Tag: conversion

Jeremiah 16: The Source of Life
Jeremiah 16: The Source of Life

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Michaelangelo: The Prophet Jeremiah – The Sistine Chapel

Here we have the explanation for Jeremiah’s celibacy: this state has divine origin, and it announces Israel’s fate that life as they have known it has ended. With no family, Jeremiah’s social isolation is complete; there is no future. “The world has become utterly silent. There will be no mourning rituals, no feasting . . . Jeremiah’s celibacy signifies the total obliteration of daily domestic life. Vv. 10-13 ask the questions that lie at the heart of the book and belong to the experience of exile: why has God done this to us? What is our sin?” They have abandoned God, worshiped other gods and have broken the law. They may think that compromise and bartering will win them a reprieve but in the end there is nothing without God. (Barton and Muddiman 503)

All is bleak. Until we come to the end of the chapter with a liturgical song of conversion in verses 19 to 21 that serves as a model for repentance and a roadmap back to safety for the faithful who remain. Through Jeremiah’s suffering, a remnant of the people may be saved. Seen in this light, the chapter defends Yahweh from charges of injustice. Seen in this way, celibacy is seen as a source of life. Scripture is full of irony: what is lost is gained, what is empty is full, what is childless bears fruit.

Genesis 11:30: Now Sarai was barren; she had no children . . .

Eugene de Blaas: A Helping Hand

Psalm 113:9: He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children . . .

Isaiah 54:1: “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.

When we find ourselves cut off from our dreams, when we feel as though there are few options open to us, when we believe that we have nowhere to turn, we may want to consider our offering of suffering. It may be the source of life for others and therefore the source of life for ourselves.

A re-post from November 7, 2011.

Images from:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blaas_Eugen_von_A_Helping_Hand_1884_Oil_On_Panel.jpg and http://www.artbible.info/art/large/74.html

Barton, John, and John Muddiman. THE OXFORD BIBLE COMMENTARY. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001. 503. Print.

39.533225 -76.430369
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
December 2, 2025

celibacy as fruitful, conversion, Genesis 11:30, Isaiah 54:1, Psalm 113:9
Proverbs 16: Plans of the Heart – A Reprise
Proverbs 16: Plans of the Heart – A Reprise

Monday, July 22, 2024

Today, as we journey through Proverbs, we reprise a post from several years ago in which we see that . . . Everything Belongs.

Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the Lord. All the ways of man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves the spirit. Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. The Lord has made everything for his own ends, even the wicked for the evil day . . . In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

Humans have a fertile imagination; and weaving a story about ourselves is part of what we do as we form our self-concept. We are often anxious about the future: What am I to do? Where am I to go? What am I to say? How am I to act? We may worry about the past: Why was I so blind? How did I miss what they were saying? And all the time we worry, we are missing the blessed present with its opportunity to open our hearts to God’s economy. The writer of Proverbs reminds us that the best plans are those guided by God. Trusting in divine providence is so very difficult, yet so essential to serene living.

Better a little with virtue, than a large income with injustice . . . How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver . . . A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city.

Wisdom is our best instructor. Living a life characterized by prudence and temperance is difficult in a society which values the supersize in everything. It is easy to overdo: too much food, too much drink, too much money spent on heat or air conditioning, too much television, too many movies, too many books, too many people making claims on our time, too much aloneness, too much neglect, too much fuss. Is there such a thing as too much justice? Too much hope? Too much faith or compassion? Too much love? Finding moderation and balance is a challenge; but our model is the Christ, who interchanged periods of heavy activity with times of prayer and retreat leaving his sacred heart open to God’s plan.

By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by fear [love] of the Lord man avoids evil.

It is never too late to be open to a conversion of the heart. There is always time to enter through the narrow gate, to step onto the narrow road, to sow peace rather than discord. It is never too late to open the door and windows of the mind, to allow the master planner to enter the heart, to move us through our days, to guide us in our thoughts, to thaw our stiffened necks, to melt our hardened hearts.

Let us vow today to open ourselves to the mind of God, so that we might receive our plans from God’s own sacred heart.

Image from: http://hopesrising.com/?m=201105
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
July 22, 2024

conversion, prudence, sacred heart, temperance, wisdom
Lamentations 1:14-22: The Inverted Kingdom – Part X
Lamentations 1:14-22: The Inverted Kingdom – Part X

Friday, January 26, 2024

Amy Bradley: Out of Darkness Came Light

Give Heed

This Favorite was written during Eastertide on May 3, 2011. We post it today as a reflection on Christ’s inverted transformation of the world, as an offering of peace in a time of trouble.

These are such sad verses; the images of the inconsolable one suffering intensely are so very difficult to sit with. We want to rush past them as we sometimes rush past those who are in pain or those who bear the visible scars of their suffering. Yet this is where Christ dwells, with the dispossessed, the broken, and those in the captivity of their addictions. We want our world to be a beautiful and ordered place. We want happy endings and bright, new beginnings. We want perfection and comfort. We look away quickly from pain and suffering. We do not want to be the least uncomfortable. We want all things in neat rows and nice packages, but life is not as tidy as we wish. And yet, when we pause to reflect, we realize that it is.

When we allow pain to convert us, as it will, when we allow God’s hands to heal us, as they will, we see that life is about reversal, inversion, irony and paradox. What appears to be lost is actually found; what we think has gone yet resides within.

Give heed to my groaning . . .

Matthew 19:30: Many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first.

There is no one to console me . . .

Psalm 126:5: Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy.

All my enemies rejoice at my misfortune . . .

Psalm 126:6: Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundles of sheaves.

My groans are many, I am sick at heart . . .

We are called today to give heed to the message of lamentations, to our own cries and to the cries of the bereft. We are called to take courage in the face of opposition, to the obstacles we put in front of ourselves and to those placed there by others. We are called to give heed to the sadness we experience ourselves and to the sadness we see in others for all lamentation will be transformed into happiness. Of this we can be certain, for this is the Easter message delivered by Christ.

Psalm 30:11-12: You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

These are such beautiful verses; the images of a God so loving that all is forgiven, all are blessed. They are so wonderful to sit with. We want to rush toward them as we rush toward the Living God.

Images from: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/giant-sunflower-in-darkness-amy-bradley.html
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
January 26, 2024

conversion, irony and paradox, light out of darkness, Matthew 19:30, Psalm 125:5-6, Psalm 30:11-12, reversal
John 12:37-41: Incredulity
John 12:37-41: Incredulity

Sunday, November 20, 2022

It is always about the conversion of the heart, the transformation of the mind. Seeing with our eyes and hearing with our ears does not bring us closer to God. Experiencing the world with our hearts . . . this is what calls us into a state of permanent discipleship.

Human nature being what it is, we find countless excuses and reasons for not doing the work of discipleship. The eye and the ear bring us sight and sound which we are accustomed to reasoning away with lines of thought we are practiced in using. What good can one person do? This is what people in my neighborhood do and I do not want to offend them. This way is more convenient for me. That has no effect upon me. I like to shop there. It’s none of my business. It’s not hurting anybody. These are the phrases that trip off our lips easily.

Even Jesus with the fullness of the presence of God was not able to turn all hearts and minds to himself and The Way. He lived and worked and played among an incredulous people hardened by the tortures of the world. Even some of those among whom he prayed did not believe , and this was after seeing with the eye and hearing with the ear. In John 20:29 Jesus tells his disciples that those who believe without seeing or hearing are blessed indeed.
Paul reminds the Corinthians and he also reminds us that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9) We depend on our human resources far too much and far too often, and these eyes and ears and hearts are often incredulous when we begin to consider all that God has in store for us.

And so we have this to ponder. As Jesus passes among us each day, how do we respond? Are we the incredulous comfortable crowd? Or are we the restless, open listeners waiting for The Word?

Images from: and https://www.pinterest.com/pin/342484746634361032/ https://designpress.com/design/romantic-heart-pictures/

Adapted from a favorite written on September 1, 2008.
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
November 20, 2022

conversion, discipleship, John 20:29, transformation
James 1-5: James the Lesser
James the Lesser – Monday, September 26, 2022

El Greco: James the Lesser

We have reflected on our restoration from dry bones, placed memorial stones to mark the importance of our relationship with God; we have entered in to the apostolic Spirit and marked the wisdom and prudence we want to govern our lives. And we have given over our interior temple to the transformation God has in mind for us, knowing that from our strife comes our great reward. For the next few weeks we will spend time with the letter of James, examining his message.

This letter is likely written by “a relative of Jesus who is usually called brother of the Lord” (see Mt 13, 55; Mark 6, 3). He is the leader of the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem whom Paul acknowledged as one of the “pillars” (Gal 2, 9). In Acts he appears as an authorized spokesman for the Jewish Christian position in the early Church (Acts 12, 17; 15, 13-21)”. (Senior 368)

The letter, written in Greek despite the fact it is penned by a Jew, is considered one of the best of the New Testament and many believe that it was actually written down by a secretary. Some also regard these verses as some the earliest written after the Christ’s death and, quite likely, before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. (Senior 369)

James’ message is universal and timeless, emphasizing “sound teaching and responsible moral behavior. Ethical norms are derived not primarily from christology, as in Paul, but form a concept of salvation that involves conversion, baptism, forgiveness of sin, and expectation of judgment. (1, 17; 4, 12).” (Senior 369)

When we spend time with this short letter today, we find that its structure is neat and concise, focusing on the value of trials and temptation, the importance of heeding warnings, and the power of prayer. Using the scripture link in this post, we can skim differing versions of the letter to examine the themes and structure ourselves as we prepare to hear the message James wants to bring to us.

Tomorrow, James’ message.

To learn more about James the Less, as he is often called to distinguish him from the Apostle James (James the Greater), follow the scripture links above in Matthew, Mark and Acts, click on the image above, or use a reference that you find helpful.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.368-369. Print.

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_James_the_Less_%28El_Greco%29
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
September 26, 2022

Acts 12:17 and 15:13-21, baptism, conversion, forgiveness of sin, judgment, Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55, moral behavior, power of prayer, trials and temptation, warning
Psalm 35: Betrayed by Friends
Thursday, February 17, 2022

Psalm 35

Betrayed by Friends

“A lament of a person betrayed by friends. The psalmist prays that the evildoers be publicly exposed as unjust (1-8) and gives thanks in anticipation of vindication (9-10). Old friends are the enemies (11-16). May their punishment come quickly (17-21)! The last part (22-26) echoes the opening in praying for the destruction of the psalmist’s persecutors. This psalm may appear vindictive, but one must keep in mind that the psalmist is praying for public redress now of a public injustice. There is at this time no belief in an afterlife in which justice will be redressed. 35, 1-6: The mixture of judicial, martial, and hunting images shows that the language is figurative. The actual injustice is false accusation of serious crimes (11, 15, 20-21). The psalmist seeks lost honor through a trial before God”. (Senior 668)

Defend me because you are just, Lord; my God, do not let them gloat over me.

It has been my experience that when enemies gloat over their opponents’ pain and loss, they later suffer the same pain and loss.

I have seen so often the trap dug by one to catch another ends up as the death-bed of the one who dug it.

I know in my bones that God defends those who are his faithful. I have seen too many examples of God’s fidelity to think otherwise.

I believe that God’s plan for conversion of my enemies is far better than any punishment I might ask . . . and so I send intercessory prayers for those who do me harm – whether they are friends from long ago or friends who are newly arrived.

With today’s psalm, we might be tempted to ask God to pull down fire on those who betray us, but this is not what Jesus does. We have the gift of knowing what Jesus has told us: That we are to witness, watch, and wait. Only this way of life will bring us the peace we seek.

So we ask ourselves . . . how much better is it to pray for those who betray us rather than ask for their fiery end? Is it not so that God punishes with the punishment we lay out for others? What then do we fear? Do we believe God incapable of making a just decision that brings about transformation of the soul?

And we also ask . . . now that we know of this precious gift of eternal life . . . why do we jeopardize it for a fleeting, ugly satisfaction that might come when we see our enemies suffer? Can we not intercede for those who are hateful while we await our trial before God? How much more effective it is for God to call each one to him as we move through his plan for our good than it is for us to plot someone else’s downfall?

We find a place for Christ-like thinking when we read this psalm and pray for those who wrong us unfairly. In this season of Lent, let us approach the day of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf with the joy that comes from leaving our worries with him in willing obedience to The Word . . . as we look forward to the day of vindication in Jesus’ name, in Jesus’ Way, in Jesus’ hope for all of humanity.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.668. Print.

Image from: http://www.peacemakersinstitute.com/institute/?p=2004

39.533225 -76.430369
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
February 17, 2022

conversion, God’s fidelity, hope, intercession for our enemies, pray for enemies, vindication, witness-watch-wait
Amos 3: First Word
Monday, March 8, 2021

Amos 3

First Word

In 3:6, Amos states an important belief of ancient theologians, that God causes all events, even disasters. (Mays 650) In the light of the New Testament, we see God as a forgiving parent, a source of infinite compassion, a God who delivers justice, who pulls good out of harm, who loves us so dearly that he allows us to make decisions . . . even though they may have disastrous results.

God says: When humans first began to believe in my existence, they saw the world as a dual entity in which people, places, ideas and dreams were either good or bad. There was very little room for fringe thinking because life was so fragile and survival so difficult. Methods, practices and customs that helped the species to survive were regarded as sacrosanct. Your ancestors often shunned or even executed innovators and those who understood the wide and long view. You have evolved and now some of you understand what Jesus means when he speaks of the common good. You comprehend the importance of forgiving enemies. And some of you live the life he models for you. I know that some among you still live with the words from ancient days. You scramble to make your world safe by performing practices with no heart. You believe that a checklist of good deeds saves you when it is really my loving care that restores what you have lost. Rather than lose patience with yourself or with any of these lost children, come to me. Call the fearful ones to me through your actions and words. Resist the temptation to believe that I bring about disaster for those who do not follow The Way. Believe that my heart is big enough to love the cruelest among you, persistent enough to convert the most heinous among you, and durable enough to outwait the most cruel and stubborn among you. The ivory apartments will be ruined through the actions of those who build them. The horns of the altar will break through the corruption the church leaders allow. And the many rooms of the wicked will be no more through the actions or inactions of their own lives. The wicked may escape with the corner of a couch or a piece of cot . . . but they will flee into my relentless, loving arms. This is my First Word that comes to you through my prophet Amos.

When we become inpatient with God’s plan as it unfolds before our eyes and into our lives, we must remember this First Word that Amos brings to us today.

Tomorrow, Second Word.

Mays, James L., ed. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 650. Print.

For an interesting post about being still to hear God’s word at www.hisinfinitegrace.com, click on the image above, or go to: http://hisinfinitegrace.com/2012/10/30/be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god-2/
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
March 8, 2021

conversion, dualistic thinking, free will, God’s compassion, redemption, The Way, the wicked
Amos 1: Receptive
Saturday, March 6, 2021

Amos 1

Receptive

Today we stand on the threshold of a great opportunity, an opportunity to shed all that we dislike about ourselves, an opportunity to return fully to the promise God sends to the world through us. We have taken up the prophecy of Amos as our first Lenten lesson plan and today we re-visit an old theme: we ask for the courage to open our hearts and minds and souls to the possibility of newness, we ask for the strength to be receptive to God’s announced gift of regeneration.

God calls to us through Amos just as he called to the faithful millennia ago. nd what is the message we hear today? Where are we to go to do the work of self-conversion and kingdom building? Amos tells us simply: We are to look to our own homes, communities, work, worship and play places . . . we are to begin . . . and then we are to take this newness in which we find ourselves into all we do, think and say. Social injustice and religious arrogance: these are the two devils we are to combat. We must invert these two ideas (as Jesus always does when he stands us on our heads – calling us to the margins rather than to the comfortable middle) to social justice and to religious humility. They are the standard bearers we are to carry each day as we step out of our homes and into the world. hey are the same standards we carry into our evenings as we return home to rest and rebuild.

To learn more about the places named in Amos 1, click on the following words and consider . . . Do we live in these places? If so, what do we do to change ourselves . . . so that the world might also change? Aram, Philistia, Tyre, Edom and Ammon.

mage from: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/ash-wednesday
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
March 6, 2021

Ammon, Aram, conversion, Edom, kingdom-building, Philistia, regeneration, religious humility, social justice, Tyre
Psalm 119:65-72: Teth
Monday, January 25, 2021

In these days when we continue to recover from social, political, medical, and emotional turmoil, we look to this longest chapter in Scripture for guidance. Today, joy follows mourning.

Psalm 119:65-72

Teth

Teach me your wisdom and knowledge . . . It was good for me to be afflicted, in order to learn your laws . . .

In this ninth strophe we near the middle of Psalm 119 and here the psalmist reaches out to God, asking for wisdom and knowledge specifically, promising to adhere to the Law of loving one another that Yahweh has written on our hearts. The psalmist expresses a truth we all know but often do not want to admit: we learn life’s lessons best when we are under siege or overwhelmed, and it is from this suffering that God calls forth joy.

God says: I tell you frequently so of this you may be certain: I am with you always, I see your joys and sorrows, and I bring all manner of goodness out of the great harm that some of you plot. So put away any plans of deception and come to the truth. Honesty, authenticity, integrity and love will heal any rift. In my plan and in my time, my love transforms even the darkest of hearts. You may believe my goodness to be hidden . . . but it lives forever in your hearts.

Rather than curse our painful circumstances, let us enter into God’s plan of inversion and allow our sorrow to lead us to the one who can heal the deepest of wounds. Let us allow God to love us infinitely and unconditionally.

When the Lord restored our fortunes we thought we were dreaming. Our mouths were filled with laughter; our tongues sang for joy . . . Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy. Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, with return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves. (Psalm 126)

Tomorrow, the letter Yodh.

For more information on the letter Teth and how it represents inversion and concealed good, go to: http://www.inner.org/hebleter/tet.htm or http://www.hebrewtoday.com/content/hebrew-alphabet-letter-tet-%D7%98
Share this:
X
Facebook
Email
Print
More
Reddit
Pinterest
Pocket
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Like Loading…
January 25, 2021

concealed good, conversion, God’s goodness, knowledge, reaping, sorrow and joy, sowing, trust, wisdom