If on any day you find the Noontime reflection does not speak to you or is not to your liking, you may want to explore ideas on the Connecting at Noontimepage offered in the hope that you find a suggestion to feed the soul and strengthen your bond with and in Christ.
Our spiritual life is always about Call and Response. God creates and calls us. We listen, and then return God’s word. This blog is one small way for us to listen, to seek, to discern, to come together, to puzzle through and to respond in full voice to God’s mysterious and beautiful invitation to life in the Spirit. It is our daily visit with God that nourishes and sustains us. It is our persistent connecting with the one who created us that reminds us of who and why we are. It is our constant hope and our fervent prayer that buoy us up when the road is difficult. And it is Christ’s love for each of us that keeps us on The Narrow Way. Thank you for taking part in our Noontimes journey. We are creatures meant to travel together and, like Paul writing to the Romans, I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord.
New posts will return later this month. In the meantime, may you each know and experience Christ’s peace. May you seek and discover God’s Wisdom. And may you be fortified in the Love and Counsel of the Spirit. I hold each of you in prayer as always. S
A favorite written on June 18 and posted today . . .
We have no way of knowing the impact of our words on others. We might guess. We may even have the good fortune of receiving thanks from someone for words we may have offered during a crisis. Or we may have the misfortune of discovering that our words were unkind or even damaging. In all of these circumstances, we do well to remember that words may hurt or heal. Words represent ideas and actions. Words are sometimes our only vehicle for communication. What then might we want to offer as last words to those with whom we struggle? What do we offer to those we love?
I remember the last conversations I had with each of my parents. They were completely typical. Words of love and comfort going back and forth over the phone wires between Mother and me. Each of us giving. Each of us receiving. Words of encouragement and life philosophy with Dad, even though he floated in and out of consciousness. Each of us giving. Each of us receiving. There was no need to iron out wrinkles or un-ruffle feathers. My parents and I were always open with one another. Hidden agendas and anxieties were not allowed to fog our relationship. The gift of honesty and truth is a settled heart.
I also remember my last conversation with my oldest brother and sister, both now deceased. My brother knew his end was near as he died a protracted and painful death from cancer. He and I joked and laughed as much as his condition would allow. We both knew that each exchange held the potential for being the last yet we did not let this clutter our thinking. We both acted on the belief that death is a mere transition and not an end. The twelve-year difference in our ages was bridged by our love of family and commonly held values.
My sister died a sudden death and so our last words were ordinary. We spoke about when we would see one another again and what we would be doing; yet there was a distance in her eyes. Perhaps she already knew that her exodus was near. Perhaps she held something too close to yet share. I do not know but I also do not worry. All will be revealed in God’s time. I followed her across the lawn in the gathering dark as we walked to her car. “Don’t walk all this way with me,” she smiled, “Go back to the campfire. We all had a great time tonight. Thanks for having the party. See you soon.” They were pleasant last words, normal and content, holding nothing deceitful, nothing dishonest. We had celebrated the birthdays of her two oldest children. She was satisfied.
We were all taught to live by a double axiom. It was a happy combination of Dad’s “Hold nothing back” philosophy tempered by Mother’s “It will keep” viewpoint that unprepared thoughts were best held until processed and delivered at a better time. It seemed like walking a tightrope to us five extroverted children as we grew. Now I know that it reflected the working relationship my parents had forged through sixty years of living together. Hide nothing – but say what you have to say with kindness. We never know what words may be our last.
Being king and a man raised up, David knows that his last words will be recorded. We do not have that luxury or – as some will think – that burden. But when we think on this we realize that we utter last words constantly. Friendships fade while others blossom. Colleagues retire or go to other work with honest promises made and meant to be kept; new workmates join us. Circumstances constantly change. Someone is always moving on. Yet our words remain forever, reverberating in the minds of others. They capture memories accurately or wrongly. They convey meaning poorly or well. They accompany our actions and as such they are our legacy.
As we move through the summer, let us take a moment in time to pause and consider the weight of our words and what they might say to us and others about what we hold dear. And what message we want to leave behind for an eternity.
Matthew 2:1-12: Leaving by Another Road Friday, July 18, 2025
Written on June 7 and posted as a favorite today . . .
I love this portion of the Christmas story. The wise men are so wise that they are able to read Herod’s secret intent. Nothing can be hidden from the wise because they are so connected to the creator that they appear to have special insight. What they really have is patience, serenity, and a finely tuned ear for God’s word. And so the magi left for their own country by another road.
I am thinking about the number of times I have averted disaster because that calm, strong voice within indicated that I was to stay put. We notice that an attitude of patience and a willingness to obey always accompanies the wise. The wise are not brash or excitable. They do not speak harshly, nor are they silenced. Like the Persistent Widow, they know when to persevere in speaking God’s word. And like the Three Magi, they know when to stand down and melt away into God’s protecting presence.
The wise know when to stand and witness . . . and when to leave quietly by another road.
Read the parable of The Persistent Widow in Luke 18:1-8.
A favorite written on January 25 and posted today . . .
Why should I trust in the Lord any longer?
There are so many times we hear these words from the lips of one who is deep in grief. There are many times when we think or say these words ourselves. The answer to the ageless questions is simple: God does not create calamity and chaos; rather, God calls us to peace and unity. It is up to us to respond, and to take all our problems to God, both the small and the large.
The scene depicted here today is both beautiful and dreadful; a miracle is juxtaposed with severe famine. Elisha finds himself in danger because he accurately predicted all that takes place. The irony and inversion we see here echo in our own lives: good things happen in the midst of great suffering, faithful servants are vindicated after intense persecution, hope outlives desperation. Today’s accounting might be an older version of our own lives.
Why should we trust the Lord any longer?
We have reaped mercy when we thought there was no compassion.
We have known peace at a time when we thought there was only turmoil.
We experience joy just when we believe all is lost.
Why should we trust the Lord any longer?
There is no God who saves as the Living God saves.
There is no God who redeems as Christ Jesus redeems.
There is no God who loves as the Spirit loves.
And so we pray . . .
Ever present and all-knowing God, you wait patiently and allow us to wander from you, yet you always call us home. You forgive our anger and calm our fear. You remind us that you are with us always, even in the midst of horror. You allow us and even encourage us to grow in you. Why do we trust you, Lord? Because there is no place else to go where we are so well protected, so well refreshed, or so well loved. We thank you, God, for abiding with us always. We thank you, God, for bring us your peace. Amen.
Written on February 27 and posted today as a favorite . . .
“The placement of this benediction seems unusual; it may be another item that prepares the people for the journey through the wilderness. This is the blessing for the time of departure, and [said] daily throughout their journey. Each line, with God as subject, is progressively longer (three, five, seven Hebrew words); besides the name YHWH, twelve Hebrew words signify the twelve tribes. The benediction in some form was used in ancient Israel, especially at the conclusion of worship. Putting the name of God on the people may have been understood literally, given the inscription on two cigarette-sized silver plaques found near Jerusalem, dating from the seventh-sixth centuries BCE. One probably should not see a climatic arrangement in the clauses; so, for example, blessing would include peace. Perhaps the second verb in each case defines the first more specifically, but together the six verbs cove God’s benevolent activity from various angles and state God’s gracious will for the people.
“Blessing has a wide ranging meaning, touching every sphere of life. It testifies most basically to the work of God the Creator, both within the community of faith and without. No conditions are attached. It signifies any divine gift that serves the life, health, and well-being of individuals and communities. Keeping is a specific blessing to those with concerns for safety, focusing on God’s protection from all forms of evil (Ps. 121:7-8), pertinent for wilderness wandering.” (Barton, and Muddiman 116)
We are all wandering through the wilderness, departing each morning for the many destinations of the day, and returning to home each evening to rest before the cycle begins anew. Each of the days is a testimony to the trust we place in God, the hope we place in Christ, and the comfort we take from the Spirit. We maneuver our daily obstacles – some small and some gigantic – hoping for sustenance and safety, keeping faith that it is God who guides us rather than some self-serving whim, and witnessing to the message of liberation by loving our enemies into goodness. I am thinking that I will print this small prayer and put it on the back of my front door above the handle I touch each day to exit. I need these words as I step into the wilderness each day; I want to put the name of God on my children and their children as they also step into the wilderness. I also want these words to bless and transform those who do me harm as I pray for the softening of their hearts and the unbending of their stiff necks. I want all tribes to come together as the twelve tribes of Jacob have done to help one another in their journey through strange and hostile land to the land of peace and security. This is the departure we can best wish for one another as we step over our thresholds each day to embark on a new and exciting journey filled with pain and promise. This is the blessing that can touch us as we leave each morning, can keep us in God’s care throughout the day, and can bring us back home to God each evening. This is a pray that blesses us with the name of God and brings us peace.
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall address the Israelites.
Say to them:
The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I willbless them!”
Barton, John, and John Muddiman. THE OXFORD BIBLE COMMENTARY. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001. 116. Print.
Fear of abandonment is a horror that grips many and as a result lovers jilt one another so as not to be left by the other, parents abuse their children so as to not be disappointed, colleagues betray one another in order to keep a job, supervisors coerce workers in order to maintain complete control, friends disappear from relationships rather than work through conflict. We can imagine how the kingdom might bloom if we were to fully comprehend one single fact – we are never alone, God is with us always and so there is no need to allow the terror of rejection to govern us.
Christ brings us a message of inversion, as we have said in many Noontimes. He tells us that what is up in our physical world is actually down in his. The poor and the humble inherit, those who mourn rejoice, the hungry and thirsty are sated, and those who suffer persecution because of this belief reign. When any of my siblings or I complained of an injustice – perceived or real – my mother would remind us easily and with a smile: The first will be last . . . the master is the servant.
So if we are to live as if we believe in this first is last kingdom-building, we perceive abandonment as its inverted companion. Union. Christ is with us to remind us that the jilted are his special loves, the lost children his particular darlings, and the oppressed his best and closest friends. In today’s Noontime, God shows the Hebrew people how much they are loved. God tells them that they are not alone. God reminds them that they are unique and chosen loved ones; yet they do not understand. Across the millennia we hear their cry, see their pain, and we ask as the Hebrews did: Why do we suffer? Why do things like this happen? How are we to go on? We are still God’s stiff-necked people.
Water springing from a rock, manna and quail in the desert: God knows that there are hidden gifts in hard, dry places; God knows that manna gathers itself like dew in the desert morning; God knows that great flocks of quail migrate over the wilderness and come to ground to rest; yet we persist in disbelief. We continue to ask as the Hebrews ask: Is the Lord in our midst or not?
In verses 8 through 13 we watch Joshua defeat the army of Amalek as long as Moses keeps his hands raised. This story fascinated me as a child and I spent days lurking behind my brothers and sisters willing them to do things I wanted when I raised my hands to heaven. God in great wisdom did not answer those requests; but God has answered many more as God accompanies me on my journey.
After the defeat of the Amalekites, the Lord says to Moses: Write this down in a document as something to be remembered, and recite it in the ears of Joshua. In Old Testament language, the Lord tells the people that God will always be among them to defend them; God will not allow them to be wiped out. God tells them that they are not alone, and that God will bring goodness out of evil. Always.
We are never alone. We are constantly loved. We are rescued, comforted, healed and held. Always. Without fail. There are no circumstances and no people we need ever fear. The parched desert and the brutality of the Amalekites in our lives need not send us into panic because God is in our midst.
And so we too, can write this down . . . We have nothing to fear becausethe Lord will war against our enemies. Throughout the centuries.
Footnotes and commentary will explain much to us in today’s Noontime. The poetic parallelism we find with the words assand coltin the citation from Zechariah 9:9 may justify the thinking that Matthew was a Gentile; a man practicing the Jewish faith would be accustomed to hearing these double allusions from their rabbi and not confuse the prophecy with reality. We might also learn more about the custom of strewing palm branches during the feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:39-40 and 2 Maccabees 10:5-8) when rededicating a Temple. And finally, scholars will be able to tell us that Matthew uses the participle shakenin verse 11 that was commonly used in the apocalyptic literature of Jesus’ time. In Matthew 8:24 the storm is described with this same verb and the noun in that verse literally means earthquake. Matthew wants to tell us that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem literally and figuratively shakes the world out of its complacency. (Senior 20, 44-45) This prophet from Nazareth in Galilee who heals the sick, feeds the multitudes, and forgives sins has come to set the world afire. And the world is clearly shaken by this message: The Temple is about to fall.
I have friends and family who insist that Jesus came to live with us only so that we might learn how to “get along” with everyone. This thinking conveniently reinforces the idea that living in a loving community means that we turn blind eyes to dishonesty and greed. This view will also have us thinking that in Luke 12:49 and Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus cannot possibly mean that even family members will be pitted against one another when they understand the true meaning of Jesus’ message. For some it is difficult to believe that Jesus is telling his followers – and us – that the habits of a lifetime will have to change: complacency about corruption must end, we cannot condone the oppression of the marginalized, or affirm lies and gossip. We must cease living in excess and we must become humble, patient, and persevering in order to enter the kingdom. We can see why Jesus’ message shook the world in his own time, and why his message continues to shake the world today.
When we read these verses and we feel compelled to place the palm branches of our lives on the roadway to welcome this amazing healer who will always put himself last, we must also be willing to follow him into the Temple when he cleanses it. When we raise our voices in thanksgiving to say Hosanna in the highest, we must also be willing to weep with the women and John the Beloved Apostle to mourn the emptiness of the world without Jesus. When we shout out to the doubters: This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee; we must ready ourselves for the cataclysmic shaking that will turn us in a new and life-giving direction we had not thought possible for ourselves or others. We must ready ourselves for the shaking of the world and the rebuilding of the Temple. And so we pray . . .
When the earth yawns open to swallow us whole, let us stand firm on the lessons Jesus has taught us.
When the coming storm gathers dust into lethal clouds, let us hunker down to shelter in the arms of our loving God.
When Jesus shakes the world into God’s new reality, let us not cry out against it.
Let us welcome this shuddering new birth . . . knowing that with the passing of the storm the Spirit who has abided with us . . . will nourish us anew.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.20, 44-45. Print.
Cyrus the GreatFounder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus inherited a small kingdom and expanded it to include what we know today as Iran and much of Turkey. He captured Babylon in 539 B.C.E. and although he did not worship the God of Israel, he proved to be “a beneficent king who allowed captive people to return to their homelands and restore their places of worship.”(ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE 669). We cannot know his motivation for allowing the Jewish people to return home after exile, but we do know that Cyrus II – the Anointed of the Lord who becomes the Liberator of Israel – believed in Marduk, the mythological god of Babylon. As many have commented, we can never anticipate the wisdom or plans of God. Hear then, whom I have chosen . . .
Many times I wonder how God has chosen the agents who do God’s work: stumble-bum leaders, hard-edged colleagues, the apparent liberal who leans toward conservatism, and the seemingly empty-headed support personnel who deliver wisdom during crisis. I have learned to be on the lookout for God’s anointed even as I try to steer clear of false idols; and I wonder about my own fidelity to God and my success as his agent. Hear then, whom I have chosen . . .
Isaiah warns us against replacing God with idols that bring us no help and cause us too much maintenance work. Smiths and carpenters do not reflect, nor have the intelligence and sense to see that the bits of iron and wood they fashion into idols are no god at all . . .Half the wood was burned in the fire, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meant which I ate. Shall I then make an idol of the rest, or worship a block of wood? Like these smiths and carpenters, we daily set up little gods to worship when we worry about our next meal, the clothes we will wear to the gym or pool, the roof on the house or the brakes on the car that need repair, our position at work, the fussy chair of the civic committee on which we serve. When we set aside our prayer time with God because we want to fret about these worries, we have surrendered to our little gods. He is chasing ashes, a thing that cannot save itself when the flame consumes it . . .
Volcanic ash cloudWe might wonder as we reflect on today’s Noontimehow it is that God has so much patience with us when we turn to the inanimate to fuss and cajole the objects in our surroundings into pleasing us.
We might wonder how it is that God has so much forgiveness with us each time we return to God that the Lord continues to encourage us and grace us with God’s presence.
We might wonder how it is that God has so much imagination that God will use a believer in a pagan god as the anointed one to help the faithful return from an exile their own corruption gained for them.
We might wonder how it is that God has so much compassion for each of us that despite our times of coldness and our turnings away, God continues to heal, restore, redeem and save us.
We might wonder how it is that God loves us eternally and wishes to be with us forever . . . despite the countless times we leave God to chase after ashes.
Volcanic ashWe might wonder. And yet God is the one who pours out water on the thirsty ground, knits us his offspring in the womb, pours out his spirit on us, and lays blessings on our descendants.
We might wonder, yet we need not, for God chases after us. Even as we chase after the ashes of our own folly.
The author of this brief letter is believed to be the Apostle John and it gives us a window on the world of the early church with its factions and arguments. We see the interwoven themes of hospitality, truth, and love – three concepts we might spend time with today.
In the jumble of names we might finally work out that the leader Diotrephes has stepped outside of the Johannine tradition by refusing hospitality to some of John’s disciples. This action would be counter to the kind of behavior Jesus nurtured among his own apostles, and counter to the traditions of the early church. “Itinerant Christian preachers were dependent upon the hospitality of Christians among whom they ministered. This built up networks between the scattered churches and fostered a sense of solidarity. The local churches saw themselves as belonging to the one church, united around the foundational truth of the Gospel.” (ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE 2035) In this ancient culture, hospitality was essential. Travel by foot through arid and sometimes hostile regions required open homes and welcoming brothers and sisters at journey’s end. Generosity with one’s goods and time was essential for survival in this environment. Fear of false teachers was and is a legitimate concern, but we know from this short letter that the rejected missionaries had been sent by John himself so certainly there was no reason for alarm. As John writes: We ought to support such persons, so that we might be co-workers in the truth. John appeals to those who want to withdraw into a purist sect and he points out that separatism is counter to Jesus’ universal call to unity. Jesus’ truth-followers seek union with others – not separation or elitism. John urges his fellow Christians to support his faithful ministers so that they might be seen as messengers of Christ’s word rather than ordinary pagan beggars who lived off the goodness of others with little or no contribution to society.
In today’s Noontimewe hear an echo of John’s assertion in his first letter that what the apostles have seen with their eyes, heard with their ears and touched with their hands can be believed. Jesus was among them. He died. He rose again and is with them still. This is a truth that cannot be denied and it is an absolute demonstration of Jesus’ love for humanity. John tells us that we in turn must demonstrate our belief in this reality by offering open arms and welcoming hearts to fellow co-workers in this truth.
When we read this letter carefully, we see the elements of a prudent and wise method of confronting the obstinate, self-centered rejection of goodness: Send an opening greeting with an offer of dialog, recommend continued conversation, delineate the points of argument, and center all decisions on Gospel thinking of unity through variety. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul expresses clearly how Christ creates the union of diverse parts: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.We are reminded by both John and Paul that not one of us has sole possession of truth; Christ’s truth lives in the gathering up of all who believe and act inhim.
When we open our hearts and homes for Christ to act throughus, we become the co-workers John speaks of today, we become seekers of Christ’struth rather than our own. We become co-workers in the only truth that matters. This we can believe.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 2035. Print.
New posts will return later this month. In the meantime, may you each know and experience Christ’s peace. May you seek and discover God’s Wisdom. And may you be fortified in the Love and Counsel of the Spirit. I hold each of you in prayer as always. S
The Noontimes 