3 June 2013 - don't quit wine-ing

3 June 2013 - don't quit wine-ing

At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants
to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.

The LORD entrusts to us the great responsibility of spreading the Good News of his love to the world.  He longs to give the world joy through produce of this vineyard.  We must therefore heed the warnings he gives us.  He sends us many blessings to use along the way but they often require humility.  Without humility they become a liability for judgment as we take them into our own hands and misuse them.

So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.

We must keep in mind that this is the LORD's vineyard.  The most important thing is that he gets the produce that is his due.  We must not setup shop here as if we own the place.  We must be humble and faithful so that we can recognize the LORD in our midst.

He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

Remembering that we work in a vineyard that is not our own, for something more than our own pleasure, is fundamental.  Fear of the LORD makes it possible.  In this context, to fear him is synonymous with remembering his rights as the LORD of the vineyard.  He is generous to allow us to help him in producing the wine that will sate the worlds thirst.  Do we realize what a blessing this is?  Or do we merely feel pushed to work we don't want.  Our hearts must become generous like his for partnership to truly flourish.

His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just. 

We must become like Tobit, who easily forgets his own comfort to see to his kinsman

I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;

The LORD visits us to look for the fruit of our harvest.  Yet, being selfish, we tend to view him as a competitor rather than as the source of all that we have.  We tend to see him merely as someone who wants resources which are ours.  But he is the source of our resources.  He is the only place where their purposes can truly be fulfilled. Let us trust him when he comes to us.

Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.

2 June 2013 - get in line

2 June 2013 - get in line

In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,

The LORD works throughout history to prepare us for all he wants to do for us in Jesus Christ.  Here we have an example of this.  Melchizedek's name means king of righteousness.  He is the king of Salem and therefore the king of peace.  He is a priest of God.  He is clearly someone important as he is in a position to offer blessing to Abram and collect a tithe from him.  So even though his offering of bread and wine might seem to come out of the blue we take note of it anyway.  God put this priest here in a position to bless Abram and therefore, in turn, his entire family.  He put him here to prepare us for still greater blessings to come.  For Melchizedek's line of priesthood is to continue.

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

Jesus restores the priesthood of Melchizedek, the priesthood of the firstborn which the Israelites lost by worshipping the golden calf.  He is perfectly the king of righteousness because he is without sin.  He is perfectly the king of peace because he puts an end to sin which is the cause of discord.  And because  he is the sinless offering which overcomes death his priesthood abides forever.  This is the one sacrifice which takes away sin for all time.  It does not need to be repeated, only made present to each time and place.  He is a priest forever because he offers this sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary of eternity.  On earth our priests make this one perfect sacrifice present to us.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, 
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

He works through his priesthood to make this sacrifice available to every man, woman, and child just as he works through the disciples to feed them with the bread and fishes.

he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

And there is more than enough for the crowd, more than enough for the whole world.  Do we believe in the ability of the LORD to feed his people?  Or do we fall back on our own resources as the disciples  momentarily do?  Let us trust the LORD, knowing that after all are fed there will still be baskets left over.

They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.

1 June 2013 - the beginning of wisdom

1 June 2013 - the beginning of wisdom

When I was young and innocent,
I sought wisdom openly in my prayer
I prayed for her before the temple,
and I will seek her until the end,

The LORD stands ready to give us his wisdom in abundance.  We neglect it mainly because we think we don't need it.  Our human cleverness is doing the job so far, right?  We navigate the decisions of our lives without crashing and burning.  Or at least it looks this way when times are good.  It appears this way when the decisions are easier.

But even now we are missing the blessings we can know if we allow our lives to be more directed by God's wisdom.

My heart delighted in her,
My feet kept to the level path
because from earliest youth I was familiar with her.

The starting place for this wisdom is the fear of the LORD.  This is the awe before the all-powerful Father that allows us to truly take his words to heart, knowing that they are not like any other words we hear.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

When the Pharisees try to entrap Jesus with a difficult question he turns the tables because the wisdom of God dwells so perfectly in him.

“By what authority are you doing these things?

The first thing wisdom helps him with is to know that they are not asking him sincerely.  If we ask Jesus sincerely about his authority he tells us that it is from the Father (cf. John 5:37).  But he will not waste words of truth on people who aren't listening.  That would just make them used to hearing the words without hearing the meaning behind them.  Ultimately it could push them further from the truth.

And Jesus has the wisdom to trip them up in their own insincere question.  He makes the Pharisees subject their question to the popular consensus about John the Baptist.  Because pride is important to the Pharisees and not the truth they cannot bear to lose the crowd's approval.

Let us turn away from the Pharisaic pride within ourselves which wants to be wise without relying on God moment to moment.  Let us seek the wisdom that God delights to pour out so that the truth may be our lasting joy.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.

31 May 2013 - not to us

31 May 2013 - not to us

“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

We immediately see why the LORD is able to entrust such great blessings to Mary.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

She deflects all praise for the blessings she is given to the LORD who gives them.  She has no selfish pride on the basis of these blessings for she knows that they come from God.  We know this about ourselves, too, when we stop to think about it.  But we often don't stop to think.  We often let the pride of accomplishment build up within us as if we do these things on are own.  Let Mary be our model and thanksgiving be our remedy!

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.

When we acknowledge that all we have is from the LORD he is free to bless us more and more because his blessings are not twisted to our destruction.  With this attitude we will truly be free and available to love those around us.

Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.

It all begins with the LORD's blessings for Mary and for ourselves as well.   More than anyone in history Mary experiences the LORD in her midst.  And because she does we can as well.

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.

And even though Mary sings a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for the blessings she receives we know that God sings over her even more beautifully.

He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

He sings over all of us who come to him in humility and thanksgiving.  Let us hear this song as we drink from him the water of our salvation!

With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.

30 May 2013 - unsightly defects

30 May 2013 - unsightly defects

As the rising sun is clear to all,
so the glory of the LORD fills all his works;

And yet we don't recognize his glory in all of his work as much as we should.  Sometimes when they are exceptionally beautiful we take notice. But there is always more there to see than we see.  There is always more to learn of the awesomeness of God than we are ready to learn.

Yet even God’s holy ones must fail
in recounting the wonders of the LORD,

When we feel like we're missing much of what the LORD reveals we can feel reassured.  He is inviting us to an ever deeper knowledge.  He does not ask what he does not also empower and so he will provide the means.

“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”

We should have great sympathy for the blind man.  There is so much in God's plans for us and for the world that remains as darkness.  We stumble for want of more complete revelation.  Indeed the existence of blindness and defects in creation is always a challenge for us.  But he is generous to restore our ability to see his bigger purpose.  He wants us to know everything he has heard from the Father and therefore calls us friends (cf John 15:15).  Healing the physical blindness of this man points to a much greater healing within him.

The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.”

His faith lets him see that Jesus is both good and powerful in spite of the sufferings he faces.   Through this faith he is saved both spiritually and physically.

All things that exist are ordered toward our relationship with Jesus even if they don't seem like it.  Beholding them more clearly in the light of his plan we come to see more clearly how awesome he is as well.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all who dwell in the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.

29 May 2013 - free love

29 May 2013 - free love

Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.

None of us is completely free while we live.  We are imprisoned by the things of this world that keep us from rising to God.  They pull us down like gravity.  And if they have too much sway over they are a death sentence as we choose their impermanence over God.

We need the LORD to set us free.  For us it is simply too hard to sacrifice these short term pleasures. Even though they disappoint us so many times by promising more than they can deliver we are still tied down by then and reluctant to let them go.

Fortunately, we see in history that the LORD delights to set his people free.  His people are constantly finding themselves imprisoned due to their sin.  The LORD sets them free because of his own goodness and the promise he makes because he is so good.  And, importantly, their freedom after is greater than their freedom before.  As his people behold his mighty deeds they are moved to greater trust in him.  They are more and more willing to make him the center of their lives.

Take pity on your holy city,
Jerusalem, your dwelling place.
Fill Zion with your majesty,
your temple with your glory.

They ask the LORD to dwell at the very center of the city means so much to them.  They are confidant in his rule because of his promises to them and the deeds he has done for them.

Give evidence of your deeds of old;
fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name,

Yet even these experiences of freedom do not mean there is a road which the world would consider easy ahead for us.

and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise.”

And understandably, we do many things to distract ourselves from this reality.

“Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”

But there is no glory without the cross.  To truly be near to Jesus on his right and his left we must follow him here and now in the way that he shows us.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

When we come as servants we are  able to ask sincerely: "Give new signs and work new wonders." It is no longer be our pride directing us.  We aren't  seeking distractions.  We finally come to desire only the glory of God.

Thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth
that you are the eternal God.

28 May 2013 - giving up self-sufficiency

28 May 2013 - giving up self-sufficiency

Peter began to say to Jesus,
‘We have given up everything and followed you.”

We sometimes remind Jesus of what we give up for him out of pride.  We don't realize how silly it is to say, 'look what I'm doing for you, God.'  Indeed if we are called to sacrifice for God the benefit is for us and not for him.

Peter's motivation is probably different since Jesus encourages him.  He is probably genuinely missing the things he gave up and the happiness they once gave him.  Jesus reminds him that what he has given up is small compared to what he receives.

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age

Even here in this life it is far more rewarding to put God first than to seek happiness on our own terms.  We may wonder why this isn't always our experience.  It is comforting to see that Jesus is realistic with Peter.

with persecutions, 

It isn't just that he has given up so much.  In its place he finds what can only be regarded as difficult circumstances.  Jesus acknowledges these because he is a realist.  But he says this to assure Peter that amidst these persecutions even "now in this present age" there are unbelievable blessings for him.  And when we make God's will our happiness we are not building on shifting sand.  The foundation is being laid for our happiness in heaven.

and eternal life in the age to come.

This is why praise is the sacrifice that God desires most.  Praise that truly acknowledges God as first before ourselves is the context which makes all other sacrifices meaningful.

“Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

When we develop a habit of praise we begin to order our lives in accordance with the truth.  We are more free to make the other sacrifices which the LORD asks of us.

In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.

Our praise will enable us to recognize more perfectly who God is.  We will then see more clearly his great love for us.  Confident in this love we will be able to respond with nothing held back.

Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means.