The Cloud of Dust

~~~ Isaiah 26:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 118 ~~~  Matthew 7:21, 24-27 ~~~

 

Most of the time when I read the Bible I try to visualize the scene,

that is after all what comprehension is all about.

Today there were a couple images used that conjured very vivid pictures

because of events we have experienced in recent years.

 

Isaiah speaks of the Lord being like a Rock.

No matter how firm your foundation.

No matter how safe you believe your city to be God can bring it down.

 

"...He humbles those in high places,
and the lofty city he brings down;
He tumbles it to the ground,
levels it with the dust."

 

On the terrible day the twin towers tumbled to the ground the dust created

as they fell was unbelievable.

The scene of people running trying to escape the huge cloud

of dust and debris was frightening.

While I certainly do not believe this was an act of punishment from God;

nevertheless it provides more meaning for these words from the prophet, Isaiah.

 

"Trust in the Lord"

is the advice from the prophet.

God is really the only one we can completely trust.

 

The psalmist echoes the same message...

"...It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man."

 

Build your faith and beliefs on the Lord.

Hear his words and act accordingly.

The word of the Lord is constant and firm as the Rock of Gibraltar.

When you build upon trusting in God you are

free to act according to his will.

If you do not place your trust solely in the Lord you are left

to the unpredictablity of yourself and others around you.

 

If you do not put your trust in the Lord

you will be like the house washed away from the recent hurricane

on the northeast coast.

When the storms of life hit and shake you to your foundation.

It is then that you take notice of whether or not you have built

on firm rock solid ground.

 

 

Throughout the liturgical cycle of readings

we are reminded time and time again to trust in the Lord.

 

Why, you might ask do we need to be reminded repeatedly

about something that makes so much sense.

Somehow as we go about our day to day routines we begin to rely

more and more on ourselves and our

accomplishmentsin this world.

It takes something as visual as being chased down by a cloud of dust

to bring us to our knees in the reality that we

only have God.

He is the only one who is deserving of our complete trust.

 

The word of God never lies to us.

The word of God is never designed to trick or deceive us.

The word of God is always the basis and foundation of all truth.

If we cannot trust God

then who is it that we can trust?

 

Saint Nicholas, pray for us,

especially during this season of Advent.

It truly is in giving that we receive.

Teach us to trust in the Divine Providence.

Denied and Betrayed by Friends? Really?

Isaiah 49:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 71 ~~~ John 13: 21-33, 36-38

I have long found joy in the poetic writing style of the prophets, especially Jeremiah and Isaiah. Today we hear such tender intimate words from Isaiah..."The Lord called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name..." How blessed to have that kind of connection with God to be able to say those words...and more importantly to believe them to be true.

When we go about the work of the Lord for his glory and not our own the reward is great. The prophet is of course making reference to Jesus, but is it not also true for us. If what we do for others in turn gives glory to God we can be a light to all.

Do you want to put that intention into your heart? Do you want to be light for others or are you content keeping to yourself?

The psalmist writes of salvation songs of God rescuing him from the hand of the wicked. He continues with acknowledging his total dependence on God from birth. This is the kind of trust God wants us to have in him...just as newborn must trust its mother to care for it. The difference is that the baby knows nothing else; it is completely dependent the parents for all of its needs.

We, as adults, struggle with this kind of dependence on God's providential care. We instead become worry warts and just get in God's way. On the other hand I do not think God wants us to be helpless little babies. He wants to live our lives trusting that he really does know what is best for each of us.

Peter is one Jesus' dearest friends.have been very painful for him to be told by Jesus that he would deny knowing him that very night. Throughout the New Testament Peter is someone whom we can relate to. He finds himself saying things that he later regrets. He says things before he thinks. He is so us, but denying Jesus after spending the last three years together day after day is hard to believe.

When fear grabs your body your responses are unpredictable. He was caught up in the emotions of the night. Learning that one of their own would later betray Jesus that night was shocking to Peter. 

It is best not to ever say what you would or would not do
without knowing all of the circumstances.
All of these negative things had to take place before Jesus could be glorified. He tries to explain to his followers that they could not come with him on the rest of the salvation journey. They would soon come to understand the fullness of his words.

We are forever grateful for the suffering which you endured for us, dear Jesus.

Today call or email a friend or family member;

let them know you were thinking of them.

Tell them you said a prayer for them.

Whom should I Fear?

~~~ Isaiah 42: 1-7 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ John 12: 1-11 ~~~

If you have not yet read yesterday's post please go there and read about Mary, the perfumed oil and the anointing of Jesus.

John's gospel has the setting at the house of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. We are provided much information about Judas the Iscariot and how he betrayed Jesus. Judas had his priorities upside down. Even though he was with Jesus and was witness to many of the miracles he still lost his way. Judas was devoured by material things thinking money was the answer to everything. We have people in our society to day who hold the same principle close to their heart.

But if we pay attention to the news stories or the tabloids the message is clear...money is not the answer to all our ills. The rich man was told be Jesus to sell everything and only then would he be able to follow Jesus. I do not want to be living under a bridge somewhere, but wealth requires more discipline more restraint. If you have wealth you also have a responsibility to use it wisely. Judas missed the message of the Sermon on the Mount; he could not imagine life without his money bag.

Today we have Psalm 27, one of the most familiar of all the psalms. "The Lord is my light and my salvation whom should I fear?" This psalm is one of comfort especially when grieving the death of a loved one. We are in mourning during Holy Week for whom this psalm speaks of, Jesus, Our Lord. We pray this psalm today with conviction, "I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living." We remind ourselves to, "Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord." We know without a doubt that he alone saves us...his day is near. This psalm is a prayer of hope...hope in the promises of the Lord. He will never abandon us...be not afraid.

Isaiah wants us to understand that we too have been called to follow the one who created the heavens. The one who gives breath to you and me. The one who grasps us by the hand and formed us to be a covenant of the people.

You can live up to the task.

Do not be afraid...hold his hand tightly especially in times of doubt.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation."

Are You Lengthing Your Tassels or Humbly Serving?

~~~ Isaiah 1: 10, 16-20 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 23: 1-12 ~~~

"Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord..."

During Lent many people do return to God. Many people do repent. Many people take advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation after many years of boycotting it. Local parishes hold missions. They bring in a priest from a different city and state.

"Come now, let us set things right..."

The church tries its best to get the message out through the readings. It is good that every year we have the incentive to get back on the boat with Jesus.

Jesus is poking the scribes and Pharisees again, '...do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.' Gee I think there is a similar saying 'your actions speak louder than your words.' Just ask any first time parent how important their actions are following their two year old mimicking a gesture they often use.

The Pharisees were also accused of showing off. 'All their works are performed to be seen.' They want to be noticed everywhere they mingle with others. They want to have the recognition and the proper respect they believe they are due. Their clothing and religious artifacts they wear are designed to draw attention. They want all who see them to think highly of their state of holiness.

They 'widen their phylacteries'
the small boxes prominently placed on their foreheads.
You cannot miss seeing these. They set the person apart from the main stream public.

'and lengthen their tassels'
the tassels were to remind them of their relationship with God. The longer and more noticeable they were then, one would presume, the holier the person.

Everything done for show and attention.

 I think this concept has carried over into the military uniforms of some countries. Where the high ranking generals are adorned with tassels and long draping cords. Right away you are alerted to their rank just by how they are dressed.

I also suspect our graduation cap tassel is another tradition connected to this tassel concept. Once you graduate you ceremoniously move your tassel to the other position on the cap. You are visually announcing your accomplishment of acquiring higher degree of knowledge.

So here's a thought:

What if the length of a women's earring determined her spiritually? My family and a few of my friends frequently shop at a local bead shop. The jeweler who works there has made earrings for us. He has a distinct style. When we see each other it is a joke among us now as to where we have been.
I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but imagine what attention it would draw.

But this is not what Jesus wants us to do. In fact he preaches humility. He assumed the position of servant. He knelt down at the feet of the apostles and washed their feet.
He taught us by his example time after time that the humble roll of servant was to be preferred by those who follow him.

We are called to be humble servants of the Lord.
So I invite you to honestly consider this question:
Are you lengthening your tassels or humbly serving?

May God give me and you a humble and contrite heart.

Living in God's Abundance

~~~ Isaiah 58: 9b-14 ~~~ Psalm 86 ~~~ Luke 5: 27:32 ~~~

The Lord is continuing to speak to us through the prophet Isaiah. The Lord says, okay now that you have taken off the sunglasses...put them away...leave them off, because I have more in store for you.

God says if you follow my ways I will bless you with such abundance you will be astounded. Your life will be drastically changed,

if you keep your eyes focused on my way.

If we keep our eyes focused on doing what God wants in our life we can share in this same abundance. In his presence the light of God will guide us and this same light coming forth from the sun will bring abundance to the land. The Lord is our light and our salvation, we know that now, but those listening to the prophet did not have the full spectrum of the divine light.

God in his wisdom appealed to what they were familiar with...the things they would want to see changed. He speaks about a plentiful supply of water with beautiful gardens. They were in the desert; water was a scarce commodity. Today it is hard for us to believe it, but water is in short supply in many areas of the world.

God will provide for those who follow him. When you do not have access to water it would be much more challenging to believe the message of a caring God. Globally, 1.2 million people live in areas today wiht inadequate water supply.

Just this past summer we got a little taste of what it would mean to have a serious shortage of water. The promise of water got everyone's attention. It meant not only beautiful gardens but more food and less disease. They could bathe, a luxury when you are on a desert hike for years and years.

God wants us to thirst for him. If you do not know what you are missing you will not long for it? If you do not know there is an alternative how can you reach for it? God is saying, I am the alternative, this is what you have been missing. God is the missing link. The psalmist says 'teach me your ways Lord.' We need to be taught about the better way. The way God wants us live.

Jesus calls the tax collector, Matthew, and says come with me; there is a better way. I will teach you how to live abundantly. I will show the meaning of true wealth without collecting people's wages.

This image reflects God's promise of the abundance of water.

This photo is of the POP Sanctuary during Lent 2010.

Following the way of God leads us to the path of abundance.

An abundance that can only come from God.

With each glass of water you drink,

let that be a reminder of God's generous presence in your life.