7 February 2024 - from within

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Hear me, all of you, and understand.

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;

but the things that come out from within are what defile.

Those like the Pharisees who were preoccupied with what enters from outside would not readily accept this. They preferred external ritual purity, purity that could be maintained perfectly without any need for conversion of heart. In another place Jesus would criticize this about them, saying, "For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence" (see Matthew 23:25).

When he got home away from the crowd

his disciples questioned him about the parable.

Even the disciples, whose motives were not as inherently corrupt as those of the Pharisees, had a hard time understanding this teaching of Jesus. For much of the law seemed to be about matters of ritual purity. Could such things be truly set aside? And in any case, what was to be done about the thing that Jesus said was actually the problem, the human heart? After all, about this spiritual center of the person Jeremiah had said, "[t]he heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (see Jeremiah 17:9). 

“Are even you likewise without understanding?

Do you not realize that everything

that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,

since it enters not the heart but the stomach

and passes out into the latrine?”

Jesus went on to explain that external ritual purity could not truly effect the change it was meant to symbolize. It was meant to point to the need to transformation of heart but could not itself achieve that transformation. Only by the coming of Jesus among his people was there any hope that the heart could be healed. By declaring all foods clean Jesus set aside what would be henceforth only a distraction. Rather than pursuing a legalistic and external perfection according to ritual, people were now meant to pursue Jesus himself, and allow themselves to be transformed by him. Rather than ritual washing, baptism would truly regenerate the soul. In place of food laws that excluded the Gentiles all people would be invited to the feast of his own Body and Blood. There was no need any longer to pursue that which was only a symbol and a reminder of the need for purification. Even the Gentiles could be welcomed into fellowship without risk of contamination.

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God (see Hebrews 10:11).

This is good news for us, whose hearts are still in some measure defiled by sin. Jesus himself desires to heal us of evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly, in whatever form they take within us. Even if we aren't given over to the full blown form of any of these, it is likely that none of them are completely absent. If we had to change ourselves on our own, especially at this level of our being, we would despair. Even if we had the wisdom of Solomon on which to rely it wouldn't make much of a dent at the level of the heart. But we have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who himself promised to give us new hearts.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (see Ezekiel 36:26).

Mark Schultz - Give Us Clean Hands

6 February 2024 - inhumane traditions

Today's Readings

(Audio)

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,

"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders

but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"

The Pharisees who asked this question weren't so concerned with ritual purity as they were with asserting their superiority over the disciples of Jesus. For them, the ritual handwashing was just one more item in a litany of performance that they did, not for God, but so that they could compare themselves favorable with others. Rather than become an occasion of humility as the cleansing of water reminded them of their reliance on God it became instead a point of prideful ostentation. The modern equivalent might be a Catholic who practices every possible devotion, says every novena, and recites every litany, but only in order to look down on other Catholics who do not do those things. We probably all know someone who makes a law out of their favorite tradition, insisting that it is all but necessary for salvation. Hopefully we ourselves avoid this temptation even for those traditions which have been very helpful for us individually. It is possible to share the value we find in such devotions without creating a sense of guilt in those who are not inclined to take them up.

How well you have set aside the commandment of God

in order to uphold your tradition!

We must be careful that we do not cling to human traditions at the expense of the commandment of God. Sometimes it's easier to say one more litany than to go out of our way to respond to a friend in need. Donating money as corban to God may have been easier for than honoring father and mother by actively engaging in relationship with them. Or maybe it was just a mask with which those who did so concealed a more hostile disposition toward them. Either way, there was no real and justifiable way to opt out of that commandment. The Pharisees were often experts in finding a little thing that they could set over and against the big picture of the law. And they did so largely to appease their own appetites and to avoid things they saw as difficult or displeasing. The solution that will allow us to avoid such temptations is to ensure that we not only honor God with our lips but with our hearts as well. We must not only tic the boxes of a list of rules, but must try to understand the mercy and love that motivates the heart of God, and allow him to teach us to share those motives.

You nullify the word of God

in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.

And you do many such things.

We are called to cling to the word of God. But we are also called to "hold to the traditions that you were taught by us" (see Second Thessalonians 2:15). The word for traditions in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians is the same word as Jesus used in today's Gospel. But there is a clear difference between the human traditions that Jesus criticized and the Sacred Tradition upheld as necessary by the Church in every age. If the trick is not to be confused about which is which then the teaching authority of the Church, especially as expressed in the Catechism, is probably a good place to start.

Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?

If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,

how much less this temple which I have built!

There is a sense in which nothing human, not a temple, and not tradition, can contain the infinite and almighty God. But nevertheless he does choose to dwell among us. His Spirit fills his bride, constantly teaching her, and revealing the depths of his own heart to her. This is why we must have a posture of humble receptivity in the presence of the divine mystery. The Pharisees seemed like a cup that was already full. Worse yet, it was full of their own toxic brew. We must constantly seek to empty ourselves of our selfishness and pride in order that we me be continually filled by God.

I had rather one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Matt Maher - Better Is One Day

5 February 2024 - your light has come

Today's Readings

(Audio)

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,

Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret

and tied up there.

When Jesus last left Gennesaret it was after Jesus healed a man possessed by a demon. That time the people were seized with fear and begged him to leave. Jesus left a community that at best was unable to welcome him and may have been actually hostile toward him because of the disruption to their economy caused by the death of the swine. Or they may even have taken that incident as some kind of statement of Jewish superiority over Gentiles, which would have been aggravating indeed whether or not it was intended to be such a statement. It was only natural that the formerly possessed man desired to follow Jesus rather than remain in a community like that. But Jesus "would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you" (see Mark 5:19). Given the reception Jesus received on this repeat visit we may infer that the man had been effective in this mission.

As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.

They scurried about the surrounding country

and began to bring in the sick on mats

to wherever they heard he was.

At first the sign of a possessed man in his right mind was jarring and the death of the swine was an economic disaster. But the longer he remained in their midst the more they were able to recognize the goodness of the transformation that occurred. The longer the time passed from the death of the pigs the more they were able to realize that such a loss was negligible if it meant that a human life, once oppressed by the devil, could thrive. But such a realization meant in some measure coming to terms with the presence of darkness in their midst. If it was good that this man was healed then it followed that pushing people in his former condition to the peripheries where they could be safely ignored was not a good option. Yet what other option did they have without the presence of Jesus? That may be why when Jesus did return it seemed as though the whole world was waiting for him and came to him.

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,

they laid the sick in the marketplaces

and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;

and as many as touched it were healed.

The first reaction of the people to Jesus was fear. But that fear gave way to faith. They began to believe that what the Lord had done for the possessed man and for others through the healing power of Jesus might be done for them as well. Jesus coming to their region a second time gave them confidence that he had not abandoned or forgotten them. Indeed their expectant faith was so great that they came to believe that mere contact, even with the tassel of his cloak, would be enough to heal them. Just as it was for the hemorrhaging woman, so too for them, the touch of Jesus was sufficient.

When the priests left the holy place,

the cloud filled the temple of the LORD

so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,

since the LORD's glory had filled the temple of the LORD.

Just as the glory of the Lord filled the temple when the ark was brought in and set in its place so too did his glory fill Gennesaret at the coming of Jesus. It was another instance when "the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light" (see Matthew 4:16). To us this may at first seem to have been a rare and exclusive privilege. But then we are called to remember that we touch not only the tassel of Jesus but his very body and blood every time we receive him in Holy Communion. With contact so close how can we regard any healing or transformation we need as impossible? The same glory cloud that fills the temple is meant to fill our souls as well. Let us welcome him with praise.

Vineyard Music - I See The Lord

4 February 2024 - for this purpose

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.

They immediately told him about her.

He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.

Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

Jesus raised up Simon's mother-in-law, creating in her life a mini-resurrection, a prelude to Jesus' own, and also of the resurrection of the faithful on the last day. The resurrection always implies new life, a life qualitatively different from what had been before. This is meant to be true for all of us, who "were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (see Romans 6:4). And we see this new life in every person that experiences a transformative healing by Jesus. In this case of Simon's mother-in-law, we can see it in her readiness to serve. One moment she was bed bound with fever, the next she was up and waiting on her guests. She manifested a spirit of hospitality and service, but one that was directed specifically toward the Kingdom since it provided for Jesus himself. She was "one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward" and "one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward" (see Matthew 10:41). She had identified her part in the divine story and her role in the plan of God and she was eager to pursue it.

Once Jesus touches a life that life naturally desires to express itself in thankfulness but is often so overwhelmed as to need to have that urge shaped and directed. Sometimes the right response is to follow Jesus directly by committing one's whole life to him as a disciple. But not always, as with the man from whom Jesus cast out a demon:

the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you" (see Mark 5:18-19).

The eager welcoming of Jesus into one's life takes as many different shapes as there are people who receive him. It can look like Zacchaeus  climbing down from the tree and welcoming Jesus enthusiastically into his home. Or it can look like Matthew leaving his post as a tax collector to follow him. But one thing is consistent among all followers of Jesus. Things are different after meeting him than the were before, and life can never be the same.

When it was evening, after sunset,

they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.

The whole town was gathered at the door.

Given how a single healing can so profoundly transform an individual it is no wonder that the popularity of Jesus grew exponentially as those touched by his healing power told others who in turn told still others about him. He didn't need demons disclosing his identity precisely because it was only a distraction from the true revelation of his loving heart that was already on display for all to see. Demons who knew nothing of the transformative power of God's love manifested in Jesus Christ might speak accurately of his identity, but they could not convey the deep reality that was only to be found by entering into relationship with Jesus himself. 

Rising very early before dawn, he left

and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

What made Jesus so compelling to others, whether they could articulate it or not, was his connection and closeness to his heavenly Father. Jesus was always about his Father's business and everything he did was a manifestation of the Father, a visible icon of the Father's heart. Jesus demonstrated this priority by finding time and space apart from the crowds to dedicate to prayer. If Jesus did this, and if it was this vital source that made him so irresistible to the crowds, then how much more ought we to spend time in prayer. We should not undervalue it or merely fit it in as an optional nicety when convenient. We should treat it as our own source of connection to the vine, and the only way we can hope to bear fruit as disciples. The main manifestation of this connection for us is found in the sacraments. But like Jesus we also need time alone with God in order to be fully equipped to live as we are meant to live. 

He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages

that I may preach there also.

For this purpose have I come."

We don't always have this clarity of purpose. In fact, probably few of us have so precisely identified what we are meant to be about. What we need first is encounter with Jesus, and the time spent with him in prayer to give direction to the new life we receive from him. Unlike for Jesus, the specific details of our future will remain obscure. But we can nevertheless move forward with confidence of purpose as long as we are in some way, like Simon's mother-in-law, serving him.

Graham Kendrick - For This Purpose

3 February 2024 - he began to teach

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus

and reported all they had done and taught.

He said to them,

“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

They had gone out to heal and to preach empowered by the authority which Jesus himself bestowed upon them. But that did not mean that they were to function independently from then onward. They were to bring both their successes and their failures to Jesus. There were times when they would rejoice that even the demons were subject to them. There were other times when they would fail, when people would turn to Jesus for help with a demon that the disciples could not drive away. But in the case of their successes they were meant to return with thanksgiving to rejoice at what Jesus had empowered. When they failed they were meant to return to continue to learn where they still fell short and what more they needed to grow as disciples.

When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?”

He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer" (see Mark 9:28-29).

The temptation for us is to let both our successes and failures isolate us from the Lord. When we forget to be thankful and to acknowledge our dependence on him in all things we become increasingly fragile, ready to break when failure does inevitably occur. And if we do not return to Jesus with our failures we will be tempted to despair of the possibility of progress and the direction of growth to which we are called will be obscure or invisible. 

People were coming and going in great numbers,

and they had no opportunity even to eat.

So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.

Ideally the disciples would have had time alone with Jesus in order to spend time enjoying their relationship with him, learning from him without distraction. But in the real world such ideal conditions are often more aspirational than attainable. Thus the next best thing was for the disciples to witness Jesus at work amidst the real circumstances in which he did in fact find himself. In some ways this was actually superior to the interrupted original plan because it revealed the heart of Jesus in action.

When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them,

for they were like sheep without a shepherd;

Jesus himself came in order be the Good Shepherd for his people since those shepherds whom he had sent in the form of religious and political leadership had mostly failed to live up to their responsibilities. But it was also a part of the prophecy to which Jesus himself was the chief fulfillment that God would give shepherds after his own heart.  And these were to be his disciples. In the abstract this was something that could be taught. But it was more effective still to see what it meant on display as Jesus himself responded to the crowd. 

and he began to teach them many things.

The teaching he gave them was no mere abstraction, but something that could answer to their feelings of being troubled and abandoned. His words nourished and drew them out of their despair and toward rest in the peace of God. His teachings exposed false hopes and revealed where true joy could be found. It was in fact the vital cure to the lies the devil had sold to humanity, reestablishing trust and intimacy of relationship with God through Jesus himself.

Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart

to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.

The prayer of a leader for wisdom may seem overly naive and simplistic in our modern political discourse. Most would prefer a realpolitik of action and economic power, even though the goals they would desire to achieve might be noble. But without the wisdom all such projects are like houses built on sinking sand. Only rooted in God's fundamental understanding of all things can any human purpose have lasting value. 

Solomon was given immense wisdom. But Jesus himself was the wisdon of God and the power of God (see First Corinthians 1:24). It was to this wisdom that the disciples needed to constantly return to strengthen their relationships with him. It was this wisdom, a communication of his very self, that Jesus imparted when he taught the crowds. Much more than trivial or abstract, it was fundamental for a life well lived and for anything truly worthy of the term success. May Jesus look upon our hearts with mercy and teach us many things.

Peter Furler - Psalm 23

2 February 2024 - presentation tense

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem

to present him to the Lord,

By bringing Jesus to the temple Mary and Joseph were fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi, who wrote of when, "suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire". The king of glory was entering the temple, as the psalmist wrote. Yet a superficial glance did not indicate the need to enlarge the entryways for this still very small child. Neither did the circumstances of his entrance seem to correspond to such glory. His parents, after all, were so poor as to make offer only "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons" for Mary's purification.

But who will endure the day of his coming?

And who can stand when he appears?

Those who endured the day of his coming were did not do so in virtue of their own strength or righteousness. They were not prideful and self-assured. For prideful ones would have looked to the messenger of the covenant to be strong himself to confirm their own sense of their strength and their righteousness. To such ones a little child would have gone completely under the radar. Instead those who endured his coming were people such as Simeon and Anna. These were people who longed for the fulfillment of the promises of the Lord. They knew what had been prophesied by Isaiah and the other prophets and they had genuinely come to desire the fulfillment of those prophesies as the greatest possible fulfillment of their own lives.

Now, Master, you may let your servant go

in peace, according to your word,

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples

In his own song of praise Simeon referred to the prophecy of Isaiah that "the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (see Isaiah 40:5). Simeon understand that the promises of worldly pleasure and success could not compare to the promises of God. He had this in common with the prophetess Anna who seemed to have been worshipping night and day in the temple with fasting and prayer waiting for that very day when Jesus arrived at the temple. Because she had waited with holy desire she came "forward at that very time", giving thanks, and speaking about the child to others who were also waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem, but who had not yet noticed that it had begun.

For he is like the refiner’s fire,

or like the fuller’s lye.

He will sit refining and purifying silver,

and he will purify the sons of Levi,

Refining them like gold or like silver

that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

Who would have thought that by coming as an unassuming child Jesus would purify the people? Yet in order to receive Jesus as the king of glory into our own hearts we must embrace the humility found in Simeon and in Anna. We must renounce our pride and turn and become like little children ourselves if what we desire is the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 18:3). It is paradoxically by becoming small ourselves that we lift up the gates of our hearts to give Jesus room to enter.

Since the children share in blood and flesh,

Jesus likewise shared in them,

that through death he might destroy the one

who has the power of death, that is, the Devil,

and free those who through fear of death

had been subject to slavery all their life.

We have been given still greater promises than those which motivated the entire lives of Simeon and Anna. Yet we still often look to the world for our fulfillment and joy and only look to the Lord as a backup strategy when our own plans fall short. On this feast let us pray to find in Jesus a fulfillment so complete that when it is time for us to go the way of all flesh we too will go in peace, with eyes blessed to see what we have seen.

Willard F. Jabusch and Randall DeBruyn - The King Of Glory

1 February 2024 - the mission's point

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two

and gave them authority over unclean spirits.

Jesus sent out the Twelve as his representatives to do what he had been doing, but at a larger scale, covering more territory. Just as he had preached and healed so too would his followers proclaim the Kingdom and confirm that proclamation with signs and wonders. Just as Jesus spoke with authority and not like one of the scribes so too would they. They were even to imitate his poverty. Just as Jesus became man, bringing with him none of the heavenly glory that was his, and depending on the reception he would receive in the world, so too did he prohibit his disciples from bringing anything but the bare essentials. 

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick

–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.

They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.

The walking stick and the sandals were conducive to the needs of travelers. The staff could also be said to represent the authority entrusted to them. It was like that which Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah himself who would, "strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked" (see Isaiah 11:4). It wasn't physical violence, but it was the conquest of the principalities and the dark powers who thrived on lies and half-truths. 

Their feet were shod with the readiness to proclaim the good news (see Ephesians 6:15). In this also they were to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, "[h]ow beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns”" (see Isaiah 52:7). 

Without food, sack, or money they had no choice but to seek first the Kingdom of God and trust that whatever else besides that they needed would be provided for them by God's providence. Had any other arrangement been used it would have meant their minds would have been divided between solicitude to provide for their physical needs and the importance of proclaiming the Gospel. Jesus' challenge to do without such provisions was inherently freeing to those who accepted it. It seemed at the outset like it would make things harder to manage. But as a lived reality it turned out to be a yoke that was easy and a burden that was light.

Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.

They weren't to shop around, either for better accommodations for themselves, nor even for a more perfect reception for their teaching. If they were welcomed they were to reciprocate by availing themselves thankfully of that hospitality. That place would become their base of operations as they preached, drove out demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick. This was a protection against the temptation to seek perfect circumstances before beginning the work of evangelization, which, we might admit, is a temptation to which we commonly succumb.

Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,

leave there and shake the dust off your feet

in testimony against them.

The Lord Jesus, though omniscient, did not send them only to places where they would find success. In the mystery of human free will even those who would reject him still had the right and the need to hear the Gospel so that they could make the most mature and informed response possible. Leaving them with less than a full knowledge of what they were accepting or rejecting in no way guaranteed and invincible and inculpable ignorance. And even an initial rejection was by no means a guarantee that they wouldn't later repent and believe the Gospel. Shaking off the dust had a two-fold utility. One was to allow closure to the Twelve who could have a sense that they did what they were meant to do even if there were no visible results. But the other purpose was surely to give a last indication to those they left behind that there was something that they had missed, and to plant it in their minds and to make it as unforgettable as possible.

Although our own call to evangelize looks quite different from that of the Twelve we too are nevertheless called to proclaim the Gospel in our own way, in our own spheres of influence. And in this we must rely on the authority of the Lord, trusting in him, ignoring the temptation to try to succeed by the merely efficient or the practical. We should be prepared to occasionally face rejection. We are all too likely to await only perfect circumstances and so never begin. But this, clearly, has never been the plan. Let us do the part the Lord has prepared for us so that we don't have to be filled with what-ifs or regrets. 

There is one reigning who is greater than Solomon, who is exalted over all, to whom belongs majesty, splendor, and glory. It is this king, whom the world has forgotten, that we proclaim. How can we be silent?

Curtis Stephan - Go Out, Go Out