Reserved in Your Name

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 13:26-33 ~~~ Psalm 2 ~~~

~~~ John 14:1-6 ~~~ 

Do not let your hearts be troubled. 

There are times in our personal lives when

 our hearts are very troubled.

When was the last time your heart was troubled?

For those in our community it may be today 

as they clean up after the flooding of their homes.

If you lost everything this week your 

heart may be very troubled

The apostles were troubled because 

they did not know where Jesus was going

 or how they would find their way.

They were used to following him per his own invitation.

Come follow me.

I am the way and the truth and the life. 

Jesus assures all of those who are troubled

 that he is the way out.

He is pure truth in all that he is for all eternity.

He is everything...he is our life itself.

We need not be stuck in a state of trouble.

Jesus  provides for all of our needs.

He will bring people to us in our time of need.

He will use us for his own good.

We are given the way...

We are given the truth...

We are given life.

Jesus went before us to heaven

to prepare a magnificent place for us.

I am going to prepare a place for you

Jesus says 'I come to serve not to be served'

Jesus gave us evidence of this promise.

His whole life was in service...

this continues even into his heavenly home.

He prepares a place in heaven for you and for me.

He has a reservation made in your name.

He shows us the way...

make sure you make it to your reserved room.

Jesus assures us that we know 

the way because we know him.

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

We are Blessed in staying on the path

created for us by Jesus.

Your room is reserved by Jesus.

He waits for your return.

~~~ Peace ~~~

Every Drop in the Chalice

~~~ Jeremiah 18:18-20 ~~~ Psalm 31 ~~~ Matthew 20:17-28 ~~~ 

“You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”

Jesus barely gets the words out of his mouth

before this intense mother is asking for favors for her sons.

The revelation of how Jesus will suffer and die

does not deter this woman.

Perhaps she was not hearing the words of Jesus.

...mocked and scourged and crucified...

What mother would want this to be in the future of her child?

The chalice is the concrete visual of how
Jesus gained our salvation.

The chalice of wine, transformed
 from water at the wedding feast of Cana,
now becomes the blood of the Redeemer.

 ...the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

In the chalice every drop of blood is poured out for us.
We may understand what it means to serve others,
but most of us have no idea what it means to serve
 with every drop of your own blood.

We respond to the call from the Red Cross
 to give blood...the gift of life.
This is a wonderful act of service.

Giving our blood for another does not result
in the giver compromising their own life.

Today at Mass during the consecration
as the chalice was lifted
right behind appearing to
come out of the chalice was the flame from a candle.

It made me think about how one swallow of wine
makes you feel warm inside.

Taking Jesus into your heart
can also be a heartwarming experience.

The ten apostles bickered among themselves over favoritism,
but they too missed the bigger picture.

They missed the deeper meaning of the chalice.
The chalice holds the ultimate example of service.
Ultimate because it is the life of Jesus...his blood
shed for us. There is no greater love. 

He Blesses us with every drop of blood
poured out into the chalice.

The flame above the chalice this morning
is a reminder of how much Jesus loves me...
how he gave his life in service of all of us.

~~~Peace~~~
Let this Lenten journey be the best ever.

Jesus Prays for Our Faith

~~~ Palm Sunday ~~~

 

~~Isaiah 50:4-7~~Psalm 22~~Philippians 2:6-11~~Luke 22:14—23:56~~

 

Just as at the birth of Jesus jubilant songs fill the air this day when he enters

the city of Jerusalem. Perhaps their dreams were really coming true;

Jesus is the 'king' they were hoping he would become after all.

 

But what king would sit upon a donkey as his chariot?

They proclaimed:
“Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest.”

 

Excitement fills the air, all are rejoicing.

Jesus gave them a taste of what they were looking for,

but it turns into a horror story instead.

 

Soon their songs of rejoicing turn to chants of mockery.

“He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,
let him rescue him, if he loves him.”

 

The love between God the Father and the Son

surpass our human understanding.

A human father would not willingly want to see one of his sons suffer.

 

But Jesus came to do the will of the his father so

'...he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.'

 

Time after time I am touched by the tremendous humility

through which our salvation was secured.

Through the humility of Jesus we can experience

an even deeper appreciation for his death.

 

Just his name, Jesus, evokes great love and praise.

 

 

As the final hour draws ever closer Jesus chooses to share a meal

with his closest friends and followers.

He wants to share in fellowship and love with the twelve who knew him best.

Many people facing their impending death also want to be surrounded

with family and friends....

This may be a pure human phenomenon; I do not know for sure.

 

Jesus took this last supper if you will to share with his some of his final thoughts.

There were some important things that he wanted them to remember.

Memories connected to strong emotions are much stronger, more vivid,

and most easily recalled later.

 

'...I am among you as the one who serves.
It is you who have stood by me in my trials...'

 

Jesus impresses upon them that in doing

the will of the father he came to serve.

 

Jesus tells them that he has prayed for them to go forward to continue

the work he has begun.

'...I have prayed that your own faith may not fail...'

 

Imagine for a moment having Jesus pray for you.

How does that make you feel?

When Jesus prayed for his disciples I like to believe that he

was actually praying for us as well.

If we are now also one of his disciples we too

 have been strengthened

by his prayers for us.

 

I invite you to join me between now and Holy Thursday

to reflect on Jesus praying for you.

I am grateful and humbled to think that

Our Lord Jesus Christ would pray for me.

What can I give in return except a greater commitment to him

 and a deeper love for him.

Today we enter into the most solemn time of the liturgical year...

there is a reason it is called Holy Week.

Seamless Service

~~~ Titus 2:1-8, 11-14 ~~~ Psalm 37 ~~~ Luke 17:7-10 ~~~

 

At first reading the gospel account from Luke seems harsh and selfish.

The slave in Biblical times literally had no rights.

 He was the property of his owner and would have

been given few priviledges.

Certainly the servant would not have expected or been

entitled to special allowances.

 

 

Jesus is using this slave as an example of our relationship with God.

What could God possibly owe to us?

On the other hand we owe everything to God.

He has given us all that we are and all that we have.

 

We are not is a position to bargain with God.

We are not is a position to expect special priviledges.

But at the same time we are not slaves to God.

 

When we obey God we are not doing so in hopes of sitting

with him as his honored guest.

We obey out of a desire to give something back to him.

The only thing we can give to God is ourselves.

Giving ourselves back to God is really all that we can give to him.

 

 "'...We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

 

We might like to think that we are worthy of something from God

in return for our prayers and good deeds, but it is not true.

It is out of the goodness of God that our prayers are even answered.

No matter what we do for God he does not profit from our efforts.

 

Just as the slave returns from the field with more work waiting to be done,

we too can never become complacent. We must never think that we have done enough...that we have served the Lord long enough or enough times.

There will always be more work to be done in the vineyard.

Our whole life needs to be one of serving...bringing forth the word of the Lord.

 

No matter what we are doing with our life;

the underlying mission should be about pleasing God.

 

 

I guess the question remains...

when have we ever given enough back to God?

Does your love for God compel you to give him your best?

Does your love for God help you to give yourself back to him?

 

We know that even the apostles were confused by the message of the kingdom.

They even thought that they were going to be entitled

to some special merits for being among his closest followers.

In this example Jesus may be trying to tell them to be patient;

things were not exactly as they might have thought.

 

Often our perception of things turns out not to be the reality.

Serving in the 'field' or serving at the 'table'

our work in the eyes of God is never completed.

It is by the grace of God that we continue to freely serve him.

In the end it was Jesus, himself, who assumed the servant's position

and washed the disciples feet.

The Timeless Story of M&M

~~~ Galatians 1:13-24 ~~~ Psalm 139 ~~~ Luke 10: 38-42 ~~~

 

We are so familiar with the story of Martha and Mary

 that we may be tempted to let it quickly pass by.

 

Many scripture scholars have written about this gospel story

so there is really not any new perspective I can offer you.

Having several sisters I can totally identify with the complaining

about one or the other.

 

In my family I would more likely be the one sitting at the feet of Jesus

not really worrying about the food.

After all this was Jesus. He was their close friend.

They knew he had done wonderful things as he traveled

from town to town.

As far as that goes he could have taken a small portion of the food

they had on hand and made sure it was enough to feed them all.

 

Of course Martha felt it was her duty

to make sure everything was perfect...the floor swept...

the dishes cleaned and stored away...the meal prepared...the table set...

the water brought up to the house...etc.

 

Mary on the other hand was in love with what Jesus had to say.

Mary wanted to absorb all she could from the words of Jesus

without the distractions of serving at the same time.

 

Martha seems to be not only distracted, but irritated as well.

She hopes to get Jesus to correct the situation.

Martha obviously considered Jesus to be a person of authority.

"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."

 

She did not call for Mary to help her from another room.

No, instead she wanted Jesus to intervene on her behalf.

After all Martha was friends with Jesus too.

 

This is typical of the way we often pray intercessory prayers

on behalf of our loved ones.

We ask Jesus to act on our behalf.

We value his words.

We have the advantage in that we now have many stories

referencing the power of Jesus.

Today we know that his words are spirit and life.

 

Martha on the other hand just wanted Jesus to make

her sister get up and help her.

Martha was pulling rank on Mary in hopes that Jesus

would be on her side.

 

But we should not be surprised when Jesus

turns the tables on Martha saying...

 

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."
 

I would not say that Jesus did not care about Martha's request.

 Quite the contrary, he wanted her to see the situation

from a different perspective.

 

How many times in our lives are we so consumed with being 'Martha'

 that we too miss the point.

The point being, what you do for others

should never take the place of being in the presence of the Lord.

 

 

It is good that we can take the time to slip away from our daily chores;

to come and sit at the feet of the Lord.

Serving others is certainly a good thing, but listening to the word of God

is the better option.

 

It is only by truly hearing the word of the Lord

that we can then begin to serve those around us with the right attitude.

Listening and learning the words of the Lord

lay the foundation for serving others.

This timeless story of Martha and Mary provides us a model of

our pray life and our desire to serve others.

It parallels our spiritual and secular worlds.

Jesus was present to both Martha and Mary.

He was in their home...he was with them both.

 

Perhaps our challenge today is that of being able to balance our lives.

Being able to be both a Martha and a Mary.

Spiritual and secular together yet separate.

No matter where we are we are always in the presence of the Lord.

 

As psalm 139 so beautifully states...

"(Lord) you know when I sit and when I stand..."

 

Have a Blessed day no matter what you are doing.

Grace to be Selfless

~~~ 2 Cor 9:6-10 ~~~ Psalm 112 ~~~ John 12:24-26 ~~~

"God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work."

You cannot give what you do not first have yourself.

If we turn to God, it follows that we also believe.

He will give us all that we need to do good in this world.

As Paul sits down to write to the people of Corinth

he has experienced that which he writes.

Paul knows without a doubt that God bestowed upon him abundant graces;

otherwise he would have continued to persecute the Christians.

I have learned so much from St. Paul's life.

Paul was a passionate person. If he believed in something

he completely embraced it no matter what.

God saw these strong characteristics in Paul.

So he devised a plan to use these very strengths for his glory.

God filled Paul with the overwhelming desire to serve him.

Granted he had to knocked off his horse and blinded but,

 you do what you have to do sometimes.

The abundant grace of God sustained Paul

through many personal hardships.

His strong, determined character was fortified through God's grace.

So what does this have to do with us?

God looks at me (and you) sees my strong areas and gives me grace

to serve him through those strengths.

But God would not be satisfied to stop there.

No, he continues to fill us with his abundant graces.

Until his graces are overflowing into other areas of our life.

Imagine this abundant grace pouring over like a waterfall

With God there is always more he will bestow upon us.

With God, the low fuel light never comes on.

God is abundance!

"...Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me."

God gives us abundant grace

 so that we can find the strength within

to follow him.

Jesus came to serve in response to the will of the Father.

It would bring us closer to God if we could have this same

desire to serve others.

For it is in serving others that we in turn are actually serving God.

There is one word of caution here...

Selfless Service

is the main requirement.

I pray, Lord that I may be granted the necessary graces

to have a true and pure servant's heart.

Please, Lord abundantly bless my strengths

allowing these graces to overflow to where I am weakest.

If not for the Grace of God where would we be...really?