News outlets continue to remind us that political and social turmoil continues to rock peoples and cultures around the world. Demographic shifts, political corruption and greed, social unrest and fear might govern our emotions and actions and yet amid the cacophony of anxiety and alarm there is always a place to find rest. In the storm of human life there is always a refuge of peace.
We render our taxes to those would lead us. We tithe our time, talent and funds to those who guide the spirit. Despite all of this worldly giving, it is more important than ever to tend to our relationship with God. Nurturing that most important bond with time dedicated to communal and individual prayer, we acknowledge the belief that God is ultimately in charge. Walking in the mystery and love of The Way, we recognize that Jesus shows us the only way to peace. Living in the Spirit in the face of anger and fear, we accept the comfort and consolation of the Spirit within. Let us share this wisdom with those around us. And let us remember that when we render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s . . . it is all the important to under unto God that which is God’s.
This week we will examine our public and private worlds to see how we might render our taxes and tithes.
We have examined the construct of deception and how envy and hope show us divergent journeys through life. We have spent time with the prophet Micah who speaks to both fraudulent leaders and God’s vulnerable, faithful followers. With Micah, we have examined the true path to perfection and celebrated the promise of restoration offered us each day by the Creator.
Today’s Gospel from Matthew 10:26-33 reminds us that we cannot be intimidated or bluffed into silence by bullies. These words seem unusually appropriate for us today.
“With burning eloquence [Micah] attacked the rich exploiters of the poor, fraudulent merchants, venal judges, corrupt priests and prophets”. (Senior 1140) The prophet’s testimony foreshadows Jesus’ words. Do we believe that God comes to live among us? And what does God’s presence look like? And how will we recognize this consoling presence?
Through Micah, God says: Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work our evil on their couches.” (2:1)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)
Through Micah, God says:I will assemble all the remnant of Israel; I will group them like a flock in the fold, like a herd in the midst of the corral; they shall not be thrown I to a panic by men. With a leader to break the path they will burst open the gate and go out through it; their king shall go through before them, and the Lord at their head”. (2:12-13)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good – a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but willscatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it. (John 10:1-6)
An ancient sheepfold
Those who were listening to Jesus’ voice: had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good – sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for – will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. ( John 10:7-10)
The Creator speaks to us through the prophet Micah. The Creator visits us in the person of Jesus. The Creator lives in us as the healing presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us listen to the promise given us this day; let us share this gift of hope and redemption with others; and let us persist in listening for and following the voice of the genuine shepherd.
We ask for good health, security, predictability, fidelity. We look for mercy, wisdom, hope and love. We anticipate salvation, healing, transformation and resurrection. But these gifts we believe we need to acquire have already been generously given.
The beasts of the field will glorify me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people.
When we feel as though the world has let us down, we come to understand that all that we need we already hold.
The people whomI formed for myself will declare my praise.
All that is required of us is that we remain faithful in our gratitude.
I, even I, am the one whowipes out your transgressions for my own sake, and I willnot remember your sins.
All that we need remember is that God wants to forgive and heal. All that is confusion and mystery becomes peace-filled and comforting. All that we seek we already have in abundance. So let us give thanks, for once we begin to practice thankfulness, we also begin to fully experience what the Lord has freely and wonderfully already given.
God’s trust in humanity is so enduring that the Creator takes the dare from Satan. How might we return this amazing trust? God the parent guides and protects us every waking moment and every sleeping hour. We need not eradicate all of the evil in the world; we need only keep our eyes on Christ and do as he asks; we need only open ourselves to the miracles of the Spirit and follow.
God’s hope in us is so strong that Christ returns for us. How might we learn from this strength? Christ reconciles and guides us. And so must we heal and shepherd others. We need only bloom where we are planted, reap the harvest that God has sown.
God’s love for us is so infinite that the Spirit resides eternally in us. How might we return this love? By tending to the marginalized, the broken-hearted and the bereft, by entering into transformation, and inviting others to join us.
In the marvelous story of Job, his friend Bildad cannot believe that Job suffers innocently. He cannot fathom why God allows misfortune to befall one of the ardent faithful. “Does God mess up?” he asks. “Does God Almighty ever get things backward?” He encourages Job not to hang his life from one thin thread, not to hitch his fate to a spider web. Bildad sees Job’s misfortune as punishment, and so might we if we do not read closely. After consideration we understand that Job suffers precisely because God trusts him, believes in him, and loves him. God restores all that Job loses and more, and this is a gesture that Satan cannot understand in his narrow, stingy world. God trusts that Job will not turn away in desperation or fatigue, and this is an attitude that Satan cannot countenance from his pathetic, narrow perspective. God allows Job to choose between hope and desperation, and this is a love that Satan cannot comprehend with his tragic, empty heart.
If God is so willing to take Satan’s dare, so willing to trust humanity with the enormity of God’s infinite goodness and mercy, might we then be willing to follow Jesus? Might we be willing to open ourselves fully to the Spirit?
It is too easy to exclude those with whom we do not get along. It is too simple to reject enemies and assume negative thinking. It is too simple to form ourselves with dualistic thinking, creating tribes of those for and those against our way of thinking. Paul tells us that there is another way to behave when faced with the real meaning of the Gospel.
So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!
It is so difficult to put down our fears to extend a hand to those who announced our destruction as their intent. It is so disruptive to invite discordant voices into the symphony. It is so chaotic to have to explain ourselves yet again to those who will not listen.
Jesus, staying true to God’s purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them.
It is so simple when we place out trust in God. It is so authentic when we live as Jesus does. It is so refreshing to witness truth to lies by responding with patience rather than anger
As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God.
It is so surprising when we discover what God has in mind for us. It is so uplifting when we allow God’s will to transform us. It is so salvific when we do as Jesus asks and as the Spirit directs.
Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do!
It is so promising when we allow ourselves to reach out to others, even our enemies . . . especially our enemies. It is so rewarding when we stay true to the Gospel Jesus lives for us. It is so comforting when we rest in God’s enormous, wise and immutable hands . . . that reach out to bring us into the fold.
Unhealthy competition brings about a kind of chaos in the sound; it becomes impossible to find inner peace and community serenity. How then, can we see God’s presence in the work of Paul, a former persecutor of Jesus’ followers? How then do we understand the kind of uproar that Jesus’ life and words so often engender?
Each time we stand up for the marginalized, we bring about God’s uproar. When bridges are built over chaos and disarray, when wounds are healed, when differences reconciled, we enter in God’s uproar. Once we look carefully at the tumult around us, we begin to realize that there is a fine difference the chaos of darkness with its attendant prejudices, the transformation of God’s uproar.
When we become doers of the word and not hearers only, as St. James tells us in his letter, we call people out of their comfort zones. We cause God’s uproar.
When we ask questions about our own treasure trove, as Matthew and Peter suggest we do, we also ask others to think about the value of the wealth they have amassed. We cause God’s uproar.
When we meet and overcome our ownfearsand do what others are afraid to do, we cause God’s uproar.
When we live in true charitywith one another to pray for our enemies, when we refuse to conform to corruption, we cause God’s uproar.
When we insist on being open to possibilities without giving in to abuse, we cause God’s uproar.
When we tell of the marvels that God has wrought in our own lives, when we insist on reminding ourselves and others of Christ’s good news, we cause God’s uproar.
Like Paul, when we enter a town and begin to tell the marvelous news that we do not have to retain the chains that imprison our bodies, minds and souls, we can expect pandemonium. It is up to us to examine the din and the tumult to discover its origin, and if the upheaval is God’s we only need persevere and hold tightly to our hope. Sometimes, like Paul, we will move on to the next town or to the next situation; but always – even through the devastation of earthquakes and the violence of storms – we will be accompanied by Christ’s light . . . we will know that we have entered into God’s uproar, and that all will be well.
The Apostle Paul causes uproar wherever he goes in the name of Christ. He ruffles feathers. He points out inconsistencies. He speaks convincingly and with authority as one who has been on both sides of the argument. He inspires faith, hope and charity in some, jealousy in others. As with the story of David, another of God’s imperfect leaders, we understand that those who serve as God’s vessels will always be envied. This knowledge can discourage us from continuing in God’s service, or it can make us even more strongly bound to God. The choice is always ours to make.
We are further advised that if resentment is a constant companion in our lives, we will never understand the mercy God wants to show us in this world and the next. Therefore, we will want to learn to live without bitterness. It is not the treasure we want to set aside: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth but rather, store up treasures in heaven. And heaven’s treasures are mercy, kindness and love. Matthew 6:19-20 and 1 Peter 1:17-19.
Each gesture and each word we enact in the world is our definitive representation of God. When we speak, or fail to speak, when we act, or fail to act, we bring God into our homes, our work and prayer places and our communities. What do our words and gestures say about who we are?
And so we consider . . . Rather than foment division, we want to add to the world’s serenity. But what about the kind of uproar that Paul causes? How does this fit into God’s design?
Jesus has walked on the surface of the water to save those who love him from wilds winds and high seas. His followers were terrified and so he brings the boat immediately to the point on the shore where they had been aiming – despite the fact that the fishermen had rowed three or four miles from the coast. Just so are we terrified when tossed by life. Just so are we brought to our goal. Just so are we loved by Christ.
Jesus pauses to dialog with the enormous crowd that follows him – despite the fact that they do not believe him. Just so do we seek Jesus. Just so do we find him. Just so we doubt the very love that has rescued us.
Today we see how those who have struggled to follow and those who have argued still do not understand the beautiful gift Jesus hands them, the gift of bread that feeds eternally, the gift of bread from heaven. Just so do they take Jesus literally. Just so do they doubt the miracle before them. Just do we look past the evidence of healing and love that stands before us. Just so . . .
At this, because Jesus said, “I am the Bread that came down from heaven,” the Jews started arguing over him: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father? Don’t we know his mother? How can he now say, ‘I came down out of heaven’ and expect anyone to believe him?”
We have watched Jesus walking on water toward us. Do we still doubt?
We have raced after Jesus, doing all we can to capture this essence of peace and serenity. Do we still persist?
We have found Jesus in the most unsuspecting places – with the homeless, with the poor, among the refugees, the abandoned and alone. Do we still fail to recognize God among us?
Tomorrow, bickering.
Enter the words Bread of Life into the blog search bar and reflect on our own doubt and persistence, understanding and peace.
We wonder what it would be like to have a conversation with Jesus the man. We imagine what we might ask and what he might answer. Today we have the opportunity to explore just such a dialog when we look at the words of those who were intent on finding Jesus.
We can use the scripture link to read the people’s dialog with Jesus; and we can reflect on our own responses. Jesus’ words are taken from THE MESSAGE translation of the Bible. We follow the links to read the peoples’ words, and then we insert our own . . .
They were seeking Jesus and caught up with him to ask questions.
Jesus said: Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food . . . Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last.
Jesus said: Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.
They waffled (verses 30-31) . . . and we doubt . . .
Jesus said: The real significance of that Scripture [of Moses feeding the people in the desert with manna] is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world.
They jumped at that (verse 34) . . . and we exclaim . . .
Jesus said:I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me.
They started arguing (verses 41-42) . . . and we also argue . . .
Jesus said: Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here.
They began to fight among themselves (verse 52) . . . and we dispute . . .
Then Jesus said . . . We discover how well we have found Jesus when we read verses 53-58 for his’ final words to those who question him, his words to us today.
The Noontimes 