Ego Trap

~~~ Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Isaiah 53:10-11 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ 

~~~ Hebrews 4:14-16 ~~~ Mark 10:35-45 ~~~

...the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Some of the apostles got a little carried away
with themselves when it came to Jesus and service.
James and John went too far with this request...

Teacher, we want you to do for us 
whatever we ask of you.

A servant may be at the beck and call of his master,
Jesus was taking the servant concept
much further.

There are not many servants who would be willing
 to give up their lives for their master.
That is exactly the kind of servant Jesus came to embrace.
Jesus was both servant and master...teacher.
Jesus came with wisdom and understanding far
beyond what the apostles could imagine.

James and John were confused.
Did they secretly want to be equal to Jesus?
Did they want to be a 'master'?
What kind of servant did they see in Jesus?

We can ask ourselves similar questions.
Sometimes our actions indicate that we
want to be equal with Jesus.

Perhaps we too have the desire to be seated on his side.
Perhaps we would like to have the recognition.

Jesus was both master and servant,
but he was dedicated to serving others.
His mission was to serve even unto his death on the cross.

I have only met a handful of people in my life
who truly have a servant heart and attitude.

We struggle with getting our egos out of the way.

Jame and John fell head first into the ego trap.
But they pretended to be disguised as servants of Jesus.

It is mostly our own egos that get us into trouble.
It is our ego that convinces us to things
 and say things before we think.

James and John were full of themselves.
They put a great value on the fact that they were with Jesus.
Their self confidence fueled by their ego  prevented
them from seeing Jesus as the servant and master.

Their egos caused problems among the other apostles.
Their egos caused the others to quarrel among themselves.
Who did James and John think they were
making such a request of Jesus.

Did they not all want to sit as his right and his left?

...through his suffering, my servant shall justify many...

James and John could not grasp the full understanding
 of the suffering Jesus was going to endure.

No mere human being could have endured
the suffering Jesus endured.

While he was fully human;
his heavenly father made it possible
through their intimate relationship
for Jesus to conquer death itself.

There was no other human who could have
accomplished such a mission.

Blessed to among the servants of the Lord.
May you too serve rather than be served...
this is the way of the Lord.

~~~Peace~~~

Out of This World

 

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 16:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ John 15:18-21 ~~~

 

'...because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.'

 

‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

It was common for people during the time of Jesus to keep slaves.

A slave would never consider him or herself greater than their master.

The master was the ruler the owner. The master had the final say in all matters.

The slave only performed those tasks dictated by the master.

 

Jesus came to do the will of the Father.

He surrendered himself just as a slave surrenders to their master.

A good, benevolent master took good care of his slaves.

The slaves were valuable.

They performed specific functions to make things run smoothly.

A master could not do everything that needed to get done without his slaves.

 

 

A devoted slave might have the occasion to admire the master.

A sharp slave might even have desired to be like the master...

to have his personality traits.

 

Jesus is telling his disciples that none of them will ever be greater

than he is because it simply cannot happen.

In fact the opposite is what they should expect.

If Jesus is persecuted then they too should expect to be persecuted.

If Jesus is misunderstood then they too will be misunderstood too.

 

We are not of this world we belong with God in heaven.

We believe that there is something more than the life we have here on Earth.

We believe there is something more beyond this physical life.

Dine with the Lord

 

~~~ Ephesians 6:1-9 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ Luke 13: 22-30 ~~~

 

 "...slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
willingly serving the Lord and not men..."

 

No matter who you are or where you, you can decide in your heart

to willingly serve the Lord.

There is no one who can change your heart but you.

It does not matter if you are rich or poor

your heart can serve the Lord.

The desires of your heart can form your attitude

to give praise and glory to God

in all that you do.

 

"...both they and you have a Master in heaven
and that with him there is no partiality."

 

In the sight of the Lord we are all equal.

In our human weakness we create different altitudes for holiness.

In reality you are either living for the Lord or you are living for yourself.

 

If we are pretending to live for the Lord

when our hearts are living for ourselves;

we may be standing outside the door.

We may be among those whom the Lord claims not to remember...

not to even know.

 

 

"...And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God."

 

I am confident that I want to be among those

who come from all the ends of the earth.

I am confident that I want to recline at table with the Lord.

Therefore, I am compelled to live a life

worth being allowed entrance into the kingdom.

Mind you that I would never be worthy of my own accord;

only worthy because the Lord himself has given to me his invitation.

 

He has given to each of us his personal invitation

to dine with him in the kingdom.

 

Have you sent your RSVP?

Have you misplaced the invitation?

Have you deliberately disposed of the invitation?

Have you rejected his invitation?

 

The invitation to recline at the table with the Lord

is worth doing all that you can to attend.

There is no greater banquet,

than the heavenly banquet in the Kingdom of the Lord.

 

Hope to reunite with you when we get there!

He has prepared a place just for you.

Grace to Bear Fruit

~~~ Ephesians 4: 7-16 ~~~ Psalm 122 ~~~ Luke 13: 1-91 ~~~

 

"Grace was given to each of us..."

 

Grace is God's life within us.

If we have God alive within our heart

then we are much better prepared

to be active participants in the

"...building up the Body of Christ..."

 

If we have God within it is so much easier to live an authentic life.

"...living the truth in love..."

 

If we have God within we will

"...grow in every way into him, Christ..." 

 

I invite you to pray for the grace necessary

for you to grow....for growth in areas and in ways you are unaware.

 

 

The master walks through his orchard and observes

the three year old fig tree that has not yet produced fruit.

It was typical that by now it should have produced plump juicy figs.

Instead of cutting it down as the master requests the gardener

pleas to allow him more time to care for the fig tree

so that is might bear fruit.

 

Sometimes we too need a friend to intercede for us.

Someone to give us more guidance.

Someone to believe in us even if we are lost and confused.

 

Sometimes we may be the one who can give another person hope.

The gardener could have justifiably cut down the fig tree.

It was taking a place in the orchard and not yielding fruit.

 

I think this gospel causes us to consider patience in our lives.

It is easy to become impatient with ourselves.

We may even become impatient with God.

 

Patience is not always easy,

but waiting may be just what is best at the time.

What in your life is challenging your patience?

How can you make good use of this time of waiting?

Are you cultivating the ground?

Are you fertilizing your heart?

Come Share in the Joy

~~~ 1 Cor 1: 26-31 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Matthew 25: 14-30 ~~~

 

We have taken a couple long journeys recently.

We have entrusted the care of our cat to friends.

Our neighbors kindly collect our mail for us.

We have not given up control of our finances.

We do not broadcast to very many people

that we are going to be gone.

 

In the gospel of Matthew verse thirteen

is the reminder to stay awake because we do not know the day or the hour.

The man who is leaving on a journey distributes his possessions

for safe keeping among his trusted servants.

 

As we know the first two took responsibility

for what they were given and invested wisely.

When the master returned he was very pleased with the decisions

made on his behalf by the first two servants.

 

'Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'

 

Because these two servants made good decisions

they were promised even greater responsibilities.

They were promised to share in the master's joy.

They were going to be invited to the festivities.

The message here for us is to examine how we are using

what has been given to us.

How are we increasing the gifts we have?

All that we have has been as a result of the generosity of God.

Are we taking them seriously?

Are we taking them for granted?

Are we acknowledging the the source of our gifts and talents.

 

Some think that they alone are responsible for creating the good in their lives.

While it is true that we must do the work to develop and increase our talents;

we did not make ourselves capable.

 

The opposite is also true as we see with the third servant in today's gospel.

This servant made excuses to the master for his lack of action.

His fears, real or not, paralyzed him.

Our talents must be identified, and developed.

It is not alright to put them under the bed and save them for later.

The master's response was harsh; he took all of the talents away.

The servant feared loosing the talents so took no action

 only to have the master return and take them back.

 

We would not think that inaction would be considered squandering,

but that is exactly what the master says.

"...For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away."

 

The master rewarded the servants who were willing to take action.

The master rewarded the servants who were willing to risk.

Even if the first two servants had lost some of what they invested I wonder

if the master would still have rewarded them.

 

Is it better to take action and fail or is it better to be fearful and take no action?

I am not sure there is only one answer here.

It may depend on each situation.

 

In the beginning the three servants were in the same place.

They were equals...peers.

All three were trusted servants of the master.

The master could have chosen others,

but they were each chosen to be given some talents.

 

 

 

Paul says to the Corinthians...

"Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."

 

Whatever talents you have been given

use them wisely,

develop them

and return them to the Lord hundredfold.

More will be given to those who act wisely.

How do you feel about this concept?

Was the third servant treated unfairly?

Isn't it a good quality to be cautious?

How does this apply to your life?

God's Glory...Beyond Brilliance

~~~ Ez 43: 1-7ab ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Matthew 23: 1-12 ~~~

 

The glory of the Lord shines brighter than we can comprehend.

The glory of the Lord encompasses with a vastness we have never seen.

"...the earth shone with his glory..."

 

The glory of the Lord flows freely across the land.

The glory of the Lord travels encountering no obstacles.

 

The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.

 

There is only one Lord who can radiate such glory.

There is only one Father...

There is only one Rabbi...

There is only one Teacher...

There is only one Master...

 

We may be impressed by what we hear from those would be teachers.

We may be fooled by their majestic garments, and pompous demeanors,

but there is only One who's presence is seen as visible light.

A light so bright that we must have a unique word

just to describe its brilliance...

GLORY

 

The impostors among us love places of honor at banquets

"All their works are performed to be seen."

 

Even in their synagogues they relish at being seated in places of honor

where all present see that they are important and influential.

As we have come to understand Jesus

turns everything upside down

with his lessons.

They are foreign to what has been the norm before his coming.

Jesus claims that those who are truly great will be dressed to impress others.

Jesus instead says to be truly great you must be a servant to others.

 

"...The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

 

I can just imagine how offended and resentful the

'masters'...'rabbis'...and 'teachers' must have been

when presented with this concept.

Jesus cautions his followers to not imitate the actions of these

mislead leaders.

They are filled with their own ego.

When your ego supercedes everything else you cannot

be about the work of the Lord.

 

We must all be humbled before the glory of the Lord.

To witness the glory of the Lord will truly cause us to be struck with

such wonder and awe that we

will collapse to the ground in its presence.

 

We will know without a doubt that this glory is coming from the Lord.

For not even the light from the sun will compare to this

divine glory.

The glory from the Lord will not be a hot fiery glory.

The glory of the Lord will be one of powerful overwhelming Love.

There will be no question that it is coming not only from the Lord,

but with the his presence.

 

 

When the glory of the Lord is revealed

it will be capable of scooping us up to become one with it.

Of course this is pure speculation on my part so you may have

a different point of view, which is fine as well.

 

Help me, Lord, to be ready to receive your glory

when it is revealed to me.

Perhaps at the hour of our death the light so many people

claim to see is only a tiny speck of the full spectrum of God's glory.