lives. We are called to carry our crosses. In fact it is impossible for man but not for God. All things are possible for God. In Jesus we can do all things but apart from him we can do nothing. Fear of the LORD is largely a treasuring and protectiveness of the union of dependence. It refuses to let even the least grace offered slip through our fingers.

Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?

...

Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?

We don't have enough to build the tower. We don't have enough troops to win the battle. To be on our own apart from God is a fearful thing. But that is only the first stage of fear. It is met by the hope that God will in fact fight for us if we let him. The second stage of fear is to realize, knowing what we are like, that we risk abandoning the winning side to satisfy our own fleshly desires. But eventually we learn that God who has begun the good work in us is willing to bring it to completion. But even at that stage we see how much everything depends entirely on the generosity and mercy of God. We walk in awe at his work in us. We fear displeasing him in any way just as we would fear displeasing the most treasured of lovers. This fear, still gift, allows us to stay united with God until that union is at last consummated.

Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

The fear of the LORD liberates us from all other fear. The LORD is our light and our salvation, along with the psalmist, whom then should we fear? The fear of the LORD enables us to love without counting the cost. It allows us to make our very lives a gift of love.

But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.

6 November 2018 - attendance not mandatory, but encouraged

Today's Readings (Audio)

"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
'Come, everything is now ready.'
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.

We secretly believe that our excuses for not attending the dinner will give us more joy than the dinner itself. We think that all our worry about our oxen, our fields, and even our marriages are where the real satisfaction is to be found. And so we don't let the feast to which we are invited interfere with our normal grind in which we try to eke out a modicum of joy for ourselves.

Before we even make an attempt to shift our priorities we should ask for a clearer vision and a greater hope for what the feast will in fact mean.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (see Revelation 21:4).

Suddenly even marriage seems like it ought to be in second place to something so significant. The trouble is we don't keep our eyes fixed on that hope. But we should. In fact, if we want to be able to run the race with endurance it is the only way.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (see Hebrews 12:1-2)

When we fix our eyes on Jesus we see the full picture. We see the one who completely embraced humility even onto the point of death in order that all the nations could be united in one feast. And we see our first distant view of that feast in his own resurrection in which we all one day hope to be united.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus himself tears apart the dividing wall between God and man. He puts to death all that keeps us separate from God and therefore also from one another. He shows us the way in our own humility to bridge division and welcome all into the unity of the heavenly feast. Above all, he shows that the effort and endurance is worthwhile because he himself shows us the reward.

To him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.

5 November 2018 - party planning

Today's Readings (Audio)

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;

The risk is that we focus so much on ourselves that we fail to look out for one another.

rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests, 
but also everyone for those of others.

The risk, even when we're being generous, is that we will act considering only what we can get out of our choices rather than considering how they might also help the interests of others.

Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.

It is reassuring that banquets are permitted. We don't have to be so fastidious in our practice of detachment that we don't celebrate and enjoy life. But Jesus suggests ways in which we can broaden even our celebrations to bring in and build up those who are less fortunate than ourselves. The point is that our love should extend between the systems of mutual self-affirmation that we've built in order that it might reach others who can't pay us back. This only seems difficult when we are primarily rooted in selfishness and vainglory, when we regard ourselves as more important than others. We just need to keep our eyes open. If God has others that he wants us to include he will show them to us if we pay attention. Our part is simply to extend the invitation.

Our feasting is actually much richer when it is not simply a system of balance where we invite others and try to perform the role host well enough for them so that they in turn perform well when they invite us. Seeing others as more important than ourselves changes this dynamic. It brings new freedom to all that we do.

There is in fact encouragement in Christ, solace in love, participation in the Spirit of God, and abundant compassion and mercy. We can experience all of it by being united in heart, thinking one thing. What is the one thing? Look at Jesus. It is love. It takes the form of both love of God and love of neighbor. When we look to love first we become less concerned with our own reward. Unexpectedly, since we aren't even really looking for it, our reward is then the greatest and most lasting.

For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

To consider others as more important than ourselves isn't about beating ourselves up or being self-detrimental. It is about a focus that finds joy in looking outward and showing love. It leads to a peace that our actual failings and shortcomings can no longer threaten us.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.

4 November 2018 - Hear, O Israel!

Today's Readings (Audio)

Hear, O Israel!

We must turn outward from ourselves. We must escape the noise the surrounds us and we must hear that which comes to us from without. We cannot first reason or act. This utterly unique voice must be given full berth to speak.

The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, 
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.

The risk of not listening, not truly hearing, is great. We've heard this before and it sounds obvious. Yet is it obvious? If God had not told us that he was meant to be the center of our lives how long would we grope in the darkness before trying to figure it out? Only the unique God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is even interested in this relationship with us. He is not indifferent to us. He desires all that we are. This is not a given, but it is truly wonderful.

The next temptation when we hear this is to get lost in the abstract. It is to convert our relationship with God to something we call love but which is in fact all in our heads and which does not affect our lives day to day.

The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love fulfills the law (see Romans 13:8-13) and covers a multitude of sins (see First Peter 4:8). But we cannot claim to love God whom we cannot see if we do not love the brother we can see (see First John 4:20). Loving God means loving what he loves. If this is not happening than neither is there real love for God.

True love is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

It is actually to true self-giving love that the entire sacrificial economy pointed. It meant the putting of the sinful self to death and offering a pure sacrifice to God. The only reason the sacrificial system was able to give way to the new and more perfect offerings of love to which we are commanded is because on the cross Jesus offered the sacrifice that was perfect, with nothing held back. He was the perfect victim, whom the Father could never reject, in whose death was infinite merit. All of our love now draws its strength from that perfect self gift.

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).

Even as we start to discuss what the greatest of the commandments mean for us we begin to forget their context. We forget that they were offered to a nation newly learning to live in freedom. We forget that they show above all God's desire to be the in relationship with them, to be the very center around which they are formed. We must not forget these things or we will descend from the Spirit into the flesh. When we remember the love with which God first loved us we are finally able to let ourselves be transformed.

My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.

3 November 2018 - spot check

Today's Readings (Audio)

He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.

In what ways do we choose the place of honor at the table? We all have a tendency to insist on being acknowledged, celebrated, and praised. When we take our place we worry that if we don't fight for ourselves no one will fight for us. One problem with this approach is that our partiality prevents us from seeing the full picture. If we insist on our own rights we miss the more distinguished guests whose presence could otherwise have been a delight for us. Now they only seem to be in conflict for what we want. The only safe approach is to leave the determination of the seating to the host.

Rather, when you are invited, 
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
'My friend, move up to a higher position.'

In the reading it is assumed that the host will in fact invite us higher up. There isn't a contingency for that poor individual that actually belongs in the worst spot. Jesus has places of honor for all of us. But we must not try to take them. Indeed, we must learn to be content with the lowest place. Even if we find ourselves there for a while we must learn patience. At the banquet all we receive is gift. The lowest place in this banquet is better than anything else that is happening in the world. We are privileged to sit even in that place. When we realize that fact then the invitation to any higher seat is something we receive as gift rather than something earned. It becomes a thing of wonder and joy rather than something merely expected.

Paul is an example of one who is willing to let Jesus decide his destiny. It goes beyond even places of honor. He is able to surrender the whole course of his life to the host of the banquet.

Christ will be magnified in my body,
whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.

Paul does want to depart this life and be with Christ, because that is indeed far better. He longs to enter the eternal banquet. But he is content to wait for the call of the host. He does not grudgingly accept his present place in the meantime. He embraces it.

And this I know with confidence,
that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you
for your progress and joy in the faith,
so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me
when I come to you again.

It is right for us to thirst for the living God. It is right, therefore, that we want to take our places near to him. But we can't force our way there or earn it by accolades or achievements. Instead we must learn humility and patience to wait. He will surely call us higher.

I went with the throng
and led them in procession to the house of God.
Amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.

2 November 2018 - in the hands of God

Today's Readings (Audio)

And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.

Jesus has a firm grip on those who were baptized into him. Everyone with faith in the Son has the possibility of eternal life. In his promise not to lose any who were given him we should find great comfort. It does not mean he will force us. We are free to come to him and even to leave him if we choose. But as long as we do come to Jesus when the Father calls us he will not reject us. If we remain with him he will guide us safely home.

Sin divides and separates. The ultimate physical manifestation of this fact is death itself. But in Jesus even death has been defeated.

We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, 
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead 
by the glory of the Father, 
we too might live in newness of life.

Our union with Christ is not broken even by death. This is precisely because when we die we are now united to the death Jesus died for us all. This death motivated entirely by love reverses the normal separation that is the consequence of sin.

But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Yet our union with Christ is not perfect. In this life we do not often allow his death to transform us as much as he intends. Even then he does not let us go. We choose to reject the fullness of perfection that is offered to us. Even then he holds us firmly.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.

We may still need the furnace of God's love to prove us before we are ready to shine in heaven. But in the end, it is enough to want it, to not turn from it, and to throw ourselves upon God's mercy. The transformation not yet done is work he is willing to do. The more freely we can involve our will in this transformation the more we are going to enjoy the process. To the degree to which we don't do so we will experience the pain of the contrariness of our wills as they are changed and perfected. Even so, we can rest easy knowing we will make it home.

Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

1 November 2018 - the shape of victory

Today's Readings (Audio)

The saints are those people who believe Jesus when he tells us what it means to be blessed.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Most of us read the beatitudes and our eyes glaze over. The paradoxes contained therein just don't seem to make sense. What sense can we make of calling those who mourn, those who are meek, or those who hunger blessed? Aren't these states the very opposite of blessedness? Well, no, apparently not. In fact these very conditions put us in a place to care about the Kingdom of heaven more than the temporary things of earth. They help long for lasting things so much that even our relation to our present suffering is transformed.

The world can't recognize this blessedness. It couldn't recognize the Messiah in the poor Jewish man Jesus, particularly as he bore the pain and shame of the cross. It can't recognize blessedness in the saints as they suffer and yet maintain their faith and longing for God. The world looks at obedience and sees only weakness. It looks at resignation to the will of God as excessive passivity. It does not see the higher reality that motivates both Jesus and the saints, the reality which is meant to drive our daily lives.

The blessedness of the beatitudes is real. We don't have to wait for heaven to experience it although the fullness of the promise will only be consummated in heaven.

See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.

The reality of being God's obedient children can become such a blessing that it transcends any hardships we suffer for his sake. It gives us the strength, coming from love, to carry whatever crosses come our way. We follow in the footsteps of Jesus who first embodied all of the beatitudes, meek, mourning, and hungry. Yet even when he hungered he had hidden food in his Father's will (see John 4:32). Precisely in being insulted and persecuted Jesus merited the great reward of heaven for all who are united with him.

The beatitudes transform us into a people who can actually be happy in heaven. They make us a people of worship who put first things first. They teach us that to love God with our heart, mind, and strength, is not only an obligation but is in fact the only path to joy.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:

"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb."

The Lamb himself opens the possibility of blessedness to us by covering us in his own Blood. In our own times of great distress it is his life in us that makes living the beatitudes possible. Let us cry out in praise to our God today. 

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.