Consider Your Ways!

~~~ Haggai 1:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 149 ~~~ Luke 9:7-9 ~~~

Consider your ways!

Herod had John the Baptist killed while he was intoxicated.
Later, when he was sober, the guilt of his sin began to haunt him.
He was mentally tormented from what he was hearing about Jesus.

Herod heard things and saw things but the sad state of his soul
prevented comprehension.
Herod needed to 'consider his ways'
but he could not do it.

His guilt was so great that it overpowered his mind.
Herod was unable to think straight,
even without being under the influence of alcohol.

We too can become intoxicated with our own sins.
We too can become intoxicated with our guilt.

The invitation for us today is from the book of Haggai.
Consider your ways!

What needs to change in your life?
This is the time to overcome any residual guilt
that lingers in your soul.

 The Lord takes delight in his people.

We have the most loving and forgiving God.
There is no reason...no excuse
to harbor guilt within your heart.

Herod could not find a way to rid his heart of guilt,
but you have Jesus...you know Jesus.
Bring any guilt you have to Jesus;
he is ready to lift it from your soul.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

He is waiting for you to consider your ways
 so that you can believe that Jesus takes delight in you.

Herod clung to his troubled heart,
but you have an alternative choice.

Blessed to have a God
who takes delight in you.

~~~Peace~~~

Aspire to Live a Tranquil Life

~~~ Passion of Saint John the Baptist ~~~

~~~1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Mark 6:17-29 ~~~

...aspire to live a tranquil life,

to mind your own affairs,

and to work with your own hands...

Herod lived anything but a tranquil life.

He was chosen by the Romans to be King and ruler of Israel.

Herod's family were not from the Jewish people.

They were however, very good politicians.

Herod could not mind his own affairs 

when his brother's wife caught his eye.

Since he was not allowed to have two wives he divorced his own wife

so that he could marry hie brother's wife, Herodias.

Of course she had to divorce her own husband 

before she could marry her husband's brother.

Life was far from tranquil.

In the midst of this mess John the Baptist

quickly points out the Jewish laws they are breaking...

He cites (Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21)

You shall not have intercourse with your brother’s wife;

 that would be a disgrace to your brother.

(18:16)

If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is severe defilement 

and he has disgraced his brother; they shall be childless.

(20:21)

When he did this Herod ordered John's arrest.

Ultimately Herod has John beheaded at the request of his daughter.

You are probably familiar with this story.

Herod doomed himself to never leading a tranquil life.

We sometimes create situations in our own

 lives that rob us of having a tranquil life.

What is it that keeps you from a tranquil life?

Herod was more interested in his political position.

He was more interested in caring what people would 

say if he did not keep his word.

Herod failed to value his own peace of mind.

You can choose to place yourself in a tranquil place.

When our environment is tranquil

it is much easier to find inner tranquility.

It is this inner tranquility that makes a tranquil life.

John the Baptist had no idea that his words to Herod

 would end up with his death.

He was well respected by the people.

He had a following of believers.

People listened to John.

The tranquil life that John once had was taken

 from him by his violent death.

Seek a place where you can tap into the stream of tranquility.

A tranquil life may only be possible for short periods of time...

cherish them while you can.

"Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture.

 If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind,

 then that is what our life is like..."

 Thaddeus of Vitovnica

A tranquil life is something to treasure.

Blessings of pieces of peace.

Foolishness or Wisdom?

~~~ Passion of Saint John the Baptist ~~~
~~~1 Corinthians 1:17-25 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Mark 6:17-29 ~~~

...the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

When we look at the passion and crucifixion of Jesus
we may find it difficult to see the wisdom.
Why would God send Jesus to live among us only to have us,
humans, brutally murder him?
It is hard to accept much less comprehend.
As Christians we believe it was all about how much
God desired to save us...how much he loved us.

I am reminded here of the passage where God tells us
 that his ways are not our ways.
No joke!

It may take a lifetime to grasp the wisdom in the ways of God.
Sometimes they seem so contradictory to what we would choose.
How does a terminal illness bring an estranged family back together?
Why does running late for work save you from a fatal accident?
Why does a broken relationship prevent future tragedy?

Paul's words here border on being comical...
How can we begin to think of God as foolish in the first place?
God does reveal his sense of humor to us, just look at nature.

When he (Herod) heard him (John the Baptist) speak 
he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

John the Baptist challenged Herod and his sinfulness.
He also gave him ample cause to stop and think.

John spoke with passion and conviction
which made Herod curious and perplexed at the same time.

John spoke the truth without fear of the repercussions.
Herod was a spineless wimp who let a child
 plunge him into the beheading of John.

Herod did not have the passion or the conviction
 to refuse such a heinous crime. 

Perhaps exactly what Herod admired
so much in John was exactly what was missing in his own character.

Herod had no wisdom, yet as a ruler he had much power.

Herod failed to accept that John was speaking
 the words of wisdom inspired by God.

Instead he simply found John amusing and entertaining.
Herod chose to close this chapter of his life
 by committing a grave sin, murder.

Do you admire in others what you find lacking in yourself?
It may not be immediately apparent. You may need to
become more aware.
Oftentimes we envy things
about others that we wish we possessed ourselves.

I long to be able to speak, as others I know, with Scriptures
meaningfully used within the context of the conversation.

It is still a work in progress, I must admit.

No matter how foolish God appears to be in our eyes
he always and only has our best interest in his plan for our lives.
What matters is what are we going to do with our life?
Herod squandered his opportunity to be a better human being...
What about you?

Blessed in loving and being loved by a foolish God.
Makes me want to giggle out loud!
~~~Peace~~~

Tainted Love

~~~ Sirach 47:2-11 ~~~ Psalm 18 ~~~ Mark 6:14-29 ~~~

This is February, the month we celebrate Valentine's Day...
the month dedicated to love.
Oddly enough according to those who keep wedding statistics
 June is the most popular month for weddings.

The first reading lists all of the wonderful things David did;
making him one of the most loved leaders.
He tackled beast and man.
He slew the giant with a slingshot.
He was favored by God...God loved him.
The women sang his praises; in other words they loved him.

David did love God too.

With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung;
What is not to love about David...he sings to the Lord in prayer.

The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever...
Love was the driving force for all that David
did for his people and his God.
This deep love made his personal failings that much more painful for him.

The gospel has an undercurrent of tainted love...
love that has gone sour...
love that has broken hearts...
love that has turned to taking another's life.

Herod is so confused by his sin
that he cannot identify the beautiful qualities of love.

His sinful love affair leads him to the brutal sin of murder.

Love never leads one into sin.
Herod does not even demonstrate healthy love with his daughter.
The mother daughter relationship is warped.
The daughter is willing to entertain her mother's revengeful heart.
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

Herod expressed his love by ordering
the beheading of someone he respected, John the Baptist.

He gave the head of John to the girl.
The girl gave the head to her mother.
This evil domino effect takes precedence over love.

God always blesses us with love.
What do we offer in return to him?
How do you love others?
Peace.

Who Can Be Against Us?

~~~ Romans 8:31b-39 ~~~ Psalm 109 ~~~ Luke 13:31-35 ~~~

 

If God is for us, who can be against us?

 

Jesus is determined to continue his journey of preaching and healing.

Not even the real threat of Herod's evil intentions will stop Jesus.

Jesus does not crumble when facing fears.

He holds steadfast to doing the will of the Father.

 

God was with Jesus in every footprint he left on the sand.

Paul wants us to be convicted of the very same promise form God.

God will never abandon us.

 

If we truly love God then nothing will keep us away from his loving presence...

nothing not people, things, angels, law makers, not even death

can take away the love of God.

So just surrender, fall into his arms, and let God love you.

 

...will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is only by the hand of God that we are saved.

It is only through his love and grace that we can boast of this truth.

 

 

Jesus calls Herod a fox...

Jesus is into name-calling...who would have guessed.

Foxes are solitary, territorial, and mate for life.

 

If Jesus is the shepherd and we are his sheep;

then a fox would pose a real threat.

Jesus gathers us to himself for protection

just a mother hen would collect her chicks under her wing.

 

Those who wished to cause harm to Jesus

because they felt threatened

could not out smart him.

If anyone is 'sly as a fox' perhaps it is Jesus...

In each instance, those who wanted to trick Jesus with their questions

were sent away by his complex response.

They walked away scratching their heads asking....

What did he just say? What does he mean?

 

Jesus was particularly crafty 'sly as a fox'.

He never intended to trick anyone.

He often responded to challenge their beliefs.

 

Jesus was able to recognize Herod

 for who he was underneath his façade.  

Jesus was not threatened or influenced by Herod's threats.

 

Blessings in knowing that God stands with you.

Nothing can separate you from him....

IF you love him.

The Runway of Life

 

~~~ 2 Thes 3:6-10, 16-18 ~~~ Psalm 128 ~~~ Mark 6: 17-29 ~~~

The Memorial of the Passion of John the Baptist

 

Do you live up to your own expectations for yourself?

Are you concerned about living up to the expectations of others?

Are you sometimes confused about expectations in general?

 

Paul's letter to the Thessalonians sounds to me like

he had high expectations for himself.

It is reasonable to have higher expectations for yourself

if you know you are presenting yourself as a model.

 

"...Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us..."

 

But too many times people are modeled after

and their example is less than stellar.

How often do our young people strive to model themselves

after movie stars.

It is difficult today to find a movie star who is

living a life worth following.

The goal today seems to live the most sensational life you can...

the more extreme and outlandish you can be the better.

If you can stay in the headlines all is good.

 

Sometimes it takes real courage to live up to your own expectations.

It takes real back bone to do the right thing,

especially when you think no one is watching.

Then we have the pathetic story of Herod.

 

If he had any expectations for his own behavior we do not know.

It is obvious that that he was a weak man

as he could not stand up to a young girl.

He granted her murderous request because he was too weak

not to live up to her expectations of him.

 

Perhaps Herod never gave any thought to being seen

as a model for his invited guests.

But those in public office are by default viewed as a kind of model.

They often are a model of the society as a whole.

 

I sometimes wonder if we have any one left

with the character and integrity of St. Paul or John the Baptist.

 

"May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.

This greeting is in my own hand, Paul's.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you."

 

I pray that we be led to those who are true models for the Lord.

For when we are exposed to those who honestly model

what it means to love and serve the Lord;

we are encouraged and strengthened.

 

 

You are a model for someone.

You are walking the on the Runway of Life.

What do they see when they look at you?

How are your actions showing them what you believe?

 

Haunting Decision

~~~ Jeremiah 26: 11-16, 24 ~~~ Psalm 69 ~~~ Matthew 14: 1-12 ~~~

Humans don't like to have the things they are doing wrong

brought to their attention.

Herod surely did not like John the Baptist telling him

 it was wrong for him to have relations with his sister in law.

Oops! Herod's hand was caught in the candy jar and he was reprimanded.

Herod was not a person of strong character...

he wanted to have John the Baptist killed but he feared the people.

The people considered John a prophet and valued what he said to them.

Later Herod's niece danced for him.  

In his aroused intoxicated state of pleasure,

he offered her whatever she wanted.

Prompted by her mother to ask for the head of John the Baptist;

Herod never batted an eye. John the Baptist was beheaded as a result

of a young woman's seductive dance.

Jesus must have been struck with great sadness

upon hearing of the death of John.

They were family; Mary had gone to visit soon after she consented

to be the mother of Jesus.

The two boys spent much time growing up together.

Herod has undoubtedly been haunted by this beheading.

So when he sees Jesus;

he thinks he must be seeing the 'ghost' of John the Baptist.

Herod's guilt is being realized in his believing that Jesus was somehow

John the Baptist.

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus
and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist.
He has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him."

When you speak against the ruling authority you are taking a huge risk.

In those days freedom of speech was not a protected right.

In the first reading today Jeremiah is in a similar situation...

"This man deserves death;
he has prophesied against this city,
as you have heard with your own ears."

Jeremiah fervently proclaims that he is speaking the words

given to him from the Lord. The Lord sent him to warn the people

to reform their ways

before the Lord carries out his wrath upon them.

God extends his mercy to all of us,

but you must at least make an effort to change your ways. 

Today we are blessed with religious freedom.

Today we live in a country where freedom of speech is protected.

Human nature in all of its frailties has not changed after all of this time...

we continue to resist being told what we should not be doing.

As a society we are constantly bombarded with the temptations of

a 'young dancing girl'.

We live in a very material world where one is almost dared

to live a prayerful life.

Doing the right thing must come from within; not as a result of

what others may or may not think about you.

Herod did not have the character to act from his conscience.

Do You?