8 August 2018 - faith that attains

Today's Readings (Audio)

Our prayers don't always receive an immediate answer.

"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.

Others around us tell us to stop wasting our time. They tell us that Jesus isn't interested in our particular problem.

His disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."

Jesus himself may not just give what us what we ask the first moment we ask it.

He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

We often give up at this point. We asked. He didn't respond. End of story. Or is it?

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

And again we might not receive the answer for which we hope.

He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."

So now, certainly, it's a lost cause. Or is it?

She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."

The LORD draws from this woman both faith and profound humility. She does not insist because she feels something is owed to her. She insists because of the generosity of the one holding the feast. She knows there is food enough for her. She believes in spite of herself that Jesus is willing to share this food. 

And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Jesus is more likely to test our faith when we ask for things that really matter to us. Let us practice asking in faith in all circumstances large and small so that we grow accustomed to doing so. We learn that Jesus responds to prayers asked in faith.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind (see James 1:6).

Faith is able to believe that which seems impossible to the fleshly-minded. It is how Abraham believes that he can be the father of many nations but is still able to offer Isaac as sacrifice. Faith is trusting in God when feelings fail us. It believes even when rationality can no longer see any way out.

We have a hope that is given to us by the prophets. Renewal and restoration are promised to the people of Israel. 

With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.

We have so many promises. We can only attain them by faith. Let us take the example of the Canaanite woman. Then we too will shout for joy and exult at the head of nations.

7 August 2018 - peace in the storm

Today's Readings (Audio)

There are wind and waves all around us.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

Our boats are tossed by the circumstances of life. We're in the boat with other people. But none of the people we are with can do anything about the weather. They're more interested in their own survival in the face of circumstances.

There is none to plead your cause,
no remedy for your running sore,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you,
they do not seek you.

We have but one hope. We need to welcome Jesus into our boats. He has not forgotten us even if he seems to have gone off by himself. He knows when we need him and he comes to us. For our part we need to make sure that we aren't so wrapped up in our circumstances that we fail to recognize him.

"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
Peter said to him in reply,
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

When Jesus tries to enter into our difficult moments do we dismiss him as a ghost? Or do we listen when he says, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid"? If we listen to Jesus and not the storm we can find safety and peace. It begins even before the weather changes. There might be waves, but with Jesus near us we can walk over them. They do not need to deter us from doing what we should do if we keep our eyes on Jesus.

"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
He said, "Come."
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

The waves challenge us. But they never overcome us if we trust in Jesus. It his command the winds die down and we make our crossing in safety.

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."

We find that healing only comes through the LORD. It is sustained by keeping our eyes fixed on him. 

His leader shall be one of his own,
and his rulers shall come from his kin.
When I summon him, he shall approach me;
how else should one take the deadly risk
of approaching me? says the LORD.

Jesus is this ruler, from God, but also from his kin. In him all the damage we see in the world today can be rebuilt. It doesn't seem like it if we look at the waves. But if we fix our eyes on him we know it to be true.

6 August 2018 - mine eyes have seen

Today's Readings (Audio)

The LORD reveals his glory to us as a source of strength.

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
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.

We don't always have a good vision for how great our God is. But he wants to give us that vision as grace so that we can follow him faithfully. A vision of his glory can be enough to strengthen us even in times of darkness and desolation. 

We must not pass by passages of the revelation of the glory of God without inviting God to reveal his glory to us. It is possible for these passages to pass right through us. But it is also possible that our spirits can be enlarged and exult when we read and hear passages like this. We can move to an ever deeper and ever more unshakable conviction of who God is.

The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.

The revelation of God's glory can strengthen our faith. Then, when people tell us we are following "cleverly devised myths" we now for certain they are wrong. We are, in a sense, "eyewitnesses of his majesty." We realize that the prophetic message "is altogether reliable"  because it is precisely the "lamp shining in a dark place" whereby God is truly revealed to us. We walk with ever increasing conviction that the day will finally dawn and that the morning star will finally rise in our hearts.

When Jesus beckons let us come apart by ourselves with him up a high mountain. Let us patiently watch to see what he will show us.

And he was transfigured before them, 
and his clothes became dazzling white, 
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 

We don't need to make sense of the revelation. The temptation will be to insist that it lasts longer than it does. But we aren't meant to live on that mountain. We are meant to keep following Jesus anywhere he leads. And this revelation of his glory gives us the strength we need to follow him even unto death, because we now know the resurrection follows.

Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods. 

5 August 2018 - hunger and thirst no more

Today's Readings (Audio)

Are our hearts still in Egypt?

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 
The Israelites said to them,
"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!"

When we reflect back on where we were before the LORD delivered us, either in general, or from specific sins, do we still miss what we have left behind? We probably do miss it at least occasionally. The reason is because leaving those things behind leads us to the desert. It leads us to a place where we can no longer satisfy ourselves. We are no longer near the fleshpots. Surrounded by the desert we cannot see how we will find our fill of bread. Egypt, of course, wasn't something we entirely loved. We weren't made to be slaves. We were made for freedom. But sometimes it seemed worth it to surrender our freedom for the sake of the certainty of the satisfaction of bodily pleasures. We knew where joy, such as it was, could be found, even if it always left us empty.

We need to remember that Egypt never satisfied us, not truly. We knew where some pleasure could be found, to be sure. We could only have such pleasure in exchange for our freedom. Pursuing it left us even more empty than ever. The desires of Egypt must be put away.

that you should put away the old self of your former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful desires,

We have to put this old way of life to death. But to do so we need to make our peace with this desert in which we find ourselves.

and 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.

In the desert we now have to rely on God. We have to trust in him to provide for us over and above any material certainties we might prefer. We have to look to him to be our joy over and above any earthly pleasures in which we might delight. Insisting on being in control of our lives seems like freedom but leads to servitude. Entrusting everything to God seems to be a constraint, but it leads to true freedom.

I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. 
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.

When we trust God we are freed from playing the role of gods ourselves. We no longer have the obligation, which we can never meet, to orchestrate the universe for our well-being and pleasure.

Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." 

The work of God seems dangerous. It seems like too little. Egypt might seem like a safer bet. But we remember, if we really reflect, that no other bread can truly satisfy except the bread which God gives.

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."

4 August 2018 - courage of our convictions

Today's Readings (Audio)

Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds;
listen to the voice of the LORD your God,
so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you.

The LORD wants to give his people boldness in speaking his word. He wants to save a world that has altogether lost interest in him. He needs people who aren't afraid of shaking things up. To speak his word we cannot be too concerned about the consequences for ourselves. We need the conviction of Jeremiah.

But mark well: if you put me to death,
it is innocent blood you bring on yourselves,
on this city and its citizens.
For in truth it was the LORD who sent me to you,
to speak all these things for you to hear.

St. John Vianney

Have we ever been this convicted of the truth? We need to believe God's message. We need to believe how much the world needs it. We need to believe it so much that we can't help but speak even when their might be consequences for our reputation, our livelihood, or even our lives. The message entrusted to us is at least as true and important as the message proclaimed by Jeremiah. We need to ask for the grace to realize that importance in our own hearts.

It is this same boldness of spirit that causes problems for John the Baptist. Yet for both Jeremiah and John it is also what makes them compelling. There is clearly no ulterior motive. They proclaim the truth because it is true, no matter the cost to themselves.

Let us pray for the boldness we need as disciples of Christ. God knows that on our own we are cowards. He knows that we need his grace and he delights to give it.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,  while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness (see Acts of the Apostles 4:29-31).

How can we keep silent when the world needs this message so much? At a certain point silence because selfishness. It becomes omission. But again, God stands ready to give us the courage we need. He himself will make us bold.

See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.

3 August 2018 - hard words

Today's Readings (Audio)

When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
"You must be put to death! 

There are things are hard to hear. Of these, some are worth hearing. It is not true that just because something sounds difficult we should force ourselves to absorb it. But if the LORD is speaking we should listen. He is never speaking just to spread suffering. He speaks hard words that are oriented toward mercy.

Perhaps they will listen and turn back, 
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.

The LORD does not just speak negativity for the sake of negativity. He does not speak of problems so we can dwell on them. His words, therefore, are not words of condemnation. But sometimes, perhaps more often than we would like, he speaks words of conviction. It can be hard for us to tell the difference at first. He sends his Spirit to help us. He promises that the Spirit will "convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (see John 16:8).

When thoughts arise that seem negative or when we see things in the world that seem negative we can ask if they are from the LORD. We can see if they can testify that Jesus is LORD. This means that these things are being brought to our awareness as part of God's plan to bring mercy to the world. If these things cannot bless Jesus as LORD they are not worthy of our consideration.

Where did this man get all this?
And they took offense at him.

This is a good question that is asked about Jesus. Yet people aren't interested in the answer. Let's use this as guidance. We sometimes try to ignore the genuine conviction ordered toward mercy that the LORD speaks to us. We do so by assuring ourselves that we understand our situation well enough that Jesus can't speak a new word into it. We already know him, what he says, and who he is. This is obviously false but we often use it to shield ourselves from the need to change. The call to mercy and conversion is gentle compared to the way the world imposes negativity on our minds. Yet we only run from mercy and feel the need to dwell in the negativity of the world. This is backward. Let us learn to honor Jesus in his native place within our hearts, and in the house of his Church. Let us place our faith in him so that through his mighty deeds we can be transformed.

But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.

If we allow Jesus to transform us we will not only know when to listen but also when to speak hard words that the world desperately needs to hear.

Stand in the court of the house of the LORD
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.

2 August 2018 - of every kind

Today's Readings (Audio)

The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.

Spreading the Kingdom is sometimes a highly targeted affair like when Ananias is called to go to Paul or when Philip is called to preach to the Ethiopian eunuch. But it is more often like a broadly cast net or seed widely scattered. We should default to this mode of spreading the Kingdom everywhere we can. 

We often make determinations about the soil before we scatter or about the fish before we try to catch them. We pull up plants too soon and wind up getting the wheat with the weeds. In order to have the harvest and the catch that God desires we must learn to experience his own generosity and his own love for mankind. It is this impulse that makes Paul say, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (see First Corinthians 9:16). This is why the disciples go to the ends of the earth. This is why disciples today can't shut up about Jesus.

If we aren't used to being so public and indiscriminate about evangelism it may be something new for us to learn. We may have other good things in our storehouse that have given us a solid walk of faith so far. But we are called to bring things old and new from our spiritual storehouse. We're never going to exhaust God's creativity. We always need to be open to the possibility that he wants to work in us in new ways. 

Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand, 
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.

We need to learn to trust in the hands of the potter. We have all these ideas about what he should be doing and miss what he is doing now. Or else we object to his work because it doesn't seem right to us. We need to get on board with his plans even if the clay seems to be turning out badly. The LORD can change even bad clay to beauty. But if we insist on him doing things in a certain way where the ugliness is always excluded we might miss the beauty entirely. It might not happen at all or God might have to work through others when he wanted to work through us.

Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.

We are clay in the potter's hands. Let us trust in his skill. Let us believe in his generosity and his love. Let us surrender ourselves to his plans for us.

Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.