21 February 2024 - Nineveh business

Today's Readings

(Audio)

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,

“This generation is an evil generation;

it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,

except the sign of Jonah.

Jesus warned that generation that he hadn't come to entertain or to impress them. He desired to show them the way to the true promised land of the Kingdom but they were like the evil generation that wandered for forty years in the desert because they refused to trust God. Despite God providing for them on that journey they grumbled and always seemed to want something other than what he gave them, no matter how good or miraculous the gift. Similarly, the generation who heard Jesus were all but impossible to satisfy. They thought John the Baptist was crazy for his life of asceticism. And they couldn't accept the fact that Jesus was friends with tax collectors and sinners, and enjoyed eating and drinking in their company. Even those who heard Jesus with sympathy often remained indecisive, unable to follow him. He told them, in effect, how they were to seize the promised land. They, in response, offered every reason why for them it was impossible. They would ultimately prefer to remain in place, asking Jesus to bless their current situation instead of leading them forth to freedom.

Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,

so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

The message of Jonah to the Ninevites was that their current path was one that led toward destruction. God sent Jonah to that people because he did not desire that outcome. Jonah himself didn't bother to indicate that any other possibility might exist. He, after all, did not wish for them to repent. And yet his very presence there as a warning did inspire a great conversion of heart from the least to the greatest. How much more, then, ought the people have converted at the preaching of Jesus, who came to seek and to save the lost, whose heart was motivated constantly by mercy and compassion?

she came from the ends of the earth

to hear the wisdom of Solomon,

and there is something greater than Solomon here.

Solomon was, of course, the wisest man to ever live because God himself filled him with the gift of wisdom. But Jesus was, in person,  "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (see First Corinthians 1:24). If the Queen of the South was convinced because of how well ordered Solomon's kingdom was, and how he seemed to have an answer to every question and riddle, how much more ought the generation of Jesus to have recognized the wisdom with which he spoke? Indeed, his wisdom eventually silenced his opposition, such that "they no longer dared to ask him any question" (see Luke 20:40). Yet even then they did not turn and repent, but only hardened their hearts all the more.

With Jonah and with the Queen of the South it was by Gentiles that the truth of the word was received. God always had a plan to bless all the nations through Israel, and we can see hints of that intention in those instances. So too with Jesus. Although a majority of his own generation refused to accept him, that rejection would redound to the salvation of the Gentiles, including most of us. But the salvation of the Gentiles was not meant to exclude the Jewish people but rather, "in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them" (see Romans 11:14). Because, in the end, God desires all to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth (see First Timothy 2:4). But the only path to this promised land and to salvation is found in Jesus, a greater king than Solomon, a greater prophet than Jonah.

Perhaps we've been waiting for a sign, but insincerely, and only as an excuse for inaction. Hasn't the word of God already persuaded us by the wisdom of his words, having spoken as no one else had ever done (see John 7:46)? If so, then what are we waiting for? Let us, with our whole hearts, follow Jesus.

Sr. Stacy Whitfield - How Lovely

20 February 2024 - teach us to pray

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus said to his disciples:

“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,

who think that they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them.

Jesus tells his disciples not to expect their words to be magic spells by which God is manipulated or exploited for their intentions. In other places he commends persistence in prayer, with images that suggest that our effort would eventually change the mind of an unjust judge. But here we are reminded that we do not pray to change God's mind. Our repetition of prayers and litanies do not put him in our debt, nor do they eventually annoy him into doing something he would not have otherwise done. Rather we are called to pray with a posture of trust, addressing a Father who knows what we need yet still desires that we would ask. When we begin from this attitude of trust we can allow prayer to transform us, as it is meant to do, along the way to bringing about its eventual results in the world.

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name

Our God is not a disinterested and remote deity, not a clockmaker that wound up the world and left it to run on its own. He is a Father who becomes our own Father because Jesus desired to allow us to become adopted children in him. But as adopted children we may not always hold the divine name in the proper regard. We may, as does our culture, treat it too casually or even as a curse. But we may also relegate it to a shelf of things to holy to handle. And in this way we will miss a genuine treasure. For the name above every name is meant to give us direction and be a focal point of praise. As we hallow it in our hearts we discover more and more who is the God that this name signifies. Of course we want this not only for ourselves but for the entire world. If this first petition was truly granted for everyone, all the rest would be included and fulfilled.

thy Kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

The Kingdom of God is present wherever God reigns and his will is done. This is perfectly the case in heaven where the angels and saints worship and adore. But God desires this Kingdom to be unleashed on earth as well, through the lives of Christians. And this can only happen by grace, as we saw most perfectly when Mary herself was totally surrendered to the divine will in her fiat. It was precisely at that moment when the divine will was most perfectly accomplished on earth as it is in heaven, because at that moment the word became flesh in the womb of Mary. But we too are called to surrender our own will to the God's divine plan, which is better than anything we could ask or imagine. We too, to the degree that we surrender to God's will, can bring a little piece of heaven to earth. And this is how the Kingdom is meant to come: through willing hearts that long for it.

Give us this day our daily bread

We rely on God for everything, and it does us good to remember that. We are meant to trust him for our daily needs to the degree that we don't need to be overly anxious about the future. We know this and yet we often fail to find ourselves so thoroughly reassured. This is why we must ask this of God in prayer, so as to not take it for granted. Better still, he answers not only with material needs, but spiritual as well. In his words he gives us bread that feeds the hunger of our minds and hearts. And he gives us his own body to be our daily bread, feeding us not just for today, but unto eternity.

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

We ask for help in being free from the debt of sin ourselves and in forgiving others of their trespasses against us. This helps to clean the slate for a jubilee year of celebration. Unforgiven sin can act as a barricade to the full outpouring of divine grace God intends. He desires us to be fully open to the joy and freedom of his presence and it is for this reason he desires to forgive us and to see us share that mercy in turn with others.

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

There are many temptations that we face. False kingdoms and false promises of bread are abundant. We ask instead to be led by God into the true promise of an eternal jubilee in his Kingdom. He is more than able to keep us safe from all the powers of evil. But we must depend on him for this and not grow arrogant as though we would be fine without his help. From beginning to end the Our Father expresses our dependence on God. But this is not burdensome, for he loves us. And it does not detract from our own call to grow and mature as his children. Indeed it is the only path by which to do so.

Matt Maher - The Lord's Prayer

19 February 2024 - getting our goat

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When the Son of Man comes in his glory,

and all the angels with him,

he will sit upon his glorious throne,

and all the nations will be assembled before him.

We confess in the creed that Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. But aside from Sundays and solemnities when we say the creed we don't tend to think too much about judgment on the last day. This is not to say we have no concern to follow Jesus or to pursue holiness. We may even manage to make regular examinations of conscience and frequently make use of the sacrament of confession without thinking about the reality of the coming judgment. But it seemed that Jesus wanted his disciples to keep the last judgment in mind as a horizon against which they lived their lives day to day. Why would he reveal the criteria of the last judgment if not because he wanted us to be numbered among the sheep on his right hand?

Then the king will say to those on his right,

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

The last day will make manifest the way we have lived our lives. If we have lived in love then we will be recognized by Jesus and will recognize him. By our treatment of the least of his brothers we will have already demonstrated the degree of love we have for Jesus himself. As John wrote, "he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen" (see First John 4:20). Since there is nothing that God needs from us and nothing that we can do that will accrue benefit to him he has chosen to associate with the lowest and the least so that we can demonstrate our love for him in a way that has meaning and impact in the world. 

For I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

a stranger and you welcomed me,

naked and you clothed me,

ill and you cared for me,

in prison and you visited me.’

If it were really Jesus who crossed our path and not those on the peripheries of our society and the outcasts of our day it seems certain to us that the magnitude of our response would be much greater. If we saw Jesus hungry and thirsty we would certainly do everything in our power to feed him and quench his thirst. But he has told us where he may be found. Yet we are slow to believe him, preoccupied with our own splendor, like the rich man who ignored Lazarus at his doorstep. It is true that the problem of poverty is so overwhelming as to be intractable. But we are not called to solve all of the problems of the world. Rather, we are called to make a difference in the lives of individuals by using the blessings given to us by God for their sake.

Then he will say to those on his left,

‘Depart from me, you accursed,

into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

a stranger and you gave me no welcome,

naked and you gave me no clothing,

ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

The sins that damned the goats were sins of omission. That is, they were given the opportunity to perform these deeds of love, people in need came across their paths, and they chose to do nothing, to prefer themselves, and to harden their hearts. The Lord did not necessarily ask them to travel to distant lands or to reform the political order. More often, he asked them to respond where he planted them using the graces he himself provided. There is a fearful prospect here, that without an examination of conscience we might be like these goats and be unaware of the failure of our response. We are called to keep this judgment before our eyes to ensure that we are never the ones that say, "Lord, when did we see you", as an excuse for our inaction.

The Lord desires to make us fit for heaven by teaching us to live lives of love. The life of heaven is nothing other than the love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By responding to this parable we can signal whether or not that is really what we desire for all eternity. May we love our neighbor as ourselves so that on the last day we too may hear, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world".

Songs In His Presence - Psalm 19

Newsboys - Love One Another

18 February 2024 - just desert?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,

and he remained in the desert for forty days,

tempted by Satan.

Jesus went out into the desert as the faithful representative of mankind. He was a new Adam who was tempted by Satan but who was, unlike Adam, steadfast in his obedience to God. Adam wickedly stretched out his hand to take the forbidden fruit. But Jesus rejected the temptation to turn rocks into bread, since man shall not live by bread alone. He was tested like ancient Israel while Moses spent forty days on the mountain with God. But unlike Israel he refused to bow down and worship that which was not God. His forty days were like the forty years Israel spent in the desert. But unlike the journey of the Exodus, Jesus did not grumble or disobey. He did not demand more than was allotted, and was satisfied with that which God himself provided. He was thus fed by angels, like Elijah. But unlike Elijah he never despaired. Rather he did that which he would later call his followers to imitate: He was not anxious about what he would eat or drink because he realized that his Father knew that he needed those things. He sought first the Kingdom, knowing that all else would be provided. 

After John had been arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:

"This is the time of fulfillment.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Lent is a call to repent, to take on a new and spiritual way of thinking, a mind renewed by the truth of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is therefore also a call to turn aside from merely worldly ways of thinking and from belief in false promises of this world that cannot satisfy. We often consider only the negative aspects of Lent, those practices and penances we undertake, the things we forego, and the pleasures from which we abstain. But the point of all of our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is not meant to be merely a negation. The point of Lent is that it is "the time of fulfillment". It is therefore the time to stop putting up with what can only promise fulfillment falsely and, by grace, to insist on that which alone can satisfy. Jesus is for us both the way, teaching us how to navigate the desert journey, and the goal, who alone can give rest to our souls.

Maranatha! Music - Great Is Thy Faithfulness

17 February 2024 - good company?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He said to him, “Follow me.”

And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

Levi made a complete break with his past and his old life. He was like a man who set his hand to a plow and didn't look back at what was left behind. And this was true despite the fact that he maintained possession of some of his property, as evidenced by the great banquet he held for Jesus. But the possessions that were still his he no longer regarded as his own. Even those things which he still possessed he had in some sense left behind. He was like Paul, "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead", (see Philippians 3:13) and like him could say, "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss" (see Philippians 3:7). He had the poverty of spirit that Jesus called blessed even as he still put to good use the things of this world. And what better use of worldly resources than to provide a great banquet for Jesus, giving him the opportunity to influence other tax collectors who might be open to his message?

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,

“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

The Pharisees assumed that if Jesus was truly concerned with holiness he would have been more selective about the company he kept. In their minds proximity to a holy man would first need to be earned by arduously seeking holiness oneself. But this idea of first becoming holy and then coming to Jesus was illusory. The issue wasn't a matter of priority and could not be addressed by a self-improvement project. It was an illness that required the healing that only a physician could provide. One would not normally feel the need to first overcome the fever in order to spend time with the doctor. Indeed to attempt to do so would be foolish. 

Jesus said to them in reply,

“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

Jesus came to call sinners, that is, all of humanity. But in order to hear this call one would need at least the willingness and humility to recognize the disease of sin within oneself. Without recognizing the bad news of the disease it was impossible to fully appreciate the good news of the divine physician and his cure. And to cure this disease was in fact his intention. He didn't desire to leave us in sin, perhaps by giving it some other label, or calling it harmless, but desired to give us the medicine of repentance. But this was a goal toward which he could only lead those who would see themselves as sinners in need of salvation. Such self-knowledge does not naturally come to anyone. It is something that God will reveal to us a little at a time, so as to not overwhelm us. We can be Pharisees who shut our ears and refuse to hear it. Or we can be like Levi and allow Jesus to turn our whole world upside down.

Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,

and the gloom shall become for you like midday;

Then the LORD will guide you always

and give you plenty even on the parched land.

He will renew your strength,

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring whose water never fails.

Craig Musseau - Good To Me

16 February 2024 - wedding guests

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,

“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,

but your disciples do not fast?”

In this question we see one way in which practices that are meant to be spiritual can be a snare. Rather than producing righteousness, their fasting seems to have left them unsatisfied and even envious of the disciples of Jesus. They did not, it seems, look to the heavenly Father to reward them for their fasting and so they instead sought to reward themselves by prideful comparison to others. Fasting most likely seemed to them to be their own effort, and this a mark of distinction, making them better than others. But this temptation was by no means limited to groups who only exist in the pages of history. If we set ourselves to fast as a work of purely human exertion and effort, if it lacks sufficient connection to Jesus, if we do not look to the Father for our reward, then we too will find the temptation to seek our own recompense to be all but irresistible.

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn

as long as the bridegroom is with them?

Jesus presented himself as the bridegroom of Israel, an Old Testament image of God himself. If Jesus was the bridegroom then his coming marked a great wedding feast. In himself he united God and humankind. This called, not for fasting, but for great celebration. But though many were invited to the wedding, most responded with excuses and failed to attend, but instead "they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them" (see Matthew 22:5-6).

The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

In what way would the bridegroom be taken away? It could not refer to the Ascension, since it was at that time specifically that he promised to be always present to his Church. Instead, it could only refer to his holy Passion. And although the historical reality of the Passion is in the past, the spiritual reality is the foundation of our faith, and re-presented each day in the Eucharist. We proclaim his death until he comes again. And in particular, we do this liturgically each year on Good Friday. It is in preparation to commemorate liturgically our Lord being taken away that calls for us to fast, in order that we might be made ready to enter fully into the commemoration of his death and therefore also to celebrate his resurrection.

When we do choose to enter into the reality of the Passion of Jesus by setting aside our own pursuits and fasting according to the mind of God the doors are opened for great graces to be unleashed in our lives and upon the world.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you,

and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,

you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Newsboys - Lead Me To The Cross

15 February 2024 - life savers

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus said to his disciples:

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected

by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

In order for the plan of God for the salvation of humankind to be realized the Son of Man had to suffer and die, giving his life as an offering for sin, so that we might have life. 

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (see Isaiah 53:10).

Jesus did not take up his own cross by accident, because the mission failed. It was always the plan of the Father. And yet, even he, the God man, found it necessary to steel himself for this by his prayer to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane. To take up his cross was not easy or trivial simply because of his divine nature. Because of that it was possible, not easy. Jesus had no excess of worldly desire drawing him to riches or other vices. But there were many natural goods which he had to relinquish in order to give his life for us. Had he chosen to prefer his own life in the world he would not have saved our lives.

Then he said to all,

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me.

We are not called simply to sit and admire what Jesus did for us on the cross. We are called rather to come after Jesus and to become like him. As Jesus' life was constant obedience to the Father and unwavering love of neighbor so too should our lives become. It is his cross that makes it possible for us to take up our own cross, to die to selfish desire, and to live for God and for others.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

When we hear about taking up our cross we are immediately tempted to investigate every possible alternative. How can we achieve meaning and fulfillment without the need to die to self? The world offers many deceptive promises in this regard but "the present form of this world is passing away" (see First Corinthians 7:31). We must not live our lives for the sake of those things that are temporary. And this means letting go of our grasp on anything to which we are clinging too tightly. If we want to live forever we must be willing to leave the sinking ship.

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world

yet lose or forfeit himself?

Jesus does not tell us to die to self as an end in itself as though the negation of the world was the end of the story. Rather, he tells us that we must die to that which is lesser for the sake of the greater and the perfect. Jesus himself embraced the cross, not for its own sake, but for the sake of the joy set before him. The author of Hebrews presents this as an example for all of us to follow, writing that we should look "to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (see Hebrews 12:2).

The call to take up our cross and to call of Moses to choose life are fundamentally the same call. The call to life, in our fallen world, necessarily goes by way of the cross. But life, true life, better than anything the world could ever promise is nevertheless the goal.

Matt Maher - Lay It Down