We must obey God rather than men

Thursday, April 11, 2013 St. Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: Acts 5:27-33 Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-20 John 3:31-36

Acts 5:29  But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

This is so relevant today.  I read the other day that the Supreme Court ruled (in January) that the Federal Government could not force a church to hire according to federal guidelines.  Now, while this appears to be a good ruling, protecting the Constitution and the Church, it also reveals a new boldness of the government to go after the church.  This "audacity" is unprecedented.   The way it works is the first time or two the attack is repelled, but they will keep trying and tuning their rhetoric, and eventually they will succeed, unless we embrace the spirit of Peter and refuse to allow the secular world to take control of the church and the church's message.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to see clearly and discern between real threats to the church and what are not, and then to know when to stand up to this world and to keep the Your Words.
Amen

as I had mercy on you

Tuesday, March 05, 2013 Lenten Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: Daniel 3:25, 34-43 Psalm 25:4-9 Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:33  and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'

The question is: Do we realize that God has had mercy on us?  I think sometimes that the sense of entitlement has become so deeply woven into our consciousness that we don't even realize how merciful God is with us. We usually give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and allow ourselves grace and mercy, thinking that of course we will do what is right and pay for what is wrong.  Just like the servant told his master that he would repay the debt.  Truth is he had no way to repay it, nor would he.  He begged for mercy and perhaps for a moment even convinced himself that he would repay the debt.  But I am sure that had he been allowed the opportunity to do so, he would not have.  If he could or would, he would not have been in that situation in the first place.  
Yes, I think we are great at fooling ourselves into thinking we are better that we are, and we don't see ourselves truly as God sees us, and so we don't know how much we have been forgiven.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to better realize the grace and mercy that you have shown me and continue to show me.  Help me to not fool myself into thinking I am something that I am not.
Amen

neither will they be convinced

Thursday, February 28, 2013 Lenten Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1:1-4, 6 Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:31  He said to him, `If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.'"

As time goes on I am more and more convinced that we are more and more unable to be convinced or persuaded by rational, logical discourse.  We seem to have formed our biases and opinions and there is no amount of logic or facts that can move us.  We hang on to our agendas and see only what we want to see.  This has become very frustrating.  But it apparently is nothing new.  Abraham was well aware of it and of course Jesus telling this story was obviously aware of it.  If we don't listen to the Moses and the prophets we will not even be persuaded if someone were to be raised from the dead.  And you know what?!  He is right.  Today, people reject the one that was raised from the dead.  We think the government is going to save us.  We put our faith in the lies of men and we neglect the facts of Christ.
It is commonly accepted that this generation is far smarter than past generations.  I would say that we are getting stupider and stupider.  We have thrown away logic.  The so called smartest among us have forgotten the basics they learned when they were children.  They have become so "smart" that they are just plain stupid.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to see and embrace the truth.  Help me to not fall  prey to the deception of human solutions to our neglect of your truth.
Amen

not by constraint

Friday, February 22, 2013 The Chair of St. Peter, Apostle (Feast)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: 1 Peter 5:1-4 Psalm 23:1-6 Matthew 16:13-19

1 Peter 5:2 Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly,

If only this was our first instinct, and if only the politicians and "leaders" of our culture could get what is being said here.  We look to people we call leaders, but they often are not leaders, they are controllers.  A leader is someone who sets the example for the followers, not some one who prescribes something for others that they are not willing to accept themselves.  How much better the world might be if the way we got people to follow was to actually do it our selves and inspire them to follow.  But, our first instinct is always to make a law that forces others to do what we want them to do, yet we are not willing to do it unless everybody else has to do it.
A leader is some one who is out there on their own, vulnerable and visible and at risk.  Maybe people will follow, maybe they will not.  A coward is someone who makes a law that everybody else be put at risk so that the "leader" can make a profit or get re-elected.
Oh, and good leaders are also good followers by definition.  A leader who has not demonstrated a willingness to follow is just a person that is looking out for themselves.  Good leaders are led by God.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to know and to be what it takes to be a leader in the areas that you call me to lead.  Help me to not look for consensus and profit, or even success, but to follow your example in Christ Jesus.
Amen

I know my transgressions

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 Ash Wednesday

First Reading: Psalm: Second Reading: Gospel: Joel 2:12-18 Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17 2 Corinthians 5:20 -- 6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Psalms 51:3  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

WOW!  What a powerful set of readings today.  I don't even know where to start.  Return to the Lord! That is the call.  But to do that we need to acknowledge our sin, and I fear that is the hard thing to do, especially in today's culture where everything is being redefined as OK, and not even OK, we are redefining what is good as bad and what is bad as good.  It is a very deceptive and treacherous time.  I believe that it takes great reflection and honesty for us to see our own sin.  We have many convenient excuses and distractions today that hide our sin from us and in the end we end up putting God out of the equation.  We become a byword and the people say "Where is their God".  That is what happens when we become like the people that we are trying to call to follow Christ.  They say that we are no different or better than they are, and they are right, because we are not willing to acknowledge our own sin and repent.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to truly see my own sin and return to you with all my heart, especially this Lenten season, and help me to be a testimony to others of your amazing grace.
Amen

they ... preached that men should repent

Thursday, February 07, 2013 St. Colette of Corbie, Virgin (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24 Psalm 48:2-4, 9-11 Mark 6:7-13

Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that men should repent.

Ah, the "r" word.  That is one that is certainly not politically correct today.  These days it seems that we can't tell someone what they are doing is wrong, unless of course we are in the majority.  But where does that leave the Body of Christ?  What is our mission then?  Jesus sent out his disciples to preach repentance and drive out demons.  Today we coddle the demons and condone the sins.  The message of the church has become dilute to the point of being almost worthless.  If we are to be disciples of Christ as the Apostles were, then we need to repent and we need to preach repentance.  Anything else that replaces that is not a Christian mission.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to truly repent from my sin, and to not back down from the opportunity to share that spirit of repentance with others..
Amen

your faith has made you well

Tuesday, February 05, 2013 St. Agatha, Virgin, Martyr (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: Hebrews 12:1-4 Psalm 22:26-28, 30-32 Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:28  For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well."

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  I know I have mentioned this before. It is great because it stands boldly in the face of those who would prescribe a set formula to receive the grace of God.
The woman never asks Jesus if He will heal her.  She simply assumes that if she even touches His garment she will be healed.  Ja'irus' daughter is also healed because of his willingness to approach Jesus.  The girl didn't ask Jesus to be healed.  So we have someone being healed through the intersession of another and we have a person being healed because she touched a piece of clothing. 
What is in common is Jesus and the recognition that "somehow" Jesus can bring the healing.  It is the "somehow" that we get hung up on all the time but forget about the getting to Jesus part.  There are a lot of denominational rules and prohibitions dealing with the "somehow".  I think I will rest in the knowledge that Jesus can heal whether I ask Him correctly, or even if someone else asks for me.  In fact I believe that Jesus can heal me even if nobody asks.  He can do it if he wants to.  That may make people feel uncomfortable because they don't have control over who actually gets healed.  We all love to control things.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to trust in you and your grace and not to try to control the dissemination of your grace, but rather to seek you and be close to you.
Amen

he commands even the unclean spirits

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: Hebrews 2:5-12 Psalm 8:2, 5-9 Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

So, are we amazed today?  It seems to me that we have a tendency to downplay, or even reject the notion of evil spirits, or demons, or for that matter, even the devil.  We too easily lump regular everyday sin in with evil and thereby dissolving evil from our awareness.
So what?  Well, I think that there is a difference between sin and evil. The terms, evil, sin, and suffering all tend to get lumped together.  I think this is dangerous.
First, suffering is not necessarily sin or evil.  Sin is not necessarily evil. Sin gives opportunity to evil, so we must fight sin so evil has no place to enter into us.  But I think that if we fail to identify evil and we blend it all together, the devil will be happy about that.  It kind of camouflages him and allows him to more easily sneak up on us.
Some might say that this man was epileptic, or some other explanation.  Again, the devil is happy when we disguise his work and intentions.  I think that if we deny that a demon actually came out of this man, then we have a lot of trouble accepting the truth of other scriptures as well.  Again, I think that makes the devil happy.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to rightfully discern my sin and acts of evil, so that I do not give evil an opportunity.
Amen

all spoke well of him

Thursday, January 10, 2013 Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: 1 John 4:19 -- 5:4 Psalm 72:2, 14-15, 17 Luke 4:14-22

Luke 4:22  And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

Interesting?  They spoke well of him, but then they questioned "Is not this Joseph's son?". So, in one breath they honor him, and then in the next they discredit him.  Remember, Joseph's son was born out of wedlock.  I see this all the time today, where the Christian religion is patronized by people, then in the next breath they totally discredit it.  We often find our selves in situations where we may be a minority, or our job or position or relationship could be jeopardized if we say some thing too extreme, so we, who are professing Christians, play down the faith a bit in order to not cause a scene.  Is this what Jesus did?  It seems to me that there were people who actually wanted to kill him!  I don't think that is because he was politically correct.  Jesus said that if we follow him they will want to kill us too. So, how many people want to kill us?  

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to treat others with love, but at the same time to not compromise the faith in order to save my reputation or job or whatever.
Amen

they did not understand

Wednesday, January 09, 2013 Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: 1 John 4:11-18 Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13 Mark 6:45-52

Mark 6:52  for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

This verse seems terribly out of place.  I sat and stared at it for a while and had no idea what to do with it?  Then it struck me.  Yes, it is out of place!  They just witnessed Jesus walking on the water and they were still hung up on the loaves.  I think that the hardness of our hearts prevents us from being in the moment, from seeing what is actually going on.  Our unwillingness to believe causes us to be distracted and to create our own reality to some degree to either ignore, deny, or rationalize what we are unwilling to accept.  We spend our effort in this and we miss the obvious.

Father, help me by your holy Spirit to see the obvious, to be in the moment, and to not have a hard heart towards the wonders of your grace.
Amen

let no one deceive you

Friday, January 04, 2013 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: 1 John 3:7-10 Psalm 98:1, 7-9 John 1:35-42 If we wish to keep peace with our neighbor, we should never remind anyone of his natural defect. -- St Philip Neri

1 John 3:7  Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous.

I have been drifting a little, not keeping up with this.  I also have been accused of being rather angry in my other communications.  I didn't think that I was, but apparently that is the way it is perceived.  But, my primary objective in my "angry" communications is not to be angry, but to call attention to what is happening in this world today.  We are slipping away from God.  We are redefining what is right and what is wrong.  John plainly states that there is a difference, but in today's post-modern culture the only right that exists is that of consensus. If I can get people to agree with me, then I am right.
John says not to let anyone deceive us.  We must hold tight to what is right and what is wrong according to the Word of God.  It is our only light in a dark world.  And if we let go, who will do it for us?  I watched a show about Ray Lewis, and he said something that resonated with me.  You have to fight for who you are.  You can't let others define you.  That means that some times it will not be nice, because the devil is not nice.  When we try to make nice with him, he steals our identity.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to discern what is right and what is wrong.  Help me to know when to fight and when to concede.  Help me to be loving and caring and to be an honest and worthy reflection of your grace.
Amen