Instructions for Holiness

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

This reading from Leviticus and the Gospel 

from Matthew are closely connected today. 

The Lord gives Moses a complete list 

of what it takes to be holy...

no stealing, lying, swearing, speaking falsely,

no fraudulent behavior, cursing,

not acts of dishonesty.

Slander is condemned as well as hatred

 and holding a grudge.

Be holy, for I, the LORD, 

your God, am holy.

For some people this list is just

 too overwhelming.

It is mostly negative and we live in the 'feel good' era.

The instructions to become as holy as God

 seem to be a bitter pill to swallow.

God, however. is the reflection 

of this extensive list in Leviticus.

His reflection is the resulting goodness

of the very holiness we long to attain.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

His words, no matter how challenging they are,

lead us to the holiness that he believes we can reach.

Holiness is our goal...

Holiness is what keeps us 

faithful to his commands...

Holiness gets us a place in heaven.

Jesus is very specific with his words in the Gospel.

Stating emphatically that when we treat 

others with kindness and love;

 it is God whom we are serving in disguise.

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

The positive message is what you did do 

for the least ones you really did for Jesus.

If we sincerely want to be more holy

 then we must operate within the

 'spirit and life' of Jesus.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart

find favor before you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

During this first week of Lent let us try to see others

 as a reflection of the holiness of God.

Put aside everything that is a distraction from the words

of God to be holy as he is holy.

Blessings in knowing that God

 would not ask us to do the seemingly impossible 

without being right there by our side.

May you have the peace of the Lord.

Holiness and Grace

~~~ 1 Peter 1:10-16 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Mark 10:28-31 ~~~

...set your hopes completely on the grace 
to be brought to you

at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday we heard 'for God all things are possible'.

Today we are directed toward the expression

 of hope through the grace.

Through grace we are fortified

 in our journey to becoming more holy.

Grace is equivalent to a dose of mega

 spiritual vitamins.

...be holy yourselves in every aspect 

of your conduct...

Grace is the nourishment for being holy.

Grace helps hold Jesus in our sight.

If Jesus is within your sight your conduct

 will reflect his holiness.

 ...many that are first will be last, 

and the last will be first.

In the journey toward deeper holiness 

everyone makes progress at their own rate.

This is not a race.

God is not comparing you to anyone else.

If God is not comparing you to anyone
then you should not either.

Stay focused...remember the story of the
Hare and the Tortoise.
The hare was far ahead of the
slow and steady tortoise.
In the end the tortoise wins because
 he does not give up. 

Blessings of holiness and grace.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Be More God-Like

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The words of the Lord are living words.

They refresh the soul.

They inspire us, guide us, counsel us in his ways.

The words of the Lord teach us a better way to live.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the LORD.

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

Lent is the perfect time to focus on our state of holiness.

If God did not think it was important

 for us to strive to be holy he would not

 have spoken these words.

We are a constant work in progress.

Our life is about getting to heaven

 which implies that we must be holy.

The words of God are life.

To be holy is to be in tune with God.

Whatever becomes of our life begins within our heart.

What we believe in is what we reach toward.

If we believe that being holy

 is worth while then we will make 

the necessary changes.

It will not be too overwhelming.

It will be invigorating to be more holy.

We were created in the image and likeness of God...

to be holy is to be more God like.

Blessings to become more like God.

Holiness is not just for the Saints...

holiness is for you.

~~~Peace~~~

In the Margins

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

If we are to be holy we must follow the words of the Lord.

It boils down to how we treat others; not surprising.

The words of the Lord are Spirit and Life.

His words refresh the soul...rejoice the heart...and endure forever.

Being holy is within our reach...

treat others as if you were caring for Jesus himself.

If you keep that in your heart and mind it will be easier.

Can you imagine being sinful in the presence of the Lord?

Yet we fail to see the face of Jesus in those around us.

It is so easy to dismiss this or that person for whatever reason.

‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Being holy requires us to put the needs of others before our own.

It is naturally our first instinct to take care of our own needs,

but the words of Jesus say something different.

Those who selfishly do only for themselves will be 

separated from those who do for others.

This seems easy, but it is a concept 

we must be reminded of often.

Do you want to be on the right side of Jesus?

That is where you will find those who found their way to being holy

 by ministering to the needs of those less fortunate.

From time to time we may find ourselves among

 those who are on the fringes.

God is always there disguised as one of them.

He blends in to everyone except 

those who are striving to be more holy.

The journey to holiness is mostly along the margins.

It is along the margins where we can find Jesus.

The margin is where we write notes to our self.

Write this note in your margin...

Whatever you do for the least, you do for Jesus.

...highlight it in yellow...bold the font if necessary...

do whatever it takes to make you take notice...

Save it as a reminded message on your phone...

whatever it takes to make you notice.

Blessings along the edge 

where we can find our way to becoming holy.

~~~Peace~~~

Where is it Hiding?

~~~ Mark 10:17-27 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Mark 10:28-31 ~~~

The last day to party before Easter Sunday.
For some it does take all forty days
to repent for their sins of just this one day of partying.

For most Mardi Gras is about the beads, the parades, the floats,
 and the costumes with masked faces.
For others it is a time to put aside their moral
conscience and let it all out...
literally.

The first reading today is calling us again to be holy.

...be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.

Even among themselves, the apostles
were bickering about which one of them should be the greatest.

They each had clearly made sacrifices to follow Jesus.
Each one left their families and their jobs.
Are they bragging about not being like
the rich man who could not give up his wealth?

Jesus assures them that their sacrifice has not gone unnoticed by him,
nor has it been trivialized.
However, he says...
...But many that are first will be last, 
and the last will be first.

Jesus recognizes one thing they have not given up for him;
their ego. Clearly they have held on to what they feel entitled to
...a special place...their just reward.
What are you holding back from Jesus?
We all have something.

Search the depths of your heart.
Where is it hiding?
Or is it in plain sight, but we are holding on to it
rather then releasing it to Jesus.

To be holy is to serve Jesus above all else.
To be holy is to be like Christ
who never put himself first before others.

Every time more of Jesus is revealed to us
we are consequently more abundantly Blessed.

Let us never forget the Lord has made known to us his salvation.
Peace.

Transparent Honesty

~~~Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time~~~

~~Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18~~Psalm 103~~1 Corinthians 3:16-23~~Matthew 5:38-48~~

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

This seems like an impossible directive to follow.
We are not asked to go out searching for the illusive holiness.
In fact this holiness is not something we find in isolation.
This holiness is found in how we radiate God to others.
God manifests his holiness through all of his actions...
through all of creation.
We are called to live our holiness, not on our knees,
but on our feet and with our hands.
Our holiness is made evident in how we view others.
Can we see all peoples with the eyes of God.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

Holiness is being in a constant state of gratitude.
All that we have and all that we will have
comes from the abundance of God.
Having a relationship with God does come with its perks...
He showers us with his gifts of love and mercy.

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Worthy or not we cannot stop our God from
wanting to dwell within us.

Without this indwelling of the Spirit of God we would not exist.
When God dwells in us we become his hands and feet here on the earth.
It is with his hands that we clasp the hand of a loved one.
It is with his arms that we give the hug of hope.
It is with his voice that we speak words of forgiveness.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

It is true, in the traditional understanding of perfection,
we can never be perfect while on this earth.
But this perfection we are desiring is about being aligned
with God in mind, body, and spirit.

Having our whole being in tune with him.
In perfection, in wholeness there is no place for duplicity.
There can be no trace of deceit.
There must be only transparent honesty as to who we are...
For we are dust and to dust we shall return.

Perhaps we do not stop to appreciate just how Blessed
we are to be considered as the dwelling place of the Lord.

For in him we live and breathe and move.
Without him we are nothing.
May the peace of the Lord envelope you.

The Challenge of Being Holy

 

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

 

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

 

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’

 

God lays before us the formula for leading a holy life.

He urges us to be holy just as he is holy.

This may seem like a daunting command,

 but the words of scripture today give us some concrete guidelines.

 

We should not steal, lie, swear, curse, defraud, trick, act dishonestly, spread slander,

on perhaps the most important command is

You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.

 

Having been a recent victim of theft I can say

not bearing hatred in your heart is challenging.

I have prayed for the thief, but I still find it hard to excuse the personal violation.

 

Unfortunately we live in a society where lying, cheating

 and stealing is becoming the norm.

We are beginning to forget what it means to have values.

Every day we come into contact with people who have no character.

They have no respect for someone else's property.

There is no such thing as boundaries.

Loving someone who wrongs you takes a conscious act of will.

 

 

What if you can only go through the motions of loving

someone who has wronged you?

Are you then also unpleasing before God?

 

I have prayed that this person would have a conversion of heart.

I am not hopeful, however, that this will happen.

 

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you

 

Help me Lord to keep the thoughts of my heart pleasing to you.

I have made an effort to be more kind to others.

 I am hoping that the small difference

I can make will somehow contradict the evil in our society today.

 

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.