Listen to His Voice

~~~ Jeremiah 7: 23-28 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ Luke 11:14-23 ~~~

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Listen to my voice;

then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

Walk in all the ways that I command you,

so that you may prosper.

God is calling us to listen to him.

Can you hear him?

He is speaking to you today.

With his grace we can walk in the way of the Lord.

...it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons.

It only takes the touch of the finger of God...

Jesus Brings Balance

~~~ Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 147 ~~~ Matthew 5:17-19 ~~~

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.
The laws of the Old Testament were not filled with spiritual life until Jesus came.
The laws were only the framework.
Jesus used this framework to bring all things to the fullness of life
through himself.
He is the way the truth and the life.

Jesus did not come to replace the laws and all they had taught.
In fact if we do not reflect on and appreciate the laws
then we cannot fully understand or appreciate
what Jesus brought to us.

It is something like studying the history of your country.
If you do not become familiar with the old laws and the old ways
you cannot appreciate the changes that have taken place.

Everywhere Jesus went his words and actions were raising the eyebrows
of the elders because they could only see the way things were.
They could only see how things had always been.
They could not see that perhaps there was something more...
something better...something more fulfilling.

Laws alone are cold stark impersonal...
Jesus was a warm, caring, compassionate person.
Jesus was personal.
Jesus dealt with the person he was near.
Jesus made adjustments to each situation.
Laws are rigid, but they serve a purpose.

Jesus brought balance into the world.
The law alone is lopsided...skewed.
We too need balance in our life.
It is possible to get so caught up in the rules and laws of the church
that one forgets to be in awe of the wonders of our God.
We tend to forget all that he has done for us
while we are being busy about keeping the letter of the law.

Jesus modeled for us in many situations the value of relationships.
Rules and laws can never replace the personal relationship
God wants us to have with him.

Most of all God wants us to realize how much he loves us.
This is what we need to be teaching our children...
We should be teaching them about God's love for them.
Take advantage of every opportunity to tell the children
 in your life how much Jesus loves them.

Jesus brought life into the dried lifeless laws.
He can bring life into your heart as well.
You are loved!

WholeHearted Forgiveness

~~~ Daniel 3:25, 34-43 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ Matthew 18: 21-38 ~~~

Forgiveness must come from the heart.

It cannot endure unless it comes from the center 

of your being deep inside.

Peter must have been feeling pretty smug 

thinking if he forgave seven times that was doing well.

The look on his face probably gave away his surprise when Jesus

responded that he should forgive seventy times.

Seventy times is way more than seven.

The point perhaps is we must continue to forgive there is no limit.

Would we want God to be keeping track of how many times 

we must ask for his forgiveness?

I am guessing your answer is 'NO'.

Forgiveness cannot be measured by any of our conventional measures.

Jesus has given us examples of forgiveness time after time.

He must present forgiveness in as many possible ways as he can.

Forgiveness as God wants us to forgive is not easy.

It takes great humility to forgive as God forgives us.

We say this every time we pray the Our Father...

forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

The Prophet Daniel prays with a humble and contrite heart.

'Do not take away your mercy from us...
...with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received...
...we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you...
...deal with us in your kindness and great mercy...'

Calling on God and his heart of mercy
Daniel presents himself humbly before God.

I invite you take these phrases from the Prophet Daniel;
  pray them from your heart.
If we follow him with our whole heart
our depth of forgiveness should
be of the same sincerity and intensity.

Peter is such a wonderful example of we as humans.
Forgiving seven times may be a lot for some people,
but we are called to a higher standard.
A standard worthy of our calling to be holy.
Forgiveness takes a lifetime of practice.
Luckily we are constantly being presented
with opportunities to practice.

Just remember that forgiveness must come from the heart.
It is not a superficial practice.
If you put the frozen dinner in the microwave for three minutes
you are not a gourmet chef.
Surprise! 

View Things Differently

~~~ 2 Kings 5: 1- 15 AB ~~~ Psalm 42 ~~~ Luke 4: 24-30 ~~~

"Amen, I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own town."

Whenever Jesus begins a sentence with 'Amen' that means 

pay attention something important is to follow.

Amen means truth...verily...so be it...

Here we see Jesus speaking to the people of his own town of Nazareth.

The question has been asked if anything good can come out of this town.

The closer you are to a situation the harder it is to see clearly.

The locals were not able to get beyond the humble background

of Jesus. His family was not of the aristocratic segment of the population.

A child servant suggests that Naaman, 

who was stricken with leprosy, visit the prophet.

When he finally reaches the prophet 

he had in his mind an idea of what might take place.

But he was mistaken.

We believe that a miracle of healing takes place 

as a kind of spectacle.

We are mistaken too.

The prophet does indeed cure Naaman of his leprosy by directing him to

wash seven times in the waters of the river Jordan.

“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”

Naaman had been in these very waters previously with nothing
significant or healing occurring.
So why would this time be any different?
He was very familiar with this river just as the community of Nazareth
knew the family of Jesus.

God takes ordinary everyday things and changes them into something holy.
When God chooses to set apart something for his use
prepare to be amazed.
The ordinary will no longer remain ordinary.
Actually I am not sure if ordinary is a word God possesses.

Whatever God sets apart to be his chosen
 instrument is imbued with special graces.

The prophets were normal people that God blessed with special insight.

The waters of the River Jordan were made holy by God
to deliver healing to Naaman.
The waters blessed by God restored his skin removing all
signs of the leprosy.

Imagine the worst case of acne imaginable.
Leprosy was much much worse.
The cleansing of his outward appearance
must have profoundly changed his future life.

He was now able to be a contributing member of his society.
It was the at the urging of a child that he was healed.
This small child was instrumental in getting healing for her master.

Never think for a minute that you are not someone
 whom God would use.
God will use you if you let him.

 Blessed Mother Teresa considered herself
but a pencil in the hand of God.

Can you picture yourself in this position?
Try...See how it might feel.
You are his.

No Ordinary Day at the Well

~~~ Third Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Exodus 17: 3-7 ~~~Psalm 95~~~Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8~~~John 4:5-42~~~

Moses cries out to the Lord for help in fear of his life.

The people are filled with discontent over the lack of water.

Water sustains life...without water we die in just a few days.

Recently a woman caused the death of her son.

As a punishment, she withheld water from him for too long.

Needless to say she was not very bright.

God heard the plea of Moses with a miracle.

Water was brought forth form a rock.

All things are possible for God he has shown this to us many times.

Oh, that we should hear the Lord as well as he hears us.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Lent is a time to really focus on listening for the voice of the Lord.

What do you hear him saying to your heart.

We should pay more attention to what comes from our heart.

'...the love of God has been poured out into our hearts

'...hope does not disappoint, 
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts 
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us...'

The woman at the well, that solemn afternoon,
 was given the gift of love pouring into her heart.

She was not really loved by either her many husbands
 or any other women in the town.

She was an outcast evidenced by the timing
of her drawing water from the well so late in the day.

The women normally came early in the day to draw the water.
They came before the heat of the day.
They used this time to socialize together...
to catch up with each others from the day before.

She had no one with which to share her joys and sorrows.

Having someone speak to her at the well,
even a Jewish man, was a big deal.
Why was he there at the well that day?
He was not expecting to draw water up for himself;
he had no bucket.
To her surprise Jesus began a conversation with her.
Why would he care to talk to her?
She was definitely one of those sinners
Jesus so often found himself keeping company with.

But as they talked she began to sense something
very different about this man, Jesus.

She began to sense in her heart a rare kind of pure love.
A love she had not experienced before,
surely not with any of her five husbands.
She came to accept in her heart that Jesus
cared about her in spite of knowing
everything about her wretched life.

He offered her something utterly life changing...
unconditional love and forgiveness.
The woman knew of the coming of the Messiah,
but until Jesus said the confirming words to her she was unaware.
"I am he, the one speaking with you."

She not only heard the voice of God that day
she also experienced a total eclipse of the heart.
Her heart was eclipsed by the holiness of the Messiah.
She was a changed woman.
She was filled with the joy of hope
 maybe for the first time in her life.

I can hardly imagine the joy she felt
the day she came to the well alone.

Jesus wants to give you that same unconditional love.
Let him touch your heart.

Return to Me, My Child

~~~ Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32 ~~~

The Prodigal Son returns home and the good father is excited beyond reason....

Or is it beyond reason?

Sometimes I am amazed at what makes the news today.

You can often tell by the stories when it is a slow news day.

Jesus attracts, among others, tax collectors and sinners.

Why do you think this is worth noting?

Had we been among those listening to Jesus 

would it have been newsworthy?

The Lord is kind and merciful.

Or is this a way of letting know that we too 

would have been accepted by Jesus?

The gospel story was one we could all identify.

The image of a loving father embracing his wayward child

is one we can all appreciate.

Either because we have a healthy loving relationship with our own father

or because we long to have that kind of relationship.

Not all fathers are emotionally equipped to respond in this forgiving manner.

God, however, responds to all of us with this generous outpouring of forgiveness.

The point of this example is that no matter what we do...

no matter how great our sin

if we return as the repentant child 

God will rush out with open arms to greet us.

If we return to the Father his forgiveness 

is like gold pieces shining

 in the ashes of our sinfulness. 

The darkness of our sins can be transformed 

into joyful brightness 

by our forgiving Father.

The Lord is kind and merciful.

Much rejoicing occurs over even just one 

child of God returning to his home.

The very best the Father has to offer 

is there for this wayward child.

Do you believe this to be true for you as well?

This is what the many beautiful Gospel stories are designed to accomplish...

they are to show us who truly God is.

We need these scenarios.

We need to see how humans can mimic for us

the qualities of God himself.

God has not left us to create our own scenes demonstrating 

his unconditional love and forgiveness.

He gives the stories from his own lips.

How can we not believe and trust that they are

meant for us today too?

The Gospel message is timeless.

What a treasure we have in the Word.

The Lord is kind and merciful.

You are forgiven.

A Tale of Two Plots

~~~ Genesis 37:3-4,12-13 a,17 b -28 a  ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46 ~~~

Sometimes I wonder if God looks at how we have misused his creation.

I wonder if he has second thoughts about who we have become as a society.

Jesus tries to warn the chief priests and the elders that they are 

extremely close to making a huge mistake in judgment.

He tells them the parable about the landowner who planted a vineyard.

The landowner has gone to great lengths to make his property very pleasing.

The landowner rents out the land and goes away on holiday trusting his tenants.

The landowner returns in time for the harvest.

Numerous times he sends his servants to bring back his produce.

Each time the tenants, filled with evil, kill the servants

 acting as if they are in the position of power.

Finally the owner takes his greatest risk; he sends his own son to the vineyard.

His son is of course the heir to the vineyard.

Who would be so bold as to kill the son of the owner,

but that is exactly what happens.

Those listening to this parable had already decided
what they would do to the evil tenants...

“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.”

This would be the typical answer after all that had happened.
Who would not want revenge for the death of their son?

Jesus connects this parable to the scripture passage
(psalm 118) about the rejected stone.
'...The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone
by the Lord has this been done
and it is wonderful in our eyes.'

The elders now know Jesus was talking about them,
but they are unable to make the necessary changes.
They are not spiritually strong enough to stop
what Jesus has told them was going to happen.

How many times do we find ourselves in a similar situation?...
We know better but we make a poor choice any way.
This is what happens when we keep making the same mistakes.
This is what happens when we keep committing the same sins.
Is the case of Jesus all that he did to forewarn the elders of their impending
mistake was ignored.

Even though he came to do the Father's will,
I think he wanted them to understand the consequences of their inaction.

Also today we hear the familiar story of Joseph,
whose own brothers set up a plan to rid their lives of him once and for all.
And if you recall, unbeknownst to them he is rescued.
In the end he, Joseph, turns out to be the one holding the power to save his family.
This includes saving his nasty brothers with selfish hearts.

Be vigilant about those things you struggle with removing
from your life the most.

Remember it is not how many times you fall,
but how many times you get up.
Get up and renew your intentions one more time.
You are loved.