In our modern cultures we often believe that living well and living humbly are incompatible lifestyles. James tells us otherwise.
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom.
In our modern societies we can heed ancient words from ancient days. James assures us that living well is to put others first and to listen more than we speak. He promises us that this is so.
Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
In our modern world we seek the formula for success when all the while we hold that success in our hands. In our willingness to live humbly we discover what it is to live wisely. In our willingness to follow Christ is our key to living well.
When we listen to the Gospel closely we know that for God all things are possible. When read the familiar histories of the Old Testament with care we know that with God all harm is turned to good. When we live in the truth of God as James calls us to do we know that in God life is always lived as inversion. James speaks to us again today.
Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently?
When we rest in God we do not fear the unknown.
He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.
When we play in God we do not shrink from trouble.
And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn’t it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind?
When we pray with God we will always find our way home in peace.
Aren’t they the ones who scorn the new name—“Christian”—used in your baptisms?
When we live in the Spirit we will act as God acts – always offering peace for war, always raising prayer for hatred and always remembering to love in the face of evil. When we live in Christ we will always live in inversion.
James describes us to ourselves today and asks this question . . . haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted?
As Christ moves and lives among the poor, he calls out to the influential and powerful to change the structures that force the innocent into cycles of lack and scarcity. We have an opportunity today to reflect on our own theology of poverty and when we listen to the words of Pope Francis on the 90 second audio clip from Vatican Radio, we have an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the Gospel. Listen at: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/06/16/pope_francis_the_theology_of_poverty/1151901
Ezekiel 37: From Dry Bones to Restoration – Part IV
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Perhaps the reason we do not find serenity is that we do not ask for restoration. Today St. Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, reminds us that reunion with God is only a petition away. He is a follower of Christ because he answered God’s invitation to follow.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God . . .
Perhaps the reason we do not find peace is that we do not ask for strength.
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me . . .
Perhaps the reason we do not find solace is that we do not ask forgiveness.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man . . .
Perhaps the reason we do not experience love is that we have not shown mercy.
I have been mercifully treated . . .
Perhaps the reason we do not experience transformation is that we do not believe in restoration.
The grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Jesus Christ . . .
Today we spend time with the opening chapter of Paul’s first letter to Timothy and we ponder what our lives might be like if and when we seek strength, forgiveness and mercy. We reflect on the possibility of new life rising from the arid bones of our sorrow.
Tomorrow, finding faith . . .
Use the scripture link to explore varying editions of 1 Timothy 1.
Ezekiel 37: From Dry Bones to Restoration – Part III
Friday, September 16, 2022
We are too often stunned by the miracle of God’s goodness. We are too seldom in awe of God’s greatness.
We are too quick to offer spontaneous judgments. We are too slow to nurture and sustain ourselves and others.
We too easily forget our own past and project our own future. We too stubbornly refuse to make allowances for others and too rarely walk in another’s shoes.
God has told us how we are to pray. Jesus has told us the words to use. The Spirit has accompanied us throughout our lives and still we look for more information or more excuses.
Life is all too complicated. Life is all too simple. If we wish to rise from the dryness of the desert we know what to do. We are to take on the mantel of humility. We are to set aside time to spend with God both alone and in community. We are to love as Jesus loves, knowing that there is but one law that unites us. We are to allow the Spirit to guide and protect, instruct and restore. And we are to let God be God.
In this way we experience the rejuvenating dew of the desert morning that brings all impossibilities out of the darkness of doubt and into the light of probability and surety. And we rejoice as God gathers our dry bones so assemble them in the dance of restored life.
Enter the word restorationinto the blog search bar and explore the idea of God’s renewal in us.
Make an intentional effort over the next four weeks to keep the Sabbath holy. Plan activities with family and friends. Try to stay away from chores and closer to God. And allow yourself to experience the miracle of restoration out of dry bones.
Today in our journey through the Gospel of Mark, we reflect on what it means to wait for the Lord.
Christians are recognized, collectively and individually, for their willingness to Witness, Watch and Wait. Will the master recognize us when he comes?
Our waiting is to be an active time of Witness, not a time for passive sitting and listening. It is a time for speaking when we are called to speak, being patient when we are called to patience, rebuking when we are called to rebuke, making amends when we see we have transgressed our covenant, pardoning and being pardoned, loving and being loved. It is a time of putting on the armor of God so that we might be able to stand firm,as St Paul tells us in Ephesians 6. It is a time for standing fast with loins girded for battle, clothed with righteousness and our feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. We must hold faith as a shield, wear the helmet of salvation, and take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
How are we clothed? What protection do we step behind or put on? What do we see as important for ourselves? How do we communicate this to the others? Will Jesus recognize us when he comes?
Watchfulness, for one who follows Christ is not optional, it is not quiet, it is not an inert state in which we sit idly waiting for Jesus. Indeed, as Jesus himself tells us, you do not know when the master of the house is coming.
Eucharist: Thanksgiving represented in the gift of bread and wine we receive each time we share in Jesus’ liturgy. As Jesus gives thanks to the creator when he multiplies fish and loaves of barley, so too are we called to give thanks when we share in Christ’s presence in Eucharist.
For this command which I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.
From the oldest stories of the Torah to the new life described in the Gospels, God has in mind a plan for our redemption. We are created in God’s image and we are given the freedom to choose a life of truth and light. At times we are able to follow Christ. At other times we betray his goodness and generosity. In his great love, Christ is patiently and repeatedly turning back for his lost sheep. The promise of the Old Covenant and the miracles of the Old and New Testament are continual reminders of this promise.
Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?
In Deuteronomy God asks the faithful to love with a whole heart, whole mind and whole body. In the last words of Luke’s Gospel we hear and see the testimony of the Emmaus disciples that the risen Christ continues to fulfill God’s promise of redemption through his body and blood. The bread in the desert becomes the multiplied fish and loaves . . . and then becomes Christ himself. For this reason we look on these signs and wonders as more than metaphor. Christ rescues us actually and not symbolically. The Spirit resides is us really and not figuratively. God continues to guide and protect us truly and not allegorically. Of this we can be certain. Of this we can be sure. And God’s gift of daily Eucharist is the vehicle of this eternal promise . . . the Old Testament stories from the Torah and Kings are a foreshadowing of the promise incarnate in the Gospel Jesus.
Once more we read about this miracle of feeding thousands. Some say that the true miracle was that, moved by Jesus’ words and hunger pangs, the crowd pulled food secreted in pockets that they ordinarily would not have shared. This version of this story rests on several points: 1) those following Jesus were a greedy lot, 2) Jesus’ amazing words that moved the crowd to uncharacteristic sharing have been left out of the six Gospel descriptions of these events, and 3) the crowd not only shared their food but donated their leftovers to some unknown recipients. We might spend a lifetime debating these arguments, or we might instead reflect on the points above in the following way as Luke suggests.
God the Creator gives us far more than we can ever hope to equal. Today we give thanks for God’s immense generosity.
Jesus our Brother offers us an intimate relationship of sustenance that we can never hope to exceed. Today we give thanks for Christ’s redeeming love.
The Holy Spirit brings us an outpouring of healing and consolation that we can never hope to surpass. Today we give thanks for the Spirit’s abiding patience and persistence.
Examining the citation using the scripture link above, we determine to show generosity, love and patience to our sisters and brothers in Christ.
Tomorrow, John’s story of multiplication of generosity, love and patience.
The Lord said to Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you . . . Present yourselves before the Lord for God has heard your grumblings”.
How quick we are to complain when life does not go “our way”. When we take time to read the story of the desert manna we see that we are not the first people to forget our deliverance from slavery. And we suspect that we will not be the last to protest our circumstances. But are we willing to see how God cares for us when we are troubled and anxious?
In the Exodus story God provides a double portion of manna on the day before the Sabbath so that the weary desert wanderers may be sustained on their day of rest. On God’s direction, Moses calls forth water from rock (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20) when the people complain. Despite all of this grumbling, God provides enough so that there is some left over. God gives us more than what is sufficient to see us through the difficult places in our lives. It is up to us to remain open, listening and accepting. It is up to us to present ourselves. And when we do, we receive far more than mere bread and water.
Aert de Gelder: Abraham and the Angels
Abraham’s Visitors
While the day was growing hot . . . Abraham saw three men standing nearby.
We might also take a lesson from Abraham who, on an ordinary day and in an ordinary way, unknowingly encounters God when he receives strangers into his camp. (Genesis 18) Abraham extends desert hospitality and sees that his guests’ feet are washed and that they receive food and drink. This traditional hospitality on a typical day brings a surprise announcement: despite their age, Abraham and Sarah will receive the gift of a child. When they open their hearts and home, Abraham and Sarah discover new depth in their lives; they celebrate new gifts.
The Road to Media
Bernardo Strozzi: Tobias Curing his Father’s Blindness
Tobiah went to look for someone acquainted with the roads who would travel with him to Media.
In this wonderful story of Tobit, the faithful man who remains loyal to God even in the land of exile, we find another reason to open ourselves to the outsider. When Tobias (Tobiah) invites a stranger to accompany him on his journey to Media, he unwittingly enlists the aid of the Angel Raphael. (Tobit 5) Once again, we find that hospitality and fellowship lead to such great gifts and such great reward that there is always some left over.
Tomorrow, more Old Testament stories in which God provides more than enough.
To reflect more on these stories, enter the words Tobit, Abraham or Angelsinto the blog search bar and explore.
Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
The Noontimes 