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.

Blessings of Fatherhood

~~~Feast of Saint Joseph~~~

 

~~~ 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 ~~~ Psalm 89 ~~

~~~Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 ~~ Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a ~~~

 

 

If I had a daughter Joseph would be the kind of man I would want her to marry.

Joseph was a man of character and integrity.

He exhibited great compassion for Mary under extreme circumstances.

Pregnancy out of wed lock would have been a disgrace for both of them.

Their respective families would also have been embarrassed.

It should not be surprising that God would have hand picked such a man

to accompany Mary for this holy event.

Dreams and angels were all the assurance Joseph had to convince him

staying with Mary was the right decision.

Joseph had no idea that the Holy Spirit was overshadowing everything.

 

Mary respected Joseph so much that she even refers to Joseph as

Jesus' father when he is twelve.

She says,

“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”

 

Jesus, as we know, had remained in the temple

instead of leaving with his parents.

Jesus did not act a typical rebellious teen;

instead he respected their wishes. He returned to Nazareth with them.

Jesus was doing the work of his heavenly Father, but he is also

obedient to his earthly father...Joseph.

Jesus himself never tried to deny or trivialize the fatherhood of Joseph.

This is a beautiful tribute to the person of Joseph.

He was deprived of biological fatherhood

 yet put in the place of honor as the father of Jesus.

 

Jesus probably never told Joseph that he didn't have to obey him

 because he was not really his father.

In today's world, unfortunately, that would not be uncommon.

 

I believe Joseph was strong yet meek and humble.

Joseph, as a carpenter, could look at a chunk of wood and envision

how it could be transformed into something useful.

He could plan take a piece of wood into his shop and create something

useful and beautiful.

Most likely he took great pride in his finished products.

Mary surely was proud of what he could make for them

and how he could provide for her and Jesus.

 

Joseph was a builder. Jesus was a builder too.

Jesus is still building up the kingdom here on earth.

He calls us to join him in his mission of building.

 

 

Being a father does not rely solely on biology.

It is much more.

Blessings to those men who are fathers with no gene connection.

Love will make up for more than any thing else; we see it here with Joseph.

 

Saint Joseph, pray for all fathers.

Saint Joseph, pray for my father, Joseph,

who was also a gifted wood worker.

Obedience of a Child

~~~ Ezekiel 2: 8-3: 4 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Mathew 18: 1-5, 10, 12-14 ~~~

You are what you eat,

literally and figuratively.

The Lord God placed before the prophet a special meal.

Initially Ezekiel is scolded as you would speak to a disobedient child.

"...obey me when I speak to you..

 be not rebellious...

but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you."

God is speaking with authority over Ezekiel as a parent to child.

Stern but loving....I saw a hand stretched out to me..

An obedient child does what he/she is told and does not ask questions.

Ezekiel was obedient to God.

So when God said,

"Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll,

then go, speak to the house of Israel."

Ezekiel did as he was told and was pleasantly surprised by what he tasted.

The scroll covered in the words of the Lord was as sweet as honey.

Ezekiel opened his mouth and God fed him on the scroll.

God was satisfying the hunger of the prophet in a way he would not

have conjured up on his own.

I am not sure if the words of God are always as sweet as honey.

They sometimes taste bitter and more like sour lemons.

"Lamentation and wailing and woe!"

I have wished that I could consume the words of the Bible.

 So that they would be such a part of my being that I was one with them.

For all that you eat becomes part of every living cell in your body.

If the words of scripture could be part of every cell in my body

just maybe I would be a better person.

My lips would only speak the words from the Lord himself.

These words of the Lord would be the only joy of my heart.

The disciples ask Jesus,

"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"

He certainly must have surprised them with his answer

to become like children...humble...

The nature of the question tells us they were ready to compare themselves

to those who may have not been following Jesus at that particular time.

Becoming like a child is one thing, but he added the whole humility bit.

Becoming humble takes eating the scroll and allowing it to become

part of the fiber of your being.

In some way or another we all fall into the trap of thinking we are better

than so and so because we_______.

You can fill in the blank with any number of things.

Lord, help me to consume your words, accepting them in humility,

without trying to compare or control.

I freely take the scroll containing your holy words.

I promise childlike obedience to your words.

The Humble Servant, Joseph

~~~ Sam.7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16, ~~~ Psalm 89 ~~~ Rom. 4:13, 16-18, 22 ~~~ Matt.1:16, 18-21, 24a ~~~

In the bosom of Abraham, who is the father of all of us, as it is written...
Today is the feast of St. Joseph. He, as was Mary, was chosen by God to be entrusted with the care of the child Jesus. Joseph must have had a deep faith.

He responded to the advice of God in a dream where an angel speaks to him. He was a man of great honor, for he did not want to embarrass Mary because of her unwed pregnancy. Joseph trusted that God the Father would guide him and lead him in the care of both Mary and the child, Jesus.

Joseph led this Holy Family by surrendering to the will of God. For these were not the plans he had envisioned for his life. There was no way he could have had any idea of what he would be called to do. Joseph was able to lead the family to safety and to provide for them as a humble servant of God. He was obedient to God at every venture in his life.

I feel sure that Joseph came to love and care for Mary. He was charged with the protection of both Mary and Jesus from those wanting to harm him from his birth. As Jesus grew older Joseph would spend time with him teaching him how to be a model Jewish boy. Jesus was likely taught much about the writings of the prophets by Joseph.
Jesus would have called Joseph dad or father at least until he was lost in the temple.

That is the last time anything is recorded in scripture about Joseph. Sadly we have very little given to us through scripture concerning Joseph. Most likely he did come from a very devout holy family. A family that believed in the word of God. A family that accepted mysteries without question. God would not have chosen someone for this important roll in the life of Jesus who was not holy.

I wonder why we do not have any accounts of Jesus using carpentry stories in any of his parables? He was a very good story teller; it was easy to identify with his life examples and the various situations in people's lives.

Saint Joseph shows us how to be supportive yet humble in our service to God.
We can step back and still be in an important roll.


Take Off Your Sunglasses

 ~~~ Isaiah 58:1-9a ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 9: 14-15 ~~~

Have you ever noticed that whenever a person does not want to be recognized the first thing they put on is sunglasses. Celebrities are often seen being hurriedly whisked away into their waiting limo wearing sunglasses. The darkness of the tinted lens, while providing protection from harmful UV light, also hides your eyes. Eyes hidden behind these lens cannot be seen by others.

I believe your eyes are the windows into your soul, as some writers have previously stated. If your eyes are shielded from the sight of others what could that imply?

I would offer a connection between sunglasses and the words from the Isaiah reading today.

Those fasting with heads downcast covered in ashes wearing their penitential sackcloth are in fact wearing sunglasses. Their view of their world is dark, introverted and self centered. They are only looking down seeing nothing but the dirt and mud in their path. They do not look out. They do not see others. They do not make any attempt at eye contact. Eye contact at this point might be uncomfortable.

I personally dislike talking with someone wearing sunglasses precisely because I cannot see their eyes. Our eyes are so very expressive. You can tell if a person is joyful or sad by looking into their eyes. Some time ago I created a YouTube video titled Eye Gazing. It is simply suggesting that you spend time gazing into the eyes of Jesus. Meditating on his loving gaze can bring deep peace to your soul.

Today Isaiah is saying hey guys take off those dark glasses. Open your eyes. Look up and you will see what really matters to God. "What is the purpose having your eyes fixed on the ground?" asks, Jesus. Therefore, if what you are doing is ineffective I am not even going to acknowledge your actions.  

Jesus enters the scene saying, 'take off the sunglasses' and you will be able to see what I see. If you take off those dark glasses you will see those who are in most need of your attention. You know the ones you try to ignore by bowing down looking at the dirt and shading your eyes.

Look around and you will see those whom God cares most about...the oppressed, the hungry, the poor, naked, and the homeless to name a few. When you look up at these faces and into these eyes, my friends, find compassion in your heart. Take action on their behalf. Get up from your introverted ash covered penitential pieties and do something for those in need. Do something to help your brothers and sisters who are  suffering. There are opportunities all around if you but open your eyes and look.

When you reach out to those less fortunate you come to realize how blessed you are. You come to understand that hiding behind your sunglasses is not all that pleasing to God.

The Lord says, if you help those in need; when you call on me to come to your aid I will say, "Here I am!

You may find it surprising, but helping the less fortunate in our community does have a gold lining.

In the act of reaching out to help another your own burdens are lifted.

God will say to you, "Here I am1"

 So during this Lent I invite you to take off your sunglasses...

see where you can help another person in need.

 Join the psalmist...Let your sacrifice be a contrite and humble heart.