Self Banishment

~~~ First Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7~~Psalm 51~~Romans 5:12-19~~Matthew 4:1-11~~

Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Adam and Eve ate of the tree of good and evil...the tree of knowledge...
after being tempted by the serpent.
The knowledge they gained was that they were naked.
Before their transgression their natural bodies were not an issue for them.
They were exactly as God had created them to be...
perfect in every way.

Once they had gained knowledge from the fruit of the tree they
banished themselves from the presence of God.
They hid and covered themselves with the largest
leaves they could find...

When we sin it is not God that casts us out
we remove ourselves from his presence.
The magnificence of God is such that sin makes
us repulsive to ourselves.
God, on the other hand, is always more than willing
 for us to repent and return to his gaze.

When we turn away from sin and return to God it is just
as wonderful as when the Prodigal Son returned to his earthly father.

It is very early in our Lenten time of repentance and mercy.
We repent and God forgives in his infinite mercy.

I invite you to use this Lent to examine what you are hiding from God.

Of course we know that we can hide nothing from him,
but still we look for somewhere to hide our face.

We are blessed to have a Creator God who forgives all
of our indiscretions.
Peace.

Long to be Breathless

~~~1 Kings 10:1-10~~~ Psalm 37~~~Mark 7:14-23~~~

God granted Solomon the gift of profound wisdom.

The wealthy queen of Sheba sought him out;

she wanted to see for herself.

The queen had heard many rumors of his great wisdom.

She arrived ready to put him to the test.

She stood in his presence asking him question after question

to which he quickly and confidently gave his answers.

...she was breathless.

Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.

The queen recognized and acknowledges

 the greatness of Solomon's wisdom...

a gift for which he asked God to bestow upon him.

What renders you breathless?

Jesus explains that it is not what we consume that corrupts us.

Our corruption does, however, begin from within.

Only those things which we harbor in our heart can we spew forth.

If we have hatred, anger, greed, jealousy, 

arrogance...these come from within.

 ...the things that come out from within are what defile.

If we let darkness fill the unattended 

or ignored spaces in our heart,

this will become the source of our corruption.

But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts...

It is of vital importance that we keep ourselves vigilant.

What goes in will ultimately come out.

I have been around people who routinely cuss and curse;

this is the steady diet they have fed their heart.

If necessary limit the time you spend with this person. 

How many times we begin to mimic the actions

 and the sayings of those we hang out with.

If you want to be breathless, like the queen,

be aware of with whom you are spending the most time.

Plan to spend time with those who emulate

that which you admire most.

God blesses us with the ability to push the evil from our hearts.

He offers to replace it with his light and goodness. 

Draw goodness from those who have goodness.

You can strengthen one another.

Peace.

...to be Breathless...

Is Money the Root of All Evil?

 

~~~ 1 Timothy 6:2c-12 ~~~ Psalm 49 ~~~ Luke 8:1-3 ~~~

 

...the love of money is the root of all evils...

 

Love...Money...Evil

 

Money itself is not evil, but rather it is the attitude

of the one who has the money.

Is money what we value the most?

Is money really everything?

We do need a certain amount of money in order to live in this world.

 

There are some people who have more money

than they need and there are those

who barely get enough money to buy the necessities.

There are those individuals who are very generous

with their money, they give to charities.

There are some wealthy who even leave endowment funds.

 

The key word in the verse about money is the word love.

Love is a strong emotional word.

Does it really belong coupled with money?

 

Recently there have been many studies concerning

money and happiness with surprising results.

The overwhelming conclusion is that more money does not

translate to greater happiness.

Money is a tool.

Many times we just throw more money into a project

only to find that it fails any way.

 

Recently there have been huge power ball lottery winners.

I wonder if they are really that much happier or is it a means

 to just become a grand foolish person.

Does more money simply give us the permission

to spend more frivolously?

 

In reality you can be happy if you are poor

and you can be happy if you are wealthy.

The opposite is also true because it is not the money

 that determines a persons happiness.

 

It is true that the more money you have at your disposal

the more choices are set before you.

 

Jesus did not have money, but he did have many choices.

Three women accompanied Jesus and his apostles on their journeys.

These three women came from very different backgrounds.

I wonder how they came to be the three who traveled with Jesus?

These three named women...

Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna

coming from diverse backgrounds.

They came together for a common purpose...to serve Jesus and his twelve men.

These women served Jesus in the background.

They most likely told their friends

much about what they heard and saw

through the service of the Lord.

 

These three women represent the diversity

of even the women who followed Jesus.

From sinners to the well off; all can serve the Lord.

 

This is where the dilemma lies with having money.

Does money prevent one from serving the Lord?

Is it just too difficult to have the distraction of money.

When given the choice of serving God

or having money which does one choose?

The question remains;

is money really the root of all evil?

 

Blessings come through discerning

what is worth loving.

Money can certainly not be the end all for either happiness or evil,

but rather it is how we value our money.

Tip the Scales

 

~~~ Exodus 1:8-14, 22 ~~~ Psalm 124 ~~~ Matthew 10:34—11:1 ~~~

 

Jesus broadened the scope, by showing us

 that our neighbor may be a stranger.

While this seems contradictory, it is what Jesus

gives us to reflect upon.

 

If a stranger can be considered our neighbor

worthy of our compassion;

then our family may likewise be a source of evil.

Sometimes the best way to get your point across

 is to polarize the issue at hand.

Presenting the extremes helps us to identify where we fall in between

or where we want to strive towards.

 

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.

 

The sword????

 

Jesus wants to rid the world of darkness...of all evil influences.

He uses examples concerning those we may not even consider...

fathers, mothers, daughters, sons etc.

 

Our true peace does not lie within our family members.

Our true peace lies within our personal relationship with God.

Can we honestly say that we love God above all else?

 

 

We are being invited to evaluate our personal relationship with others.

 

Consider how much you love your parents.

Consider how much you love your siblings.

Consider how much you love your spouse.

Consider how much you love your children.

 

Imagine that no matter how great your love is for others in your life;

you must love God even more.

 

This is hard to determine because love

is not something we can measure.

Love initially springs forth from the heart via chemicals

released into the blood stream.

We have the feelings associated with 'being in love'.

Eventually as these chemicals dissipate

we must use our mind to make the intention to love.

 

The chemical induced love cannot sustain our love for another.

Loving God requires effort on our part

because we are constantly being presented with reasons not to love.

 

We fall into the trap of blaming God for whatever

does not go well in our lives.

There are so many temptations in this world hiding in plain sight

that we actually miss them.

 

Jesus tells his disciples...open your mind...

expand your vision of that which is good,

 but also of that which is potentially evil.

 

We live in a world where it sometimes appears

that evil is stronger than good.

We must make the commitment to live in such a way

as to have no doubt

of our intentional commitment

to that which is good.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

 

Our Blessings come in

what we do to make love stronger than evil.

How are we living our conviction

 to love God above all else

and our neighbor as ourselves?

 

This week be aware

 of how you can love with greater depth.

Tip the scales with your love for what is of God.

Only One Can Reign in Your Heart

~~~ Hebrews 9: 15, 24-28 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Mark 3: 22-30 ~~~

 

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

 

The mighty one has indeed done marvelous deeds for us.

Through the pouring out of his own blood and not that of a sacrificial animal

he completed the offering once and for all.

His one single perfect sacrifice expiated the sins of the whole world for all ages.

No human before him had been capable of this sacrifice.

He was fulfilling the will of the one who sent him.

He was not going through the sacrificial ritual;

he was the sacrifice.

 

The scribes were puzzled by what Jesus was accomplishing through his powers.

They were perhaps a little jealous as well.

Whenever you are jealous of someone you try to make light of anything

that they do that you want to be able to do too.

 

This is one such example...

the scribes decide that because Jesus can cast out demons,

which they connect with evil, he must be aligned with evil as well.

Obviously Satan would not listen to anyone other than one of his own kind.

 

Way back in the Garden of Eden Satan obviously thought that he had the upper hand.

He believed that we humans were going to be easily swayed to join him in his evil ways.

To some extent he was correct, but then Jesus came and things began to change.

 

Satan needed someone greater and stronger to overcome his wickedness.

Someone more powerful did indeed come in the person of Jesus.

Jesus knew who Satan was all too well.

 

"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him..."

 

You can either pledge your allegiance to God or Satan.

The two cannot simultaneously reign in your heart.

You cannot decide one day to be on the side of evil and the next the side of good.

But we are weak human beings and the temptations presented before us require

us to be ever vigilant.

This is not always easily accomplished it is a constant battle.

 

 

Today we join the Dominicans in honoring Saint Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the church.

He was one of the most important Medieval philosophers and theologians.

 

The Summa Theologica is his most well known writing.

You might look it up later.

 

A few quotes from St. Thomas...

 

The things that we love tell us what we are.

 

How can we live in harmony?

First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.

 

 Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.

 

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.

To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

 

Wonder is the desire for knowledge.

 

Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen.

 

Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

Illuminate Goodness

 

~~~ Proverbs 3: 27-34 ~~~ Psalm 15 ~~~ Luke 8:16-18 ~~~

 

If you are a good person you will shine brightly.

God urges us to extend our good will towards others...

just as he did.

 

God desires for all people to get along.

God desires us to put quarreling and envy aside.

These serve no purpose if you are living your life with the Lord.

 

The Lord delights in the humble one; he shows them kindness.

 

The Proverbs have a slight echo of what we hear in the ten commandments.

 

If you can maintain your goodness in the face of temptation

you will be a light to others.

 

It takes being constantly aware of how you are acting towards others

for your light to shine.

If we are not vigilant in striving to be a better person,

our light will become dim.

If you let little negative things enter into your heart

your light will gradually become dim.

This will happen over time thus you may not even notice,

until one day you discover you no longer have any light left to shine.

 

We need the light not only to shine for others, but for ourselves.

We need to be able to see inside to look at our hearts...

this requires the light of humility.

 

 

I think herein lies the tension...

How do you let your light shine forth and still remain humble?

How do you do right and just things and not let it go to our head?

 

Doing right does not mean that you broadcast it from the rooftops.

The good person does not require acknowledgment.

The good person does not require

the 'job well done' accompanied by a hearty whack on the back.

 

God does not give you pats on the back for doing the right things...

He just expects you will.

 

Living in goodness does require you to take certain actions.

Your goodness must be exemplified by your actions.

It is much easier to reach out to others in loving care

if you first have it in your own heart.

 

I invite you to pause today; 

 imagine what your

heart looks like filled with goodness.

 

This goodness is the light that expels all darkness.

The darkness of temptation and sin.

The darkness of evil, war, and jealousy.

 

This light is given to us by God as he sees fit.

Place this light on a lamp stand for all to see as they enter

into your personal space.

No one can see your light if you keep it locked inside.

 

Light is meant to make visible that which otherwise

would remain in the darkness.

 

Your light is needed in this world!

Please let it illuminate the way for others.

Acne From Within

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~~ Dt 4: 1:2, 6-8 ~~~ Psalm 15~~~ James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 ~~~ Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 ~~~

 

I remember as a teenager how challenging a sudden breakout

of acne was on my face.

You just want to scrape the top layer of your skin off,

but that is not the case.

Instead you take your mother's advice and begin to take

better care of keeping your skin clean.

Pretty soon your face does clear up and you

hope to avoid another embarrassing outbreak.

 

Listening to the end of the gospel today reminded me of acne,

not of the skin

of the soul.

"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."

 

Acne comes from within it is often related to hormones or even diet.

Cleaning the skin helps to keep it from spreading

to other areas of the face and body.

 

Most sins begin first in the the mind.

You commit the sin within your mind and imagination.

After the sin has been committed within

it erupts like a bad case of acne.

This acne is first breeding within defacing the soul.

Imagine the sinful soul having an acne breakout.

Not a pretty picture in my mind...

Red pus filled red bumps waiting to ooze

their infection out to nearby tissue.

 

Consider receiving Eucharist as often as you can

as kind of antibiotic for the soul.

An antibiotic to prevent or clear up the acne of the soul.

Think of the clean heart scenario as well.

 

We must be vigilant and guard against

the evil thoughts that come from within.

 

The opening prayer today is one we might want to pray

throughout this week.

 

God of might, giver of every good gift,

put into our hearts the love of your name,

so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,

you may nurture in us what is good

and, by your watchful care,

keep safe what you have nurtured.

 

If we ask God himself to safe guard our hearts

we are acknowledging that the is a task to large to do alone.

 

If we ask God to nurture us in what is good

we will have less space within our hearts for those evil thoughts.

Evil thoughts once planted in our hearts can cause an overnight acne breakout.

Asking God to keep watchful care over us does not mean

that we relinquish our responsibility to also care for ourselves.

 

It does mean that when we are in partnership with God

the care of our souls may become easier.

If God is caring for our soul he will not stop us

from entertaining the evil thoughts when they come.

We have to decide to let the evil thoughts go.

Give these thoughts to God when they arise within.

 

 

 

It is only by the grace of God, as St. Paul would say, that we have any chance of keeping this acne of the soul from spreading.

It is only through this God connection that we can prevent the acne within from bursting forth and spreading into our surrounding environment.

Evil for Evil or Good for Good?

~~~ 1 Kings 21: 1-16 ~~~ Psalm 5 ~~~ Matt. 5: 38-42 ~~~

Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand him your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."

This particular Gospel passage is one of the more challenging ones to follow.

at first reading is seems to be advocating us to be passive in the face of injustice.

Are we to surrender to the evil abounding in this world today or is there a better way to respond? Is it possible to support what is right?

Of course it would not be prudent to act in kind to one who has done wrong to you are your family, but we do see this happen all too often. Much of the violence in our society today would diminish if people did not feel it was their 'right' to react in kind. Evil for evil will never solve our problems. When we respond in kind we are in effect no better than the one who initially committed the offense.

Without delving into the Biblical history and their system of punishment.

I would like to purpose that we return one good deed for another.

One kindness...one act of charity...one act of compassion...one expression of love...one note of appreciation...one sincere offer of forgiveness

...one phone call of caring...one courtesy on the highway

...one gift of prayer...one smile to a stranger...one empathetic embrace

in exchange for an eye for an eye and evil for evil.

Instead return to the fifth chapter of Matthew and review the 8 Beaitudes.

Especially pray with the third Beatitude:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land...

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.

 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

 Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matt.5: 5, 11-12

It requires more grace to live a life following the Beatitudes.

It is much easier just to react to the situations which empact our self worth.

Our whole life must be lived from the point of forgiveness, not getting even.

How many times are we to forgive?

May your days here be filled with peace in spite of what erupts from

today's wounded and crippled world.