7 August 2021 - expecting different results

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;

often he falls into fire, and often into water.

Sin takes away our ability to think clearly and act rationally. It darkens our minds (see Romans 1:21) in such a way that we can fall into the fire of our passions again and again without understanding why we are getting burned. We can find our spirits submerged beneath the waters of worldly concern without realizing why it is so hard for us to breath, without realizing what is triggering our panicked survival instincts.

I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.

The disciples tried to help, but had insufficient faith. One approach that wouldn't work would be to merely instruct the boy, 'This is fire. It hurts', or 'This is water, it can drown you if you aren't careful'. This is a rationalistic and legalistic perspective, but it was not enough for the boy. He already had a good basis to realize these things but could not realize them because of the condition of his darkened mind. He was trying the same things again and again but expecting different results, which is still a common definition of insanity today.

“O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?

How long will I endure you? 

Bring the boy here to me.”

Our own souls are like this man's son. They don't immediately intuit the causal link between our wrong thinking, our sinful action, and the negative results we experience. We are many times more likely to blame our upbringing, or circumstances, of other factors beyond our control when we find ourselves getting hurt. And fair enough, we do suffer in this world even though we ourselves may be blameless. Yet we so prefer to think of ourselves as without fault that fail to recognize those times when we are the ones hurting ourselves.

Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,

and from that hour the boy was cured.

It's hard for us to accept, but a careful analysis of the problem will not reveal the solution. There is a short circuit in our mental hardware that prevents us from seeing things objectively. We may take steps like building fences around areas of danger. But the part of us that desires those dangers is good at climbing fences and surmounting obstacles, and is highly motivated to do so. In order to really be safe from these things we need Jesus to treat the root cause in us, so that we can reevaluate our relationship to them with the renewed mind that he gives us. 

Why could we not drive it out?”

He said to them, “Because of your little faith.

Faith will allow us to see the deceptions of the world as they are. It will allow us to recognize the false promises of our passions and the dangers of being submerged in worldly thinking. It will do this by giving us a new center from which to orient ourselves. It will be for us a new compass or north star allowing us to find our way.

What is this new central reality that underlies every consideration of the renewed mind of faith? It is just what Moses said to the people:

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

and with all your strength.

The command of God through Moses to Israel was a command to love. And our response is only possibly as a response of faith to the fact that he loved us first.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (see First John 4:10).

The LORD has done all that is necessary for us to be free, to thrive, to have lives marked by joy and peace. He has given us cities that we did not build, houses full of spiritual goods that we did not garner nor earn, cisterns of living water that we did not dig, vineyards of sacred wine that we did not plant. Because of this generosity on the part of God we are called to love him in return and to be on guard, lest his blessings make us complacent, that we "take care not to forget the LORD". He brought us out of the place of slavery. But only by remembering him can we remain free.

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!

And I am safe from my enemies.

Bob Fitts - One God

6 August 2021 - the light of thy countenance

Today's Readings

(Audio)

And he was transfigured before them, 

and his clothes became dazzling white, 

such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 

The transfiguration was not simply superfluous special effects. The transfiguration was a revelation, and there was a reason for the revelation. 

His clothing was bright as snow,

and the hair on his head as white as wool;

his throne was flames of fire,

with wheels of burning fire.

Just as the events of Jesus's life were about to accelerate toward the passion so too would his self-revelation to the disciples now be accelerated. They would need that experience in order that they not be crushed by the passion. Jesus was never one to brag or to plead his own cause. Here in the transfiguration Peter, James, and John were given a glimpse of the glory that Jesus had received and shared in from the Ancient One. The glory of the Ancient One, clothing bright as snow, illuminated from the inside out, was also the glory of Jesus. God himself peeled back the veil of physical reality just enough for them to see something of who Jesus really was, the Son of man, the one whose dominion is everlasting, whose kingship shall not be destroyed.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 

“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!

Let us make three tents: 

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

We imagine that we desire to see revelations as explicit as the transfiguration. But what we don't realize is that such a revelation would be more terrifying than entertaining. It would certainly be a blessing. But it would not likely be a blessing in the saccharine way we might imagine. It would be a blessing because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It would not be something comfortable nor even necessarily pleasant. It would be beautiful, to be sure, but a fearsome beauty in the presence of which we would be at an utter loss.

He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.

There was, as we said, a reason for the revelation of the transfiguration. And once we realize what the transfiguration is not, that is, entertainment or special effects, we can come to understand that reason more clearly. Seeing something of the glory of Jesus transfigured did something to the spirits of those who saw it. It is as though, once illumined by Jesus, they began to glow with his own light. It is in seeing and knowing Jesus that we are transformed. This is why John tells us that it is when we see him as he is that we will become like him (see First John 3:2). Such a revelation as this takes a transformation already begun to the next level and prepares us for the mission to come.

he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,

except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

We can see what a pivotal moment this was for Peter in particular from the way he wrote of it after the fact. It was precisely the transfiguration that gave such deep assurance of his own faith, and gave such conviction to his preaching.

but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father

when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,

“This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

There was a reason for the revelation to Peter, James, and John. But we need this revelation too, though for us the mode of receiving it will be different. We face our own crosses as well. We too must first give our lives in order to receive them back in the resurrection. We can only do this by following Jesus himself to the cross. This in turn is only possible if we know and sufficiently trust in who he is. Just as Jesus himself revealed and manifested his glory to Peter and the others so too does he want to manifest it to us by his presence in his Church. It is not wrong to pray for this revelation to be given to us, once we become clear about what we mean by the request. The Scriptures themselves can reveal this light of glory to us. They can move us to the fear and awe before a God of unimaginable beauty. That light can be enough to guide us, no matter how dark the valley through which we walk.

You will do well to be attentive to it,

as to a lamp shining in a dark place,

until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 

TobyMac ft. Hollyn - Lights Shine Bright

Andy Park - I See the Lord

5 August 2021 - strike two

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

There has never been a popular consensus about the identity of Jesus. If we crowdsource our knowledge of him it is likely that knowledge will be mistaken or at least partial. We will hear some tell us that he was a good teacher, others that he was a very good person, still others that he was a spiritual leader. Often what the crowd affirms about Jesus is true but it usually doesn't go far enough.

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

The crowds have their own answers to these questions but they cannot answer for us. There must come a point of decision for each individual.

But who do you say that I am?

Four ourselves, we have answered this question before, even many times. We have professed belief "in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made." But was it really us answering, or were we just voicing the opinion of others that seemed most probable to us? The Creed contains an answer we proclaim regularly at mass. But what do our lives proclaim about what we believe about Jesus? How do the words we say in the Creed align with our words and deeds in daily life, with the way we spend our time and money? Do our lives testify to the truth of who Jesus is? Were he only a good man or a spiritual leader it might be acceptable for our lives to look like those of anyone else in the world. But if he really is who he says he is we too must be different.

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Perhaps we have made this testimony sincerely in the past. If so, it would have been accompanied by a renewal beginning in our minds and gradually changing our habits and actions. But perhaps we haven't bothered with this question for a while. Perhaps, as a consequence, we have flagged in zeal and settled into complacency. The point is that this question of the identity of Jesus is not something we should ask only once and move on. For it is the reality of his identity that is the basis for our own renewal. What we discovered when we first realized who he was will still be true. But we can experience it again. We can remember the love we had at first (see Revelation 2:4), and even go deeper than before. The Father is always waiting to reveal the Son to anyone who opens his heart to him.

Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

The proof that we need to keep this question in the foreground is how quickly Peter stumbled after answering it.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

“God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.”

If Jesus is who he says he is then we need to trust him more than ourselves, even when to do so seems difficult, even when we don't understand. If the Son of God says he (or we) must suffer greatly, we may likely not understand, but we can trust that he knows better than ourselves what will be for the greatest good, what will unleash the most blessings upon the world.

When God gives us a revelation it is humanly a bit too easy to receive it and then to take charge ourselves, to go too far or not far enough. We receive a consolation from God about a specific truth and then add our own ideas as an addendum, imagining them to be justified as well. We are called to strike the rock for water only once, but we strike it twice.

Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff,

and water gushed out in abundance for the people

and their livestock to drink.

If even Moses can make this mistake it is likely that none of us are immune. Both Moses and Peter were responding to God's grace in the face of something difficult. Both allowed the difficulty to harden their hearts just a little, and then overstepped their place. We should therefore pray for the Father to reveal his Son for us, for him to make living water flow from the Son for us. But we should ask that even when we receive this grace we not harden our hearts and remain open and docile no matter where or into what God leads us next.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as in the day of Massah in the desert

Songs In His Presence - Our Hearts Will Rise

4 August 2021 - she persisted

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!

My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But he did not say a word in answer to her.

We too ask Jesus for the things that matter deeply to us. However, when we are met with silence we often give up too quickly. This woman, by contrast demonstrated the essence of the very persistence in prayer that Jesus taught (see Luke 11:5-9 and Luke 18:1-8).

His disciples came and asked him,

“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”

When those around us tell us that we're not helping matters by continuing to pursue Jesus with our request we often let ourselves be silenced. If they convince us that we are just wasting time, not only for ourselves, but time that could be used better for other things, it is easy to give up. They may try to convince us that only a special and unique chosen few are eligible for the breakthrough we desire. They often reinforce the assumptions of the world and even our own negative self-image. 

He said in reply,

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Jesus himself did not respond immediately and when he did respond he only seemed to reinforce any doubts that the Canaanite woman might have felt, that she was just wasting her time after all, that she did not deserve anything from Jesus. Yet she persisted, not because she thought herself deserving, but out of love for her daughter.

But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”

The Lord taught persistence in prayer because he desired to see, not only requests for interventions, but acts of faith. He himself more than once acted as though he would not do something, or that his intention was to keep going and not intervene.

Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come (see John 2:4).

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther (see Luke 24:28).

When we encounter such a response from Jesus we would do well to not give up immediately. Like Mary, we should respond with faith, being open to whatever he tells us. Like the disciples at Emmaus we should plead with him to stay with us, for night is drawing near. Like the Canaanite woman, we should keep asking, all the more when Jesus breaks his initial silence, even if his initial words to us seem like rejection.

She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps

that fall from the table of their masters.”

Persistence in prayer works when it is free from pride. The motivation for this woman to persist was not because she believed she deserved to have Jesus do something for her. Rather, it was entirely because she knew that he could do it and because she loved her daughter. Jesus really did have a mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It was mainly after Pentecost that the Gospel would go to the nations. But the faith of this woman allowed her to make herself small enough that she could fit into the plan and the path of Jesus even before that. There was so little of her own ego in the way, she was so completely acting in faith, that Jesus couldn't help but respond.

Then Jesus said to her in reply,

“O woman, great is your faith!

Let it be done for you as you wish.”

The Canaanite woman was the antithesis of the children of Israel, who saw a difficult situation and despaired.

At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries,

and even in the night the people wailed.

From them, we learn what not to do if we want our prayers answered. In order to remain in the desert for forty days and not forty years we should avoid making an evil report about our circumstances.

So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel

about the land they had scouted, saying,

“The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants.

When we prophesy doom about our circumstances and speak from the flesh rather than faith we often create the very circumstances we fear.

By my life, says the LORD,

I will do to you just what I have heard you say.

Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall.

Let us learn to avoid complaining, so that we will not be stuck remaining in trials for longer than we must. Instead, let us be more like Caleb, and speak in faith. We can always prophesy victory, for the victory is already ours in Christ (see First Corinthians 15:57 and First John 5:4).

Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said,

“We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so.”

Rend Collective - More Than Conquerors

3 August 2021 - theophany

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

The disciples were obeying Jesus, preceding him to the other side of the sea as he directed them. It was his directions, then, that caused them to be caught in difficult weather at a time of night when they would likely have preferred to be asleep. Was it merely an accident? No doubt they wondered. But they already knew how powerful he was. They had seen him heal diseases, knew that he had raised the dead. He had even calmed a storm once before (see Matthew 8:23-27).

It would have been tempting to begin to doubt when the situation became desperate, when the boat was being tossed about by the waves, moving against the wind in the fourth watch of the night. But Jesus had already planted a seed of faith. He demonstrated once already that he would not necessarily prevent the boat from encountering storms. Indeed, if storms were in the way, he would not hesitate on their account. Had he been with them in the boat this time they surely would have learned the lesson and turned to him with confidence so that he could do what he had done once already. But what now, when he was apparently absent? All they had, until he came to them, were the words of direction that told them to go this way.

Jesus did not prevent the storm, nor did he have them go around it or wait for better weather. They were to all appearances abandoned to the storm. Yet even there, even as they were being worn down by the effort of just staying afloat, they still had his words in which to trust. The words could give them confidence that they were going the right way, confidence that Jesus himself would somehow be there for them.

During the fourth watch of the night,

he came toward them, walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

Jesus came to them in their hour of need. He had not spared them the trial, but he did come to them at the moment he chose. Only because they had endured what they had endured could they now learn the lesson he came to demonstrate. Somehow they would be better for having endured the storm and receiving deliverance than they would have if they had remained in comfort.

Peter said to him in reply,

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

He said, “Come.”

There was something a little crazy about the request Peter made to Jesus. A more sane request would have been to calm the storm and join them in the boat. But the storm brought Peter to a place where he was ready to try things a new way, to trust Jesus on a different level than he had before. 

At that hour, in that place, he was past the desire to play it safe. He was like a soldier with nothing to lose who was now ready to make a final charge on the enemy. 

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

Peter had a brief moment in which he experienced being free from the need for self-preservation. Because, at that point, what could he do to save himself? In that moment he experienced the freedom of faith. It didn't last, but it was a start, an important milestone along his life journey.

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,

What was the lesson of this storm for the disciples and for for Peter in particular?

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,

“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The first time Jesus calmed the sea it was already a theophany, a revelation of his divinity. This moment on the sea of Gennesaret was a deepening of that lesson. It demonstrated he had not arrived to speak calm once and for all, but rather to be with his people as they faced the storms of life. He allowed such storms in order that we might trust him even then, to trust him even as radically as did Peter. He will continue to allow storms at least until they no longer faze us, until we can take steps of faith that would never be possible from the safety of dry land. And he may continue to allow storms thereafter. But so what? We will walk above them.

Our faith is weak, and storms often deeply unsettle us. But the Lord's rebuke is gentle, and he is always ready for us to try again. The results of our infidelity may even seem dire, as with Miriam and Aaron. But Jesus himself is our mediator now, between God and man. He himself pleads for mercy upon us and his Father will not refuse him.

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

Cast me not off from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Hillsong United - Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

2 August 2021 - give them some food yourselves

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

Jesus wanted his disciples to have the same compassion for the crowd that he had. He desires that we too have compassion for those around us, especially those who are troubled and abandoned and alone.

He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;

give them some food yourselves.”

We admire the compassion of Jesus when he expresses it directly, curing the sick and casting out demons. But when the locus of action is shifted by him away from his direct intervention toward us assuming the active role we immediately encounter our own insufficiency.

But they said to him,

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

This is going to be our experience almost anytime we let Jesus lead us into the service of others. Ultimately, we do not have enough to satisfy them. Even the problems of a merely natural and physical nature are seemingly endless. How much less can our own words and insights sate the deep spiritual hunger in the world? But we must not give up.

Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”

Jesus did not simply feed the crowd himself. Rather, he desired that his disciples would be the ones to respond to their need, and that they would begin with what they had, however meager. He wanted them to know and understand that what seemed too limited from a purely rational point of view could be enough if and only if it was brought to him in faith.

They all ate and were satisfied,

and they picked up the fragments left over–

twelve wicker baskets full.

Relying on God does not necessarily mean sitting back and watching while he does everything for us. It does not necessarily mean he will hand us all of what we need in a given situation. Instead, he will often force us to face our own apparent inadequacy by making our efforts required but not sufficient. By this he draws from us faith that is greater than that of a spectator rooting for their favorite team. He is requiring of us a faith that touches us personally, that believes not only that with God all things are possible (see Matthew 19:26), but that we ourselves can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (see Philippians 4:13).

The fact that Jesus wants to involve us can worry us because we do not know how receptive the crowd will be. We may find ourselves in a situation like that of Moses were after the miraculous appearance of manna the crowd is still seemingly insatiable. At such times we may be tempted to despair, just as was Moses.

If this is the way you will deal with me,

then please do me the favor of killing me at once,

so that I need no longer face this distress.

Yet if God's will for us is to tend this particular crowd he will not leave us stranded. We may be waiting, with grumbling and hunger on one side and no immediate response from God on the other. We may think that we are not providing any value to the situation at precisely this moment and that things would be better off without us. Yet God does desire to work through our own human limitations for the sake of his people. He desires that we offer those very limitations to him in faith. When we do so we remove the barriers within us and allow God's own power to be unleashed.

While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

Songs In His Presence - Psalm 78: The Lord Gave Them Bread

ILP Music - Gift of Finest Wheat

1 August 2021 - having all sweetness within it

Today's Readings

(Audio)

I declare and testify in the Lord

that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,

in the futility of their minds;

Humanity apart from Christ, like the Gentiles, does not live in harmless neutrality, but rather in the futility of mind. Christ did not come merely to offer a path of optional excellence for those for whom such a path had appeal. The world to which Christ came was not OK, though, much like today, it did all it could to assure itself that it was.

The great difficulty for those who did not yet know Christ was that they lived in the futility of their minds. This meant that their minds were fundamentally unable to break out of or even recognize the cycle of futility in which they were enmeshed. The root problem was that their way of life was "corrupted through deceitful desires". But then, when they ran into the consequences of these desires, the disappoints that would inevitably result, they could not recognize that the problem was a futile way of thinking. Instead, they could only blame the circumstances. Thus the cycle continued. 

Amen, amen, I say to you,

you are looking for me not because you saw signs

but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 

Jesus came to teach the truth about the condition of humanity. He came to reveal the limits of seeking food that perishes, the problems of futile ways of thinking and living that kept people on a hamster wheel of effort that could never go anywhere and could not satisfy. He did not come to testify to the truth in order to condemn humanity, but because by making the truth known, humanity could be set free (see John 8:32). He could bring awareness to the vicious cycles that dominated history, and by exposing them, destroy their power over us. 

Do not work for food that perishes

but for the food that endures for eternal life,

which the Son of Man will give you. 

No created thing that we might chase after can really give what we desire. This was the point C.S. Lewis made when he wrote in Mere Christianity, "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." It was what Saint Augustine meant when he wrote in his Confessions that, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." Jesus therefore called the crowds to stop seeking perishable bread and seek instead the bread giver. What the futility of their minds made them seek after in their efforts of daily provisioning could only finally be found in Christ.

Jesus said to them,

“I am the bread of life;

whoever comes to me will never hunger,

and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

There is no other place where our hearts can truly rest except in Jesus. There is nothing besides him that can satisfy the deepest desires within us. Yet we grumble and express discontent because of how deeply entrenched we were in habits of futile seeking that once defined us.

“Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,

as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! 

But you had to lead us into this desert

to make the whole community die of famine!”

Jesus desires to renew our minds so that we can move beyond the futility which would ultimately draw us back into slavery and sin.

be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

and put on the new self,

created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

This renewal is indeed marked by a new way of using our minds and a new way of desiring higher things. But the seed that makes this renewed mind possible comes to us as a gift, a gift of grace that we find most perfectly expressed in the true Eucharistic bread, Jesus himself.

Sir, give us this bread always.

Songs In His Presence - Prayer of Augustine

Matt Maher - Come to the Water

(bonus) Matt Maher - Mass of Communion - Gloria