Instructions for Holiness

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

This reading from Leviticus and the Gospel 

from Matthew are closely connected today. 

The Lord gives Moses a complete list 

of what it takes to be holy...

no stealing, lying, swearing, speaking falsely,

no fraudulent behavior, cursing,

not acts of dishonesty.

Slander is condemned as well as hatred

 and holding a grudge.

Be holy, for I, the LORD, 

your God, am holy.

For some people this list is just

 too overwhelming.

It is mostly negative and we live in the 'feel good' era.

The instructions to become as holy as God

 seem to be a bitter pill to swallow.

God, however. is the reflection 

of this extensive list in Leviticus.

His reflection is the resulting goodness

of the very holiness we long to attain.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

His words, no matter how challenging they are,

lead us to the holiness that he believes we can reach.

Holiness is our goal...

Holiness is what keeps us 

faithful to his commands...

Holiness gets us a place in heaven.

Jesus is very specific with his words in the Gospel.

Stating emphatically that when we treat 

others with kindness and love;

 it is God whom we are serving in disguise.

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

The positive message is what you did do 

for the least ones you really did for Jesus.

If we sincerely want to be more holy

 then we must operate within the

 'spirit and life' of Jesus.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart

find favor before you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

During this first week of Lent let us try to see others

 as a reflection of the holiness of God.

Put aside everything that is a distraction from the words

of God to be holy as he is holy.

Blessings in knowing that God

 would not ask us to do the seemingly impossible 

without being right there by our side.

May you have the peace of the Lord.

Do You Believe?

~~~Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Joshua 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ 

~~~ Ephesians 5:2A, 25-32 ~~~ John 6:60-69 ~~~

It is the spirit that gives life,

while the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.

But there are some of you who do not believe.

We underestimate the power of the words of Jesus

in our current day and age.

We foolishly believe that his words were meant

for Biblical times.

We foolishly believe the words he spoke have meaning 

only in the contest of the Bible.

We overlook the fact that his very words are

our personal spirit and life.

Without his words to keep our spirit alive

 we would not exist.

It is true that Jesus healed the bodies

 of many people during his time on earth.

It is equally true that his words healed

 the spirits of many more individuals.

Why do we not want to believe?

You have the words of eternal life. 

We have come to believe

and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.

Jesus was aware that maybe even the Apostles

struggled with this concept of sustained life in the spirit.

The Apostles eventually came to believe,

but it was very important for the long term survival

of the message for them to believe.

But what about today?

Is it very important for us to believe?

How do you personally answer that question?

We cannot rely on our bodies to confirm or disprove

the life of the spirit residing in our soul.

The body does not have the answer.

It is in the Spirit given to our heart and soul that holds the answer.

Jesus left us, through the power of his words

of consecration, his body and his spirit.

The spirit of himself, which he continually gives to us

is exactly what will get us to our place in heaven.

The life he gives us through the consecrated Eucharist

is way beyond the physical body.

The body can be mangled and destroyed

while the spirit life can be thriving and vibrant. 

As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

If you fully accept the consecrated presence of the Lord,

then how could you not decide to serve the him?

Today may you come to a deeper realization

 of gift you have been given.

The words which have been spoken to you

are Spirit and life.

He Blesses us with sustained life 

with each breathe we take.

Thank you, Jesus.

I have come to believe.

~~~Peace~~~

Same or Different

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Whatever you did for the least you did for me...

So many times we judge those who we believe are beneath

 us for whatever reason...

the color of their skin...the way they speak...the clothes they wear...

their actions...body piercings or tattoos.

We look for people who are like us and ignore everyone else.

It is a challenge to intentionally seek out those who are different.

Even when we travel at home or abroad we look for similarities.

But have you ever considered that people are looking 

at you the same way?

We make value judgments and act accordingly.

During this time of Lent I think God is inviting us 

to look at those who do not 'match up' to our liking and to reach out to them.

If we can reach out to those who are least like ourselves

we just may find that we are getting closer to serving the Lord himself.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you...

It is the perfect time to keep our words in check;

to let only words of kindness, understanding, 

forgiveness, and compassion

come from our lips.

It is the perfect time to examine how we let our heart love.

Is our heart confined and restrained?

Is our heart open and accepting?

If we are striving for a greater holiness in the Lord 

then we are called to be more accepting and less comparative.

We are each created in the image and likeness of God;

it is precisely this image that we are loving when we care for others.

The challenge for us today is to see others as God sees them

not simply whether or not they are 'like us'.

The stranger, the naked, the prisoner are all

 the picture of God made man.

How do you treat them?

Blessed to be who I am becoming today.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life...

not just for me, but for everyone.

The Challenge of Being Holy

 

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

 

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

 

Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’

 

God lays before us the formula for leading a holy life.

He urges us to be holy just as he is holy.

This may seem like a daunting command,

 but the words of scripture today give us some concrete guidelines.

 

We should not steal, lie, swear, curse, defraud, trick, act dishonestly, spread slander,

on perhaps the most important command is

You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.

 

Having been a recent victim of theft I can say

not bearing hatred in your heart is challenging.

I have prayed for the thief, but I still find it hard to excuse the personal violation.

 

Unfortunately we live in a society where lying, cheating

 and stealing is becoming the norm.

We are beginning to forget what it means to have values.

Every day we come into contact with people who have no character.

They have no respect for someone else's property.

There is no such thing as boundaries.

Loving someone who wrongs you takes a conscious act of will.

 

 

What if you can only go through the motions of loving

someone who has wronged you?

Are you then also unpleasing before God?

 

I have prayed that this person would have a conversion of heart.

I am not hopeful, however, that this will happen.

 

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you

 

Help me Lord to keep the thoughts of my heart pleasing to you.

I have made an effort to be more kind to others.

 I am hoping that the small difference

I can make will somehow contradict the evil in our society today.

 

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