Transparent Honesty

~~~Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time~~~

~~Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18~~Psalm 103~~1 Corinthians 3:16-23~~Matthew 5:38-48~~

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

This seems like an impossible directive to follow.
We are not asked to go out searching for the illusive holiness.
In fact this holiness is not something we find in isolation.
This holiness is found in how we radiate God to others.
God manifests his holiness through all of his actions...
through all of creation.
We are called to live our holiness, not on our knees,
but on our feet and with our hands.
Our holiness is made evident in how we view others.
Can we see all peoples with the eyes of God.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

Holiness is being in a constant state of gratitude.
All that we have and all that we will have
comes from the abundance of God.
Having a relationship with God does come with its perks...
He showers us with his gifts of love and mercy.

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Worthy or not we cannot stop our God from
wanting to dwell within us.

Without this indwelling of the Spirit of God we would not exist.
When God dwells in us we become his hands and feet here on the earth.
It is with his hands that we clasp the hand of a loved one.
It is with his arms that we give the hug of hope.
It is with his voice that we speak words of forgiveness.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

It is true, in the traditional understanding of perfection,
we can never be perfect while on this earth.
But this perfection we are desiring is about being aligned
with God in mind, body, and spirit.

Having our whole being in tune with him.
In perfection, in wholeness there is no place for duplicity.
There can be no trace of deceit.
There must be only transparent honesty as to who we are...
For we are dust and to dust we shall return.

Perhaps we do not stop to appreciate just how Blessed
we are to be considered as the dwelling place of the Lord.

For in him we live and breathe and move.
Without him we are nothing.
May the peace of the Lord envelope you.

Foundation Cracks

~~~Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome~~~

~~Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12~~Psalm 46~~1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17~~John 2:13-22~~

 

Brothers and sisters:
You are God’s building.
According to the grace of God given to me,
like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,
and another is building upon it.
But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

We have been gifted with the foundation from God.

The foundation is the most important part of any building.

If you do not have a solid foundation the rest of the building

 will eventually have problems.

 

In our home we have experienced first hand

what happens to the rest of a structure when the foundation is compromised. 

We have a cracked foundation.

There are visible cracks in the walls of our home both inside and outside.

The doors and cabinets no longer close properly.

It was necessary for us to temporarily realign the locks on our doors.

 

 

It is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to apply this to our spiritual life.

 

If the foundation of ones faith is not solid

then eventually the cracks become larger and larger

 until they cause substantial damage. 

 The cracks in our foundation gradually happened below the surface.

We could not see what was happening.

We did not feel the damage that was damaging our home.

This what can happen with our spiritual life too.

When the walls began to show the evidence of the damage it was too late.

Too late because we could not easily fix the problem.

 Perhaps we could have been more vigilant about watering our slab,

but when the doors would not properly close it was beyond a simple fix.

 

Our spiritual foundation needs our attention.

By tending to this foundation, through our prayer life

it may just be possible to avoid future serious cracks.

 

 We can never assume that we have all that we need

to just keep building higher and higher on our foundation.

 The more pressure you apply to the foundation

 the more attention must put on the actual laying of the foundation itself.

 

One way to reinforce your spiritual foundation is to continue to seek knowledge.

When we ask questions we are strengthening our faith foundation.

 

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Blessings come as we continue to build upon the foundation of our faith.

The Spirit of God will enlighten your heart for as long as you are alive.

Each time of enlightenment can  make your 'temple' stronger and more resilient.

 

I thank God for sending his spirit to dwell within me.