Your 'Soul Cup'

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 139 ~~~ Matthew 23:23-26 ~~~

You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

This verse is from Psalm 139, 

one of the most beautiful psalms in the Bible.

God knew you before you were completely put together.

God created you in your mother's womb.

God knows intimately what you are made of..

how you were made.

When you are born God releases you into the world.

In your younger days you take delight in the simple pleasures of life.

All things are good, in the perfect world.

You are fed, clothed, and most importantly loved.

Over time we begin to change...

These changes are not always for our good.

We get ourselves into situations we would rather not be...

we begin to keep them hidden inside.

Paul learns that it is best to not keep things hidden inside.

He tells the people his words come directly from God.

He is not trying to deceive, fool, or impress anyone.

He is openly doing what God has entrusted him 

to do...preach the good news.

...we were determined to share with you

not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well...

Fast forward to Jesus speaking to the scribes and Pharisees.

They have become hypocrites.

Jesus sees right through their external facade.

The are just empty shells of brick and plaster 

with nothing of substance inside.

He probes into their very being.

He sees the inside of the cup.

They have spent so much time making 

their physical appearance perfect that inside has become corroded.

You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,

but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.

They have let the inside of the cup...their soul...

become almost unrecognizable to their creator.

God must be disappointed when he sees

 how we forget about the inside of our soul cup.

As you grow in holiness you come to understand

 that it is the inside of the cup that must receive your attention.

It does not matter what the outside looks like

 if the inside to crusted over with many years of debris.

The inside of our cup becomes defiled because 

we become preoccupied with things that do not matter

Our task is to dedicate time to keep the inside of our cup clean.

This is not too difficult as long as we do not let 

scum and mildew defile the inside.

Keep ever present in your mind the understanding that

God knows you inside and out.

His interest and love for you

is primarily focused

 on the inside of your 'soul cup'.

You are Blessed by a God who knows 

how lovely you can be both outside and inside.

It was your inside 'soul cup' that he created first.

Get busy with the scrubbing brushes.

Bring back the shine inside.

~~~Peace~~~

What are You Blind To

The Memorial of St. Augustine

~~~ 2 Thes 2: 1-3a, 14-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Matthew 23: 23-26 ~~~

 

St. Augustine is called the Doctor of Grace.

Once again the scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites

get an in your face experience from Jesus....

 

"...You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin..."

 

I can just see it now if we were to start bringing herbs and

pungent spices as our offering to church each week.

Is this really what it means to tithe?

I think, not.

Jesus goes on to tell them what they have been ignoring instead...

"...have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity."

 

They have neglected judgment to the point that they have appointed

themselves as the judge and the jury.

They had the final say,

because after all they were the law scholars.

No offense to the lawyers out there.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of judging others.

We can come up with so many reasons as to why

we are justified in judging someone.

Next time you are tempted to judge someone, pause

for a minute and ask yourself,

'Why do I feel the need to judge this person?'

 

They have neglected mercy because when you are always right

what use is mercy to you.

Mercy is for those who want to make amends with their

fellow community and family members.

Mercy is for the weak those you pity.

They did not have time to be bothered with mercy.

Mercy requires that you actually hear what the other person has to say.

Mercy is not only about your side of the story.

Mercy is something freely given to each of us by God.

Mercy requires compassion and kindness extended toward others.

The scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites had no time for this either.

If you are the judge and jury mercy is not part of the equation.

 

Lastly Jesus chooses to include fidelity.

We are not talking about the well known insurance company here.

The dictionary defines fidelity as faithfulness to a cause, person, or belief

demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.

Instead of being faithful to the teachings of the Lord;

 they become the nit pickers.

Scrutinizing the dot on every i and the cross on each t

became their greatest concern.

 

Jesus does not stop here he continues to pour more fuel on the fire...

"...Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!"

 

There are times when the little things would be better ignored

so that you can address the larger concepts.

You know how very tiny a gnat is compared to a camel.

Furthermore a camel can store up 'stuff' in those signature humps.

They just totally miss the point.

I know some educators exactly like this with their students.

Is the student getting the work done precisely as the teacher has instructed?

Are the margins set to the teacher's specifications?

You get the point.

 

But here comes the real clincher from Jesus.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean."

He points out that they are lacking in self examination.

The have not been inclined to look at their own self.

They are so busy with judging and scrutinizing everyone else.

They do not see their own internal corruption.

 

This is true for ourselves too.

If we take care of our spiritual self, that is the tending of our soul

we will also have a beautiful outside.

Whatever is inside will show on the outside.

We only pretend to believe that people cannot see who we really are.

 

 

Create in me a clean heart, O Lord.

Why do you think that psalm was written?

 

I think because if we keep ourselves on the the right track

it will be reflected in how we deal with others.

 

We will recognize that all judgment comes through God.

We will practice extending mercy to others even when it is difficult.

We will be faithful to the gospel message even when we find it challenging.

 

May the outside of your cup truly reflect the fine wine

stored within your heart.

 

St. Augustine, lead us to truth and knowledge.