Are You Honest with Yourself?

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 ~~~ Psalm 139 ~~~ Matthew 23:27-32 ~~~

Jesus continues to harp on the scribes and Pharisees...

Accusing them of white washing the exterior of the tombs

while fully knowing that inside lies rotten flesh and dry bones.

He goes on to accuse them of pretending

 to have been better than those who have died.

 ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,

we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’

Jesus is not easily fooled by their play with words.

Jesus is not impressed by their external appearance and practices.

Jesus knows that the scribes and the Pharisees

are not connected to the truth of Psalm 139.

You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

They shun away from uttering these words.

They fool themselves into believing that only 

they know what lies within their heart.

They fool themselves into believing that Jesus

 is just like the rest of the people.

With the scribes and Pharisees what you see is not what you get.

They lie about who they are and what they are

 right to the face of everyone.

But when they try their usual tactics with Jesus;

it fails to work...Jesus knows too much.

Jesus does not have a crystal ball or any magic abilities.

Nothing is or can be hidden from Jesus...

not darkness...not far away places...

no mountain tops or ocean depths.

Where can I go from your spirit?

From your presence where can I flee?

Secretly the scribes and Pharisees 

are seeking a place where Jesus is not present.

Jesus makes them feel very uncomfortable,

but they remain stubborn, resistant, hard headed.

They continue to polish their public appearance...

they whitewash the sad facade of their life.

Jesus hears their empty words.

Just as he hears all of our words too.

We cannot say or act in such a manner that would

camouflage our true self from God. 

You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

We must learn from the foolish thinking 

of the scribes and Pharisees.

Pretending to be better than we really

 are inside does not work with Jesus.

Imagine Jesus laughing the next time you

are temped to think you can fool him.

Jesus knows us more intimately than our parents or our friends.

Jesus knows us better than we may even know ourselves.

If you pretend long enough you may be able to fool yourself.

You may be able to rationalize away all of your 

ways which are not pleasing to God.

The most holy people learned to come to Jesus 

with their flaws and weaknesses.

We must come to Jesus with an honest open heart.

He is the great healer,

but first you must be honest with yourself.

This is how you are able...

walk in a manner worthy of the God...

who calls you, knows you, and loves you.

May all the days of your life be Blessed

 first from the inside. 

~~~Peace~~~

Freedom...Honesty...Fairness

~~~ Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Matthew 9:9-13 ~~~

The flea market is open for business.
The concept of free enterprise is nothing new.
Taking advantage of the unsuspecting consumer has been
around since ancient times.

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
“When will the new moon be over,” you ask,
“that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?”
We will diminish the containers for measuring,
add to the weights,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly man for silver,
and the poor man for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!”

This is from the Amos reading chapter 8 verses 4-6.

Today the same tactics take place as was reported this week in the news.
A well known supermarket was adding the weight of the container
along with the contents, thus over charging the consumer.

We live in the land of the free...the home of the brave.
We love our free enterprise system.

If we are following the words of the Lord
 we should all be operating in honesty and fairness.

Jesus called a tax collector to follow him.
A tax collector had the reputation for being dishonest,
from collecting more money than was required.
The extra money was used to line the pocket
 of the collector himself.

It is true that Jesus came to heal those who were in need of a physician.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.

Jesus came for all of us, including those we personally
would like to see excluded.

One does not live by bread alone, but by every word 
that comes from the mouth of God.

The longer one acts unjustly operating out of selfishness,
the more difficult it will become to hear the words of the Lord.
Eventually it will become more and more difficult
to act according to the precepts set by God.
The Lord wants justice and fairness for all peoples.

...In search of the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.

Every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord
is for our benefit...our blessing.
Today as we celebrate our freedom and our independence
let us also be mindful of honesty and fairness.
~~~Peace~~~

Bragging to God

~~~Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time~~~

 

~~~Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18~~~Psalm 34~~~2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18~~~Luke 18:9-14~~~

 

Two men went up to the temple to pray.
A Pharisee and a tax collector.
The Pharisee immediately begins telling God what great person he was...
thanking God that he was not like most other sinners.
Somehow he has labeled himself as better, superior.
He elaborates on the sins he perceives others to be guilty of committing...
greed, dishonesty, adultery...or even like this tax collector.
Without even really knowing the other man
he judges himself to be better.
He is plagued with his own self wonderment.

He waits no time in informing God of what he does;
to make himself worthy of being labeled a 'better' person.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.

As you have already figured out God is not impressed.
He is never impressed when we are boastful for our own indulgence. 

 

 

The tax collector presents a very different picture.
  ...the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

  

Jesus often does give us two views of the same situation. 

Notice we are told where the tax collector is standing.
He stands off at a distance...oops does that mean
I should not sit in the front of church anymore? I hope not. 

 

The tax collector is humbly approaching God in prayer.
The tax collector is admitting his sinfulness.
The tax collector is being honest with himself; he asks for
God to be merciful. 

He wants God to know that he is repentant for his sins against God.

These two men both come up to the temple,
 but with two very different attitudes.

One comes to brag on himself
the other comes with full disclosure of his sins. 

 

Usually when we start to brag about ourselves
we are headed for trouble. 

 

Have you heard the saying...
except for the grace of God, there go I?
That is not bragging because it is giving God the credit
 for all things good in your life. 

 

It is only because of the grace of God that we can
come before him in repentance. 

Blessings come from approaching
God with humble honesty.

 We do not need to impress God with our goodness
 at the expense of others.