Servant of the Poor

~~~ James 4:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 55 ~~~ Mark 9:30-37 ~~~

We must make the daily commitment
to submit ourselves to God,
because it is not easy.
Submitting oneself to God is the only real gift
we can give back to him.
Total giving of our will in submission to his will.
We pray this in the Our Father,
but do we really consider the impact
of 'thy will be done'?
We cannot squirm out of the full meaning of those words.
So submit yourselves to God.

Submitting your will to God's does not render you helpless.
The opposite is closer to the truth.
It takes great courage and trust to submit to God.
Just as the lambs submit to the shepherd,
because some how they know it is the best thing to do.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Psalm 55 today reminds us to give all of concerns to God
for he alone is the one who can make all things better.

When we remain close to the Lord
we come to believe that he is always beside us.

Humble yourselves before the Lord

and he will exalt you.

If you can believe with all of your heart that God cares for you,
then emptying yourself before him will give you peace.

In the end he will raise you to be with him in heaven.

“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 

Jesus humbled himself giving up his rightful place
in heaven to come down to live with us.
He came down to live among us.

He took on all of our human frailty, with the exception of sin.
He, the creator, took part in our human existence.
There is no greater act of humility
 than for God to become flesh and blood.
He completely embraced our physical wants and needs.
He had to have food, he had to have water to drink,
he became tired at times and needed to rest.
He had a family, friends, and personal relationships just like us.

Jesus blessed us with his presence among us;
not as a King
but rather as a servant.
How can we consider ourselves
 to be more deserving then our Lord?
Peace.

Summed Up in Five Words

~~~ Isaiah 55: 10-11 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matt. 6: 7-15 ~~~

Praise...Submit...Trust...Forgive...Salvation

The temptation to day would be to hear the gospel of Matthew, but not to really listen. Since it is Jesus teaching us how to pray through the Lord's Prayer i.e. the Our Father, we might just find it easier to go on auto pilot. We do that so often we when we hear something very familiar; the words become rote rambling. We arrive at the Amen and only then do we regain consciousness. I think when it comes to the Our Father in particular that is a real danger.

We recite this prayer at every Mass we attend. We recite this prayer several times with each Rosary we pray. We may even recite it when gathered with others for meetings. But reciting it and praying the Our Father are not one in the same. Praying the Our Father requires attention to the words used in each phrase. Some of what is included in the Our Father we might not even feel like believing much less praying.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, they kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

I encounter anxiety and conflict as soon as I get to...'thy will be done'. Truth be told sometimes I resist his will. Sometimes I get frustrated because I cannot see his will. Sometimes his will does not seem congruent with what I want. So this is where I need to stop and spend some time reflecting on God's will in my life. We are not always ready or willing to accept his will for us. It takes a life long commitment to living God's will. Sometimes I just want to act like a spoiled brat and say, 'No, that is most definitely not what I want to do. '...thy will be done...'

The next road block, and I mean road block complete with barricades and law enforcement, is the whole forgiving trespasses section. I heard a preacher on the radio recently that said, '...if you are having trouble in your marriage, Forgiveness...if you are having issues in the work place, Forgiveness...if you are experiencing problems in your church community, Forgiveness...' I think the hit the nail on the head.

In the Our Father Jesus is saying, 'Do you want me to forgive you the manner in which you forgive others?' I think we would all respond with a resounding 'NO'. We want to be forgiven more passionately than we want to forgive. For some reason we like to hold on to the bad feelings against those who have wronged us. But clearly that is not God's way. His way is always mercy and forgiveness. Next time you 'pray' this prayer ask for the grace to forgive as  God forgives. And the next time you want to go for someones jugular vein remember this prayer.

Those are the two most challenging parts of this beautiful prayer for me. I would like to offer you this prayer summed up in five words.

 Praise...Submit...Trust...Forgive...Salvation

In you prayer time this Lent I invite you to focus on Praising God, Submitting to his will when it is most difficult, Trusting that he will take care of your needs, Forgiving in all situations no matter what, and thanking Jesus for his precious gift of Salvation.

This original picture is the head only of Jesus hanging on the cross.

Spend time today really 'praying' the Our Father as it was meant to be prayed...

in praise, submission, trust, forgiveness, and through the grace of salvation.